12 Strong (2018)

I watched this movie after attending a meeting where Afghanistan War veterans noted that this was the movie that they thought best captured their experience in theater better than anything else on film.  Twelve men go in, twelve come out, under difficult circumstances and overwhelming odds.
The producer of this is Jerry Bruckheimer, who is not known for his subtlety and understatement, but that’s surprisingly what “12 Strong” ends up being.  That’s not to say it’s completely restrained, by any means. In telling a tale of real-life heroism against staggering odds, this is a rousing war picture, meant to stir equal amounts of excitement and patriotism. Set soon after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,  the movie is packed with protracted battle sequences, full of deafening bombings and seemingly endless amounts of gunfire. The cumulative effect is draining; you’ll walk out of the theater with the feeling that you, too, have gone to war – and an appreciation for those who are brave enough to do so themselves.