I Am Soldier

This film portrays the demanding and selective path to join the UK's elite force (SAS). But it is weak and with a very basic plot/script. The TV reality show on which civilians go through a very similar process is more emotional than the movie. It portrays with realism, but it is very dull!

I recommend it to anyone who has interest in integrate SAS and wants to get a sense of what they are going to get into.

I didn't expect much but for some unknown reason wanted to give it a go after reading a handful of positive reviews.

The movie starts out OK, with a pretty decent depiction of the SAS selection, some even shot on location in Hereford but then "Mickey" receive his beret and its all downhill from there (about last 10 minutes of the movie). Skipping years of following jungle training, arctic training etc he is thrown straight into action when Carters team is ordered to take down a terrorist cell, complete with some hand-held nuke/dirty bomb gizmo...

The assault is so unprofessional and uninterestingly filmed that I first thought it must be some kind of training but no. I was left with a feeling of "What just happened?" It was like somebody had throw in some action shot by some high-school-YouTube-home-movie-makers at the end after the filming had ended and it made it through the distribution process without anyone noticing.

I feel the other reviews for this film to be somewhat unfair, yes it'll never win any Oscars nor will it go down as an epic, I feel it certainly provides a fair amount of realism with regard to the selection process, being a former squaddie and in my early years having gone through the same selection process and failed miserably, I feel I can comment from first hand. All I can say is from a personal experience the film certainly portrays a realistic and brutal experience. Watching this film brought back some terrible memories that I would rather forget. If any squaddies currently serving is looking to do this selection course, trust me watch this film, well at least watch the first three quarters and it will give you a taster as to what to expect.

It is a low budget film, pretty poor acting and the end mission a complete let down and unprofessional acting, but nevertheless overall entertaining, therefore 6 stars.

I feel that most of these reviews are unfair, and would point to the only soldier posting one who said it was a decent portrayal of the process. Perhaps they didn't follow the plot, judging from another getting upset that the protagonist was a cook, since we find out his full story later on, which explains that. I also wonder if it upset people because it doesn't follow the normal clichés of who the strong are, those unstated truisms that have been created in military movies made in the US. It is true that the hero is not some muscle-bound superhero, so what? It's not about fighting powerfully, it's about fighting smart.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, for a non-soldier it felt realistic in a way most military films don't to me. It isn't pretty - but it shouldn't be. The acting is good - what others are talking about I don't know, I may not know many soldiers, but I was brought up in theatres and I know acting - we're not talking awards here, but it's solid work. The script is passable, there are some plot devices that could have been left out - it is by no means a perfect film, but well worth the watch.

I really wanted to love this. Not because I'm that much of a fan of 'war movies' in general, but I just liked the premise, i.e. seeing what it takes to be part of the S.A.S. (something that I would never be able to do myself, due to being too addicted to comfy sofas, Playstation and takeaway pizza – apparently the world's toughest soldiers aren't allowed any of these during missions).

The story follows two recruits (each with their own personal demons) as they go on an S.A.S. training mission in the British wilderness to see if they have what it takes. I won't tell you if they succeed or not, only that I wouldn't have made it for five minutes.

Noel Clarke (Kidulthood) is one of their various 'drill sergeant-type figures' who is there to mentor them as they go and he does his best to lift the film out of mediocrity. He's about the only star you may really recognise. And, perhaps that's one of the film's main faults: it screams 'cheapness' at all times. It has no real big name actors and the dialogue and acting talent on show isn't exactly top drawer. However, its bleakness does add a level of realism to the film that gives you quite an overall gritty tone.

I've read comments online about how there are blatant errors in the story. These seem to all come from people who have actually served in the military and can spot when a British soldier gives an American salute (I didn't even know there were two different types!). But, from my completely nonexistent military background, no 'factual errors' were apparent. If I had to guess I'd say this was a reasonable portrayal as to how tough recruits have it. I rolled my eyes more when our two recruits encounter an attractive woman on the train, only for her to 'coincidently' show up a few scenes later.

It's not perfect and definitely isn't for everybody. But if you're in the mood for something gritty and brutal, plus you like soldier movies in general, give it a go. It's not the longest of films, so you won't feel like you've invested too much of your life in it anyway.

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