Bravo Two Zero

I was first told about Andy McNabb from a half-insane guy who played the main character in a movie which was shot in my home town. I talked to him for a long time and we got talking about books and I mentioned I was a big Clancy fan. He said if I liked Clancy i should check out Andy McNabb. I hadn't seen Heat at the time but he recommended it because McNabb was a technical weapons training adviser on it. And he said that many people reacted very well to the fact that everyone in that movie held their guns and rifles correctly and changing the clip in a professional way. Later on i saw Heat and I was very impressed. I haven't read anything by McNabb yet but I think i will. definitely after seeing this.

The film Bravo Two Zero tells the story about eight SAS soldiers who was sent behind enemy lines in The Gulf War. The opening montage of this film sucked me straight in. a composition of old Gulf War footage and news reports. it then cuts to a title card which says that this is a true story accompanied with the song "Londons Calling" by The Clash. The film continues to be very realistic all the way through. Not much clichéd hero stuff but rather to quote that guy who first told me about McNabb: "It's about misery. This is a real story about a real James Bond. No champagne or beautiful women." And enemy is not portrayed as villains or dumb like in oh so many Hollywood films. It is rumored though that McNabb exaggerated a bit on how many enemies they killed but this isn't a very large factor in the story. The story is not about how many enemies they killed. It's about survival and misery.

This is very impressive for a TV movie and Sean Bean most certainly doesn't make it worse. Definitely recommended to you who like realistic stories like Tom Clancy's books.

When I first heard that the BBC were making a film of Bravo Two Zero starring Sean Bean I got very excited and I am pleased to say I wasn't disappointed. The whole thing positively oozes authenticity with a great attention to detail. The combat sequences had me jumping out of my seat and yet they aren't overplayed.

Sean Bean is excellent. I mean he is superb. Admittedly, his performance lends a lot to Sharpe but it doesn't suffer for it. If there was an Oscar for being hard then he should get it.

I think the only real problem with the film was that of pacing. Not that there was much they could have done about it being based on a true story but it seemed to wind down a bit too gradually. That won't stop me buying it on video however.

To sum up: I'm going to have to read the book now.

I first saw a documentary on the Discovery channel about the mission that is portrayed in this movie. I know a lot about the history of the Gulf War but I had never heard about this particular mission. I was completely fascinated as to what these soldiers went through and how they managed to deal with their incredible situation.

Then by pure coincidence, about a week later I stumbled across this movie on cable. The movie dramatized the mission slightly and gave it a very personal feeling, which is captured wonderfully by the actors portraying the soldiers. The movie gives a very real sense of the comradery, dedication, and professionalism that Special Forces troops exhibit. I would definitely recommend this movie if you have a fascination or appreciation for the military.

Well from what was written before, I would like to say 2 things to start: #1. I hope all people in the Netherlands aren't as ignorant as the person who wrote a review on war. And number 2, if you are going to bash a person by name, get it right, it's McNab, not McNam. Also at IMDB people want to hear what you thought about the movie, not your political ideas!

I feel this movie showed a picture of what these men went through and the bonds they make being on an SAS team. In my opinion, there really aren't many other professions that earn my respect more than Special Forces of any military. These men go into situations and places they shouldn't be, full well knowing that there is a great chance they won't make it out. I feel this movie balanced that idea with the idea that these men also understand that they have to get on with life and deal with the profession they have chosen. Instead of spending the budget and trying to impress the audience with flashy special effects and the newest and neatest gadgets in film making, this film spent more time on what happened and on the characters.

Having not read the book yet, I cannot say if it followed the book, however after watching the film it has sparked my interest to get McNab's books and also Ryan's book on the same subject.

I did find myself rewinding and turning the DVD subtitles on more than once as they filmed the movie using the British slang and way of speaking and military jargon. While this may make it a little more difficult for anyone who didn't grow up on the streets of England, I feel this added quite a bit to the realism of the movie.

If you can get past the fact it does not have flashy effects to keep some of you interested and the slang, I suggest this movie for any war movie buff.

One more comment on something our friend from the Netherlands said, I don't recall McNab saying he has a license to kill at the end of the movie. I'm pretty sure it was just "I'm a soldier". Get your facts straight.

This movie is one of the most realistic Military movies that I have ever seen. Of course there are the overly powerful grenades and M-72 Rocket Launchers, but other than small Hollywood type explosions this movie shows great detail about a military patrol from the weight of a Rucksack, to the drills used to break contact with the enemy, Section attacks, how to re-organize going into a defensive position. But what the movie captures the best is the interaction between the soldiers. For those of us who have been, or currently are, this movie captures the comradery, the sense of humour that is quite unique to the military, and most importantly the bond between each of us that drives us to not quit on each other.