The Outpost Review - Emotional, Gripping Performances, Solid War Drama

Details

Category: Streaming, Cable

Published on Thursday, 02 July 2020 15:06

Written by Janet Walker

The Outpost, from Millennium Media and Screen Media Films, presents the true story of the epic battle of Kamdesh, an Afghanistan outpost, and the heroic soldiers who held the line against facing sure death the Taliban invasion.

Directed by Rod Lurie, and based on the book by Jake Tapper, The Outpost stars Orlando Bloom, Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Milo Gibson, Bobby Lockwood, Jacob Scipio, Jack Kesy, Celina Sinden, Aleksandar Aleksiev, Taylor John Smith, Alexander Arnold, Cory Hardrict, James Jagger, Chris Born, Henry Hughes, George Arvidson, Kwame Patterson, and Will Attenborough along with a solid company of extras.

The film begins in route with Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha, played by Scott Eastwood, and Staff Sgt Ty Carter, played by Caleb Landry Jones, Staff Sgt. Justin T. Gallegos played by Jacob Scipio, in route to on to Camp Keating, a hole in the ground command outpost, buried deep in a ravine.

Arriving in the dark of night, the new recruits are met by First Lieutenant Benjamin Keating, played by an unrecognizable Orlando Bloom, who runs a fair but tight platoon of courageous soldiers and who appears to thrive in the harsh conditions. By morning, the new recruits realize the vulnerability of their position.

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Taking the tour of the camp, the men are immediately fired upon, and we find out it is a daily routine. The outpost is the target of local Afghan rebels, and Taliban fighters. With each day, even as they soldiers are sent into the villages to attempt to build loyalty the camp remains a target.

Throughout this we meet the soldiers, each who are planning for the future, returning to loved ones, furthering careers all while knowing that each are a sniper's shot from returning home in a body bag. And we meet those who are on the U.S. military payroll, Afghans who show up for employment, "inside the wire" each day.

Many of the men have survived here, at this death trap of an outpost for some time, and as we see, have become conditioned to the local Afghan interpreter who almost daily cries, like the boy who cried wolf, "The Taliban are coming." The running joke at the camp is that when he is running from the Taliban, he'll be serious.

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The first hour of The Outpost is daily life, intertwining with the ravages of war, the assassination of a solider blowup so close to another that he is splattered with blood and brain matter. The experience leaves him ready to commit suicide.

At this point we have seen preventable killings and are invested in the lives of our soldiers hoping each of them return home. The film presents the realities of war, and with that, the absurdities of orders that can not be accomplished, the concern for the enemy over the life of the solider, and the trauma of modern warfare and soldiers dedicated to their nation, able to deliver in the clinch, loyal and courageous.

Of course, on one of his weekly runs, our Afghan interpreter screams again of the Taliban fighters on their way to the camp which sets up the epic battle that runs the second hour of the film.

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It is authentic, engrossing, absorbing combat as more than three hundred Taliban fighters charge down the hills, armed with RPG's, machine guns, and have an attack plan in place to disable the camp's communication system, making it impossible to radio for backup and walk into the wire, kill all the men and raise the Taliban flag.

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The Outpost captures modern war and it is not pretty. No drone strikes from the Vegas desert, this is boots on the ground, life deep in the hills of Afghanistan, against a people who waged a jihad against the American, and every kill, for both sides, is one step closer to victory.

The performances are gripping. Riveting to the end, as many who will see this film will understand the expectation is that all will die. The cast present a brave band of soldiers, determined, dedicated and hell bent on standing their ground. Captivating and emotional to the end.

The Outpost premieres in theaters and On Demand July 3, 2020. See it. Check local listings for theaters times.