The Outpost

I thought this would be a B movie, but it is actually really good. It is truly intense, and brings you to the outpost where you feel threatened and desperate. I really enjoyed it.

I came to this as a silly B action flick, but it was very well acted, directed and edited. It feels very realistic and intense, and way more profound than I thought it would be. You come to care deeply for these guys and the absurdity of their sacrifice, the stupidity of war, especially in these circumstances. It ended up being way more moving, interesting and even thought-provoking than your typical dumb action blockbuster, as fast paced as it is.

I did two combat deployments to Afghanistan and one to Iraq. I can tell you without a doubt this movie is the most accurate representation of FOB/COP life, soldier lingo, and to an extent the combat.

Most reviews I've read complain of sub-par dialogue and not a clear story as to what was going on prior to the attack, but I bet that most of the reviews were from people who have never been to war. In war Dialogue between soldiers is not interesting, it's dark, unfiltered, and usually disgusting. We degrade each other, fight each other, we say things so offensive and disgusting that most people would think we have issues. In war you also don't always have a clear cut mission that you can make into some grand Hollywood story. When you deploy you are supposed to find bad guys and help locals, that's it. Those hoping war has some interesting story will be disappointed. You sit around bored, exhausted, missing home, working out, eating garbage food, piss in tubes/bottles (first movie I've seen that showed the bottles), burn your own crap, watch movies, go on patrol and hope you don't get blasted in an IED. Every so often you get a big mission where the combat gets intense. Then it's rinse and repeat, that's how it is and I'm sure prior to the attack, that's how life on Keating was. This movie depicts life in the military so accurately that I was like "my gosh finally someone did it, they got it right it". So to anyone reading this, this is as real as you'll find it until something else is made. All those who talk smack about it are idiot keyboard warriors.

The combat itself is good, explosions look real even the CGI ones were ok, none of that dumb fireball explosion crap, the dust and smoke generated from shooting and explosions to the point the soldiers in the movie were coughing from it was legit. Now I wasn't in this battle but I've been in my fair share of fights I can tell you that tracer rounds aren't as fruitful as you see here. Most of the time you get shot at and have no idea where it came from except maybe a general direction. Muzzle flashes also are hard to see unless it's at night and you could see them all over in this movie. Usually you just see dust or smoke from where they shot, not flashes. But Hollywood has to do this for the effect as it does makes firefights look cool and without seeing tracer bullets whiz by it takes away from the intensity.

Also the soldiers were able to yell and talk to each other from long distances. Yea that doesn't happen, war is ungodly loud, you have to be screaming in a dudes ear to hear you.

When the air support showed up finally, how it was being controlled didn't make sense, but that's just me being nit picky as not many people know what the hell is going on with that.

The tactics were decent, you could tell there was some military advising for sure but some things didn't make sense. Not sure if that's how it happened or just Hollywood though.

Overall if you want to watch the most realistic depiction of how the war in Afghanistan is, this is it. To all the naysayers saying this is garbage, hate the way the soldiers talk to each other, or wish there was a more clear story/mission, you obviously have never been there.

RIP to all the fallen in this battle.

I thought this would be a bit of a B-movie when I sat to watch it; partly because there aren't many 'big' films coming out at the moment, but also because it does feel like it is dressed up as a rather generic war movie. This feeling is a little justified perhaps, but mostly The Outpost does perform, in particular in the second half where the famous 4-day battle to hold the camp is played out. There isn't a lot of character-building, or strong dialogue scenes, but to be fair the functional talk and focus on structure does fit with the military nature of the story, and actually moments where we do get little details added to the characters mostly feel a bit clunky and unnatural within the bigger film.

War is hell is clearly spelt out throughout the film, but in particular the second half sees a barrage on the camp and the viewer is effectively put in the middle of it. It is well-played so it is never 'exciting' like a war movie; heroics are not overdone but are just 'done' in a matter of fact way; deaths are not flamboyant or choreographed but rather they just happen, often with brutal suddenness. It all has an intensity that is befitting those that went through the real thing, and every aspect is targeted well to play to the chaos. The camerawork stands out during this. There are a few moments in the film where the camerawork is interesting but actually distracts from the moment because of how the camera moves (the bridge scene for example), but in the second half the mobility of the camera combined with the longer shots do work well to put the viewer in the midst of it all. The cast may not have a lot to work with in the detail, but they are wholly convincing in terms of their situation - you believe their lives are on the line and that they are under intense unending pressure.

It is not a flawless film by any means, but it does what it wants to do and does it well - particularly delivering in that intense second half.

The Outpost, directed by Rod Lurie and based on the book by Jack Tapper is a brilliant film about survival and strength faced upon certain death.

The movie is based on the true story of the battle of Kamdesh, one of the hardest battles fought in the war in Afghanistan.

The movie centers around the soldiers who fought during the battle, who had to watch their friends die, and lived to tell this story in memoriam of those they lost.

The movie is brilliant because of 2 elements in my mind: the first one being telling a good story about survival, and courage the soldiers showed during battle that saved their friends. In general I love war movies that tell a story of courage and that in the end we get to know the true figures of the story. The movie experts in showing the audience who those men were and why they are important to remember.

The second thing that makes this movie brilliant is the filming. For example, one of the first scenes of the movie is a long shot that indicates the horrible strategic location of the Outpost, how the characters are completely exposed to enemy fire. Moreover, the over the shoulder filming is great as well, the camera movements following the characters throughout the film gives a more realistic point of view and image.

In conclusion, The movie is based on real events and in my opinion it does a great job giving full respect to the story and its events surrounding it.

The cast was fantastic and really compelling, the cinematography was very well done. Overall a good movie that I recommend for those who are into it.