Outpost movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Outpost Currently, this movie is available on Fandango and Vulu.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 2 hours, 3 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

Based on a true story and the book written about it, this military drama features a small team of U.S. soldiers stationed in a remote area in Afghanistan and their battle against hundreds of Taliban fighters to hold their impossibly under-protected outpost in Kamdesh. This movie is not for the faint of heart, but definitely worth a watch to learn about the heroes and this battle in history. This riveting combat film is directed by Rod Lurie and dedicated to his son who died from cardiac arrest at 27 when the movie was in pre-production.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity, including LOTS of F-bombs and super crude language. Those who have been to war and in intense situations like the ones shown in the film say that’s extremely realistic.
You see the naked backside of a soldier
Blood
High body count
Lots of different kinds of weapons

THEMES:

Courage
Valor
Brotherhood
The cost of war and freedom
Trust

THINGS I LIKED:

I haven’t seen Orlando Bloom in anything for a while, so it was good to see him again. I was impressed with his American accent.
There are some serious Hollywood pedigrees in the impressive cast: Scott Eastwood (son of Clint Eastwood), Milo Gibson (son of Mel Gibson), Scott Alda Coffey (grandson of Alan Alda), Will Attenborough (grandson of Richard Attenborough), and James Jagger (Mick Jagger).
If you like first-shooter video games, you’ll feel like you’re in one for 2 hours. You’re really in the center of the firefight.
Impressive technical filmmaking. The long takes that wind you around and through the battle are amazing.
Caleb Landry Jones is outstanding.
There are a ton of cultural references that take you back in time to 2009 when these events occurred.
I don’t know why but I always love it when movies reference other movies. There’s a short scene when the soldiers start talking about Band of Brothers DVD Box Set which is a fantastic WWII TV series. Before I let my son enlist in the Army, I made him watch that series, as well as the movie Saving Private Ryan , so he could have a more realistic view of war, rather than romanticize it like many young men tend to do.
There is some humor. A little bit more would have been nice to balance out all of the intense drama and action sequences.
I’m always amazed at how they film war movies like this. The combat sequences were incredible.
Keep watching to the very end of the film. You get to see the pictures and videos at the end of the movie of the real men who fought this battle. Sobering. These incredible men deserved every medal they received, as well as everything else we can give them. Our vets deserve the best.
I loved the song that played at the end of the film “Everybody Cries” performed by Rita Wilson.
Listen carefully to what one of the soldiers said about the purpose of Memorial Day and take note next time that American holiday rolls around.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It’s a shame that this movie can’t be shown on the Big Screen in the USA because most theaters are still shut down. It’s an extremely immersive film and deserves the largest screen possible.
Who on earth decided to put that outpost at the bottom of a valley surrounded by mountains where the Taliban could easily pick off the soldiers?! It makes me furious that these poor American soldiers were sent to defend an impossible site without the support they needed.
There is a lot of trash talk.
While you get a small taste of each of the soldiers, there really isn’t much time spent on big character arcs.
Some scenes are super dark at night time, which will make streaming the movie on small devices later on really difficult for viewing.

FUNNY LINES:

* “It’s not like funny, ha ha….more like a black comedy.” – soldier

INTERESTING LINES: