It is surprising that former critic and American director Rod Laurie returned to the cinema after almost a decade, as his last movie was Straw Dogs in 2011. Laurie is a semi-specialized in political or police films with a political flavor, and his most famous and best-known deterrence of 1999 was “Deterrence” 1999. The Contender "The Rival" in 2000. This movie, "The Outpost", which is taken from a true story mentioned in a book with the same title, by Jake Tapper is the second after "extraction" this year deserves a cinematic experience even if it is home, especially because of the literal action scenes that revolve In the course of a war. Unlike the "King of Staten Island" and "U Shodh Half Lift", which would not add anything if it was shown in cinematography.
The movie immerses the viewer in the experience as other films of a military nature, such as "Black Hawk Down" 2002 by Ridley Scott and Saving Private Ryan, by Stephen Spielberg, or in other words, casting the viewer at the heart of the battle.
The harshness of the area
A snapshot of the film is repeated, in which we see the nature of the rugged mountainous region surrounding the Keating military base in Kamdesh, Afghanistan, where the events of the movie take place, and Lori paves through it for the daily troubles that the soldiers will go through, especially because of the geography of the place.
The opening clip of the movie, by Italian photographer Lorenzo Senatori, is the most expressive of the harsh terrain of the region, and how the rule around the film was in the worst position: in the center of a deep valley. The bad location gives an advantage to the enemy - the Taliban militia that controls parts of Afghanistan - their ability to hide behind rocks directly overlooking the base, and thus to shoot at the soldiers below them with ease.
The reason for choosing the location is its proximity to the Pakistani border, where an Afghan community resides there. American soldiers try to form friendship and trust with his notables and individuals, but those relations were quickly marred by a sense of treachery and betrayal on the Afghan side, which does not easily distinguish between his enemy and his ally, so what crime is committed by individuals « Taliban », notables accuse American soldiers of it.
The first hour
Lowry and screenwriter Paul Tamasy and Eric John (both books of The Fighter 2010) adopt a piecemeal approach to the first hour of the movie, this hour is mostly about soldiers in Kamdesh, and they suffer catastrophes that require the visibility of new leaders.
Among the characteristics of this watch are routine dialogues, which are interrupted by scenes of crossfire, and then resume interlaced. The soldiers are very close to the age and came from the same background, and they all go through a feeling that they all take turns, and it is a great boredom in a military base very far from civilization, mixed with the constant terror of an imminent attack that may happen at any moment.
This is what Laurie succeeds in conveying to the viewer, who is surprised by stray bullets amid dialogues, which enhances a general feeling of uneasiness, and pity for personalities subject to death in a jiffy.
Among the dialogues there are faces that barely distinguish them, although some are stars, such as Lieutenant Benjamin Keating (Orlando Bloom), Sergeant Clint Romisha (Scott Eastwood), Tay Michael Carter (Caleb Landry Jones), and Captain Robert Williskas (Mayo Gibson).
Everyone performs at Outpost better than normal for films of this genre, and these are Lori's strengths. He wants the viewer to notice that every soldier is an ordinary man, then give each soldier the exact position he needs to extract the required performance.
For example, if we look at Scott Eastwood, the son of film legend Clint Eastwood, his performance is reminiscent of that of his father in his youth in the early 1970s. This is no coincidence, Lori knows what he's doing. It is impossible to see someone who is able to perform Scott and does not remember the performance of his father Clint, especially in the shot in which he says: “No, not today.” Scott mimics his father’s voice and even the way he speaks, as if Clint Eastwood himself said it. It is no coincidence that Scott's character is named Clint. The same is true of Kilb Jones, whose performance radiates brilliance in the second half of the film, although the features of his face hardly appear in the bruises, dust and smoke.
two o'clock
It consists of the second hour of the attack on that military base Keating on the third of October 2009, and that incident is one of the most violent modern attacks that have occurred since the September strikes. Cut it to Lori in one hour, during which you won't be able to overlook the screen. The story is that the news of the closure of Al Qaeda Keating reached the Taliban fighters, so they decided to send a message, which is to push 300 fighters armed with machine guns and sniper rifles. In this section, Laurie tends to employ Ridley Scott's style, which is flying bullets as soldiers yell at each other with military orders.
But Lori does not get lost in the action, does not forget the human side, and does not resort to cheap tricks to cover the shortcomings of the scenario, and these are sometimes from the falls of the American director Peter Berg. This is not the first movie to reveal how human errors caused loss of life, as the Battle of Kamdish resulted in disciplinary decisions against the military who failed to support Al Qaeda in the first place. As it is said, "crises create opportunities and failures impose heroes." He rises the balance with a lori film, as he is holding the action from the middle, never leaving him leaning toward blind patriotism, especially in light of the severe political division taking place in the United States these days, and at the same time he does not charge him with reprimand or blame for a broken military regime that has caused many lives to be lost, Rather, his focus is on one thing, and it is these human beings who are crammed into that battle in the heart of a besieged valley. The battle ended with the intervention of the air force, and that was after the killing of eight American soldiers and four of their Afghan colleagues, while the Taliban suffered heavy losses and lost half of the number they sent.
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Not a coincidence
The Battle of Keating base is the first in 50 years for which the Courage Medal was awarded to two surviving soldiers: Clint Romisha and Tai Michael Carter.
It is noteworthy that the film was released during the American Independence Day holiday, which happened on the fourth of July, and until the date of its release is not a coincidence.
• October 3, 2009, the date of the attack on Keating base, which is around the second hour of the movie.
• The movie immerses the viewer in the experience as other films of a military nature, or in other words, cast the viewer at the center of the battle.
• He rises the balance with Lori film, as he is holding the action from the middle, never leaving him leaning toward blind patriotism .