12 Strong

This year's second visit to the cinema. Another modern war flick set in Afghanistan, where a 12-strong group of soldiers are tasked with taking down the Taliban with the help of an Afghan warlord. In terms of the cast, the film is packed: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, and for a debut it has very solidly executed action scenes, with explosions like Michael Bay, plenty of rawness and the combination of horses with M4s against tanks has something going for it. I'm not as intense as 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, but still a decent affair that I enjoyed in the cinema. 75% (30.01.2018)

Thor and General Zod on horseback against the Taliban. A well-made, textbook example of a movie, but nothing more. No personal angle. In his debut, Fuglsig offers nothing extra. It’s simply glorification of the American way of making war (let’s drop bombs no them). But the horse vs. tank action scenes are well-made and raw. Just a shame that we don’t learn much about the Uzbek general. (19.02.2020)

This time, Vinnetou and Old Shatterhand fight together against evil tribes far away in Afghanistan, supported by spectacular, visually elaborate Bruckheimer-like effects. At times a parody, at times a poorly made war film. If it's really based on a true story, then it deserves a much more raw, believable treatment. (21.04.2018)