Guy Ritchie made The Covenant and this is probably one of his most different things he has done in years, this thing is straight up serious from start to finish with no jokes or tricks, just two guys trying to survive and do right by each other in a war zone that does not give a shit about either of them. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Master Sergeant John Kinley who gets saved by his interpreter Ahmed and then spends the second half risking everything to return the favor and the whole thing is built on duty and obligation more than friendship, these are not best buddies cracking jokes they barely even like each other at first but they respect what the other person is willing to do when it counts and thats what makes it work so well. The action scenes are brutal and extremely tense, this one is going to make you put a grip on that couch arm for sure, with people getting shot in the head with no warning, bombs go off and you feel that constant danger of not knowing whos friendly and who wants you dead which is exactly what war feels like, its not some polished Hollywood version where everyone looks cool while shooting its dirty and scary and you genuinely feel like anyone can die at any moment. I really enjoy the most how it shows the interpreter as not just some side character helping the Americans, he has his own reasons for doing what he does and his own family to protect and when things go sideways he puts his life on the line to drag Jake Gyllenhaal across miles of desert and mountains to safety which is insane when you think about it, then the second half flips it around and Gyllenhaal is the one fighting through bureaucracy and red tape trying to get this guy and his family out of Afghanistan before the Taliban kills them all so its like two rescue missions in one.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4873118/
- Platform: NETFLIX
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The way the movie starts is pretty damn intense, you got this whole unit doing their thing looking for weapons and home made explosive factories in Afghanistan and right away one of their guys gets blown up by a truck bomb during a routine vehicle inspection so they need a new interpreter which is where Ahmed comes in played by Dar Salim who absolutely kills it in this role, like this guy brings so much to the character without ever trying to be the hero or steal scenes from Gyllenhaal. Ahmed takes the job and says its only for money not because he wants to help America or anything like that, he has his own history with the Taliban because they killed his son so hes got his own reasons for wanting revenge on these guys and its not just about helping America its personal for him too which makes everything he does later even more impressive. The chemistry between Gyllenhaal and Ahmed starts off kinda rocky because Ahmed keeps questioning orders and trying to give advice which pisses off Kinley at first but you can tell hes doing it because he actually knows what hes talking about, theres this whole scene where Ahmed warns them about going down a certain road and Kinley does not want to listen but then Ahmed turns out to be right and it saves everyones lives. From that point on theres this mutual respect building between them even though they still do not fully trust each other yet, its not like they become best friends overnight its more like two professionals learning to work together under extreme circumstances and I really appreciate that the script did not try to force some fake brotherhood between them too early, it feels earned the right way.
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The middle section of the movie is where everything goes to hell, the unit goes on a raid to one of this improvise explosive factory and they capture the location and find all this explosives and videos of them torturing people so you know these are not good guys at all, they set charges to blow everything up and start getting out but then they get ambushed on the way and it turns into a full on firefight with Taliban reinforcements showing up from everywhere. The whole team gets wiped out except for Gyllenhaal and Ahmed and they barely escape but Gyllenhaal gets badly wounded and cannot walk so Ahmed has to make a choice and instead of running away to save himself he decides to drag and carry on a wagon this American Sergeant across miles and miles of mountain terrain to get him back to base which is absolutely insane when you think about the logistics of that. Ahmed is pulling him through deserts and over rocks with Taliban patrols hunting them the whole time, he has to hide Gyllenhaal in a truck at checkpoints and almost gets caught multiple times but he never gives up or leaves him behind even though it would be way easier to just disappear, this whole sequence is like pure tension and survival and its shot really well with minimal dialogue because Gyllenhaals is just pass out most of the time so its all on Ahmeds face and body language to carry the emotion. Once they finally make it back to base the movie jumps forward and Gyllenhaal wakes up in a hospital back in America and the first thing he asks about is Ahmed and where he is, turns out Ahmed became wanted by the Taliban for saving an American soldier and now he got a price on his head so hes in hiding with his family.
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Gyllenhaal tries to get visas for Ahmed and his family through the proper channels but he runs into nothing but bureaucratic bullshit and people putting him on hold for hours, theres this whole section of him making phone calls and getting transferred around and waiting for paperwork that never comes and you can see him getting more and more frustrated because he knows Ahmed is running out of time, he even refinances his house to get money together to hire private contractors to help with the extraction. His wife played by Emily Beecham is supportive but also scared because she already mourned him once when they thought he was dead and now hes about to go back into a warzone again, this guy is insane, but she understands they owe Ahmed everything so she lets him go and tells him he better come back alive which is such a good dope scene between them, the performance from both actors in that moment is really solid even though she does not have a ton of screen time in the movie overall. Gyllenhaal gets back into Afghanistan and tracks down Ahmed who is hiding with his family, Ahmed has been waiting for the visas and feels betrayed that the US government abandoned him after everything he did, so Gyllenhaal has to convince him to leave and they load up in a truck and head towards an extraction point. The private contractor played by Antony Starr helps coordinate everything and arranges for air support from an AC 130 gunship and Apache helicopters, meanwhile the Taliban figures out where they are and starts chasing them through the desert in a massive convoy.
The action scenes at the end of the movie is just glorious satisfaction. Ahmed is driving while Gyllenhaal is in the back shooting at pursuing terrorist and they barely make it to the Darunta Dam where the helicopter is supposed to pick them up, the contractors finally show up with air support and start taking out Taliban fighters left and right and its this huge firefight that feels like the payoff for everything thats been building up. What I really like about the ending is it does not try to be overly sentimental or preachy about the war, its just about two guys keeping their word to each other no matter what it costs them and thats enough, you do not need some big speech about honor or duty because the actions speak for themselves and both characters have proven what theyre willing to sacrifice. The whole cast does great work here but especially Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim who carry the entire emotional weight of the story like a damn silver back, Gyllenhaal plays it very understated and quiet which works perfect for a guy whos seen too much shit and just wants to do the right thing, he was not trying to be a badass or a hero hes just a tired soldier paying back a debt and thats way more interesting than if he was doing some Rambo type performance. Guy Ritchies direction seem very tame down than his usual stuff, theres no fast cuts or freeze frames or characters talking directly to camera or any of the tricks he normally uses and I think that was the right call for this kind of movie where you really want the audience to care about the characters, he lets the story and performances breathe without getting in the way with style and the cinematography is beautiful especially in the desert sequences where you really feel the heat and the isolation. The movie ends with a text card saying over 300 interpreters and their families have been murdered by the Taliban for helping the US military and thousands more are still in hiding which is a sobering reminder that this is not just a movie its a real issue that still affects people today, its just a sad and common thing for local interpreters to then be identify as traitors. For me this movie is an easy and solid 8 out of 10 because it does exactly what it sets out to do and does it well, the performances are strong, the action is brutal and realistic, the story keeps you wanting more out of it even during the slower parts, if you like war stuff or just good character driven action then this is definitely worth watching.
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