Director: William Eubank
Starring: Liam Hemsworth, Russell Crowe
Running Time: 114 minutes
Synopsis: A black ops Delta Force unit led by Master Sergeant John 'Sugar' Sweet (Milo Ventimiglia) is dispatched into the Philippines jungles to rescue a captured CIA operative. The Air Force's Sergeant Kinney (Liman Hemsworth) is a late addition and the least experienced member of the team. From Las Vegas, Captain Eddie 'Reaper' Grimm provides remote drone support. Sugar's unit runs into trouble after encountering Abu Sayyaf militants: Kinney has to survive on his own, with Reaper his only means of support.
What Works Well: This gritty military adventure follows the robust traditions of missions-gone-wrong, and is delivered with the expected buckets of sweat, macho bravado, and gung-ho celebrations of combat. Director and co-writer William Eubank inserts bursts of action and moments of quiet tension at regular intervals, and polishes the highlights with rational editing. In between the shooting, sniping, knifing, and hand to hand fights to the death, humanity surfaces in strengthened bonds between the men, especially the continent-spanning connection between Reaper and Kinney. The climax is a manic countdown thrill.
What Does Not Work As Well: The antagonists could have benefited from much sharper definitions. The lack of discipline in Reaper's unit (the men are distracted by a televised basketball game) and their dependence on an ancient wall-mounted phone are questionable plot devices. While Russell Crowe brings plenty of heart to the role of a caring drone operator, his rotund frame no longer fits into a military uniform.
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