12 STRONG : Tuesday 13th March 2018.

'12 STRONG' aka '12 Strong : The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers' which I caught earlier this week, is an American war drama film from Danish first time Director Nicolai Fuglsig and is based on Doug Stanton's New York Times Bestsellers non-fiction book 'Horse Soldiers' published in 2009. The film was released in the US in mid-January, cost US$35M to make and has so far grossed US$58M and has received mixed or average Reviews thus far. The film tells the story of CIA paramilitary officers, US Special Forces and USAF Combat Controllers, sent to Afghanistan immediately following the September 11 attacks.

The film open up with Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) moving into a new family home with his wife Jean (Elsa Pataky) and young cute as a button daughter Maddy. It is early morning and the family are busying themselves unpacking their worldly possessions, before packing Maddy off to school for the day. The television is switched on playing the early morning cartoons. It is September 11th 2001. The cartoon broadcast is interrupted by live footage of the plane attacks on the World Trade Centre twin towers, and the Pentagon. The family look on in stunned disbelief.

Next we see Nelson marching briskly into some Army HQ where he had previously (upon request) been assigned to staff duty following several years as a combat trainer, although never having seen active duty himself nor fired a shot in anger. He volunteers to lead Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595 into Afghanistan to do battle with the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, but his commanding officer Lt. Col. Max Bowers (Rob Riggle) has very different ideas for him. Frustrated, his colleague Chief Warrant Officer Hal Spencer (Michael Shannon) who is about to retire, volunteers for this additional assignment, and puts in a good word to Bowers about Nelson's leadership attributes, which has the desired effect.

Before you know it, Nelson's team is assembled and their off to Uzbekistan having farewelled their families. It is early October 2001, some four weeks following the attacks. At an Army Base Camp, Nelson and Spencer receive their orders from Special Forces Group Commander Col. John Mulholland (William Fichtner) who selects their team over five others, because Nelson saw what they were going into for what it was, was well researched, and despite not having seen active duty had a raw determination to succeed, quickly and diligently.

Those orders given to Nelson and Spencer were to locate the Northern Alliance and befriend the leader Abdul Rashid Dostum (Navid Negahban) and gain his trust in waging war against The Taliban and al-Qaida and ultimately capture the strategically placed city of Mazar-i-Sharif - the fourth largest city of Afghanistan located in the country's north.

After a night time drop under cover of darkness and flying at an altitude that their transport Chinook Helicopter can barely withstand, the team of twelve men, led by Nelson, are dropped off forty miles or so south of Mazar-i-Sharif. They assemble with the local militia at a nearby village and hunker down for the remaining night. The next morning Dostum arrives on horseback, and after an exchange of pleasantries, the requisite goodwill gifts and getting-to-know-you which is a little hostile, the team of twelve are split in two, because Dostum only has six spare horses. Six, including Nelson depart for the mountains with Dostum and his men, leaving the other six, including Spencer to wait it out in the fortified village, known as 'The Alamo', pending further instructions.

Following several battles with The Taliban in the mountain terrain over the next few days, Nelson becomes increasingly agitated with Dostum for not divulging his plan of attack, and acting carelessly with the lives of his men. Dostum in turn accuses Nelson, and the US for not caring about the future of his country and are therefore unwilling to sacrifice for it. Later, the pair reconcile their differences when Dostum sees just how tough and determined Nelson is. Dostum in turn advises that he hates The Taliban so much for killing his family, at the hands of one of their leaders Mullah Razzan (Numan Acar).

By now Spencer and his five men have travelled on horseback into the mountains to meet up with Nelson, some faring better than others along the rocky terrain. After a number of skirmishes with The Taliban which result in victories for the Northern Alliance, Dostum is making headway towards Mazar-i-Sharif. However, the US Government sends an e-mail to Nelson demanding to know why progress is so slow when the might of Uncle Sam is providing tactical air support with on demand bombing raids.

Nelson responds laying it out exactly as it is, but not before Mulholland has mobilised a second ODA team to support Atta Muhammad, another Northern Alliance leader who is a political rival to Dostum, and for whom there is no love lost between the two men. Nelson has to explain this course of action to Dostum, who responds less than favourably to the news, and does an exit stage left with his men abandoning Nelson to his own devices. Nelson must progress with the plan regardless, and from high up in the mountains at a pinch point in the pass attacks a strategically held Taliban strong hold that they must overthrow to gain access to Mazar-i-Sharif, but encounters heavy resistance from Razzan and his well armed men.

Under attack form all sides, Spencer and his men hold off a group of Taliban fighters, who make as if to surrender. Not knowing if they are serious or not, Spencer treads very carefully and cautiously, just as a suicide bomber close by detonates his explosive vest, badly injuring Spencer and killing various others - mostly of the Taliban kind. Nelson orders a medevac for Spencer before joining the fray once more against the heavily fortified Taliban. Dostum appears with his militia men and the now strengthened combined forces repel the Taliban on horseback all guns blazing, and Dostum kills a fleeing Razzan.

Dostum and Atta Muhammad meet on the outskirts of Mazar-i-Sharif overseen by Nelson, who is fearing the worst when the two meet. But Dostum holds out his hand and congratulates his Northern Alliance ally today (for tomorrow he may feel differently). Upon arriving back at the Army Base Camp, Nelson learns that Spencer has survived meaning that all twelve men who went out, returned safe. ODA 595 return home to the US after 23 days in country.

This is a well made based on a true story recent war film that is underpinned by great cinematography, well realised action set pieces, a strong cast and a lesser known story of heroics against the odds delivered by an unproven Captain leading a small but capable band of brothers into the very first US engagement with the Taliban following the 9/11 attacks. The film however, lacks depth - it lurches from one bloody confrontation to another with aerial shots of bombs dropping on the terrain and wiping out Taliban strongholds, and how the few horseridng soldiers and local militia so successfully manage to wipe out hordes of well armed, mountain dwelling Taliban. Uncle Sam wields his can of whoop ass in the usual predictable manner against a local enemy that boasts numbers, firepower, resilience and motivation, but fear not because truth, justice and the American way will prevail. And other than Nelson, Spencer, intelligence Sergeant Sam Diller (Michael Pena) and weapons expert Ben Milo (Trevante Rhodes) we get to know very little about the eight remaining ODA 595 Team, who all survive and come back home against seemingly overwhelming odds largely unscathed, which is surprising in itself, but clearly fact! Like 'The Magnificent 12' riding in to Dodge to right the wrongs of the local cattle rustlers, this surrogate Western film deals with the action and less of the motivation, the emotion, the consequences, or what's going on around the periphery . . . but I guess that is the point here, and for that you can't fault the film.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-