Ambush

Don't know who they hired as military advisor on this movie or if they even had one. Uniforms were wrong, ranks were wrong, military courtesies were wrong, weapons were wrong for the time period. Acting was bad which I did not expect with actors like Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Thomas Janes in the cast. I know it's a movie and for entertainment but as a retired Marine with over twenty three years of active service as well as a history buff I was greatly disappointed in the film it had just too many errors to be enjoyed. I can't believe that I paid $15 for this movie that I will probably never watch again.

Had the convoluted, disjointed, unremarkable and tedious screenplay from the three writers been cut down to about 80 mins, this may have been more enjoyable. Certainly more enjoyable than having to listen to cliched tropes and long dragged out and repetitive scenes of dead end turns in an underground maze. I get that this was a low-mid budget B film, and although I have seen much worse, this film actually could've been more enjoyable with better directing and major script cuts and edits. The cinematography was decent, and surprisingly for a B film, the score was on point. Even much of the acting was better than I expected. Nice idea, but sadly, terrible execution.

This is the most amateurish piece of work I've ever seen. Wrong weapons, wrong uniforms, wrong rank insignias (dozens of them), wrong rations. There is no way, NO WAY, they had any US Army consultant, or even any input from an Army veteran.

In one scene, the nutritional value of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) is discussed. The problem is that MREs were first distributed in 1981. The basic combat meals in Vietnam were the good old C Rations. C-Rats. C's. Etc.

As to uniforms . . . What a mess! This was FUBAR from the get-go. Stripes being worn like shoulder insignia. Officers with shiny rank, not subdued, and rank but no branch. Most actors have no idea how to properly wear a beret, but this cast takes it to a new level of hilarity. A French chef might be impressed, but certainly not a soldier. They just look simply ridiculous.

So, spare yourself the pain of watching bad acting and a pointless plot performed by people apparently dressed up for Trick-or Treat. Just double time right on past this one.

It's a shame three things spoilt what could have been a reasonably good film. Firstly, Aaron Eckhart is a great actor so I hope they paid him well for the day it took to shoot his scenes on a the one set. He was shoehorned into the movie so they could use his name. Secondly, who builds a camp in hostile territory with no walls or lookouts? An open playground would have had more protection from the rain of enemy bullets. And lastly, the dog. Let's not forget the dog. For a tracker dog that is supposed to lead the way while straining on it's leash, the damn thing had to be dragged everywhere. Where did the production company get it? The local pound? The actors were good, the concept was good, the cinematography was good. Just a damn shame the production was lacking.

The lack of any effort to have a military consultant chime in and just fix the basic stuff around military customs and courtesy, or rank structure would have given this movie an additional 3 stars from me.

• Captains do not give orders to Lt. Colonels.

• Junior Non-Commissioned Officers do not command 50 guys at a forward operating base.

• Superiors do not address their juniors as sir. It is a courtesy shown to the higher rank.

Any recently discharged servicemember could have been hired for peanuts, probably just a movie credit alone, as a consultant to this movie, and it wouldn't have pissed off a generation of veterans, and would have improved the script.