The Outpost

During the first half I was trying to get to know each soldier and not wrap my head around how much of a lunatic they must have been to build the base in that particular place, watching the parade of changing commanders and wondering what was to come. I didn't expect the second half of the film to be practically one big action set-piece, and such an intense, gripping and great one at that. The Outpost may not be a big movie, but Rod Lurie did everything he could to make sure that every dollar of the budget was used and that not a single blank bullet went unfired. At the right moment, he can use a long take to add to the atmosphere, and the viewer really can't be sure who, if anyone, will live to see the end credits. By the way, the end credits, which feature several survivors speaking, are really powerful. No, The Outpost is definitely not an ode to Americans in Afghanistan, it's a perfectly (anti-)war film that you'll remember for a long time. (02/05/2022)

A perfectly modern war film about defending a US base in the Hindukush mountains against the uncompromising Taliban. Honestly, it is much better than I expected, and if it wasn't for Black Hawk Down and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, I would have given it a full score. Without a doubt, The Outpost is better than the recent Mosul from Netflix. Orlando Bloom and the likable Scott Eastwood are the stars, and in the first hour there is a very good introduction to the 60 soldiers who reside in the base. The character development is good, the military lines are accurate, and the calm before the storm is atmospherically appropriate, and probably no one expected a 40-minute war hell to break loose after an hour, which is intense, thrilling, and visually captivating. It's a bit disappointing that the gore was toned down, but it is still a well-directed, brilliantly acted, and suspenseful war film that I really enjoyed. Story***, Action****, Humor****, Violence***, Entertainment****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Tension****. 8/10. (01/04/2021)

When you go into a war movie, you expect a war movie, and the fact that you get decent characters to relate to is just a bonus. The Outpost delivers on both fronts perfectly, and is one of the best mainstream American films of its kind in a long time. In the first half, you think there's more than enough action already, but the entire second hour is an incessant battle for the beleaguered outpost and those 60-minute unabated gunfire in my headphones will play in my ears for hours after watching the film. Characters die like on a treadmill (Orlando Bloom didn't even last 30 minutes), there's more than enough blood, bullets and mortars and, although I missed more varied action like knives, shotguns, grenades and the like, I'm drooling with bliss and have enough action for at least two weeks. The Outpost can actually easily rank with the likes of Black Hawk Down or 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. (01/07/2021)