The Outpost

This was my unit, I was there during this attack. First off I wanna say I had nothing to do with the making of this movie, I never gave advice or story towards this. I was not asked by anyone for a character of me to be played by an actor. To be honest I wish they didn't make this movie, the actions that day where for us only, not for the world to see in a Hollywood movie. As for the movie itself it was somewhat realistic of the events but once again it's made by Hollywood and made to look heroic when it wasn't, we almost lost the COP that day as well as our lives. 90% of the time the boredom was unbearable. Not sure what else to say, some movies don't need to be made and just left alone.

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 was a 2LT on my first deployment to Afghanistan and a Captain by my third. I am guessing that the film producers used some top notch military advisors, because, frankly, the book was sloppily written and full of cliches and errors on many levels. But the film itself is, for the already problematic and almost never accurate in detail or large picture, genre of war film, quite a good film. On of the professional reviewers I read complained about troops "bullying each other." Really? WTF. That is very accurate and perfectly natural. Everyone is on the edge of their nerves and the banter you hear is accurate. There are a few small technical problems with the way the Taliban troops are shown to deploy and fight. But overall what you are looking at in this film is fairly true. Could it have done more to convey the visceral nature of the fighting around some of the FOB and outposts? Yes, but I am not sure how.

Give it a watch.

I only go off what I have read, what I know from people that served and had the chance to speak to and what I generally have seen in other films.

This is one of those films that depicts the chaos and brutality of war a bit too close to reality and it's not pretty so people tend to judge it harshly because it's hard to understand or accept something if you haven't experienced it. The battle sequences are nothing short of breathtaking. The filmmakers have meticulously crafted these scenes to make us feel as if we are right alongside the soldiers, experiencing every adrenaline-pumping moment. Great!

In terms of the cast, their performances add depth to the characters and make the emotional impact of the story more potent. As bullets fly by we see the extent of their bravery, determination, commitment and camaraderie. I also loved hearing the interviews at the end. Another reminder of the sacrifices made.

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.