Special Forces (2012)

Best movie of this year hands down!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I don't get it. 6+ is a pretty high rating on IMDb. This movie did not deserve it. Have any of these people seen Black Hawk Down ? Hurt Locker? This just doesn't compare. At all. The character development is bleak. I mean, it's there, but horrible choices of what to show and develop these characters with . The main problem with this movie is that it just isn't realistic. I usually love French movies and was looking forward to this. I think they were trying to copy the American typical action movie. But this is way worse because this isn't what the French do. Or what they are good at. For instance, I would never hand a Frenchman a gun if I could hand him a piece of paper or a pan. They excel in some areas and a vapid movie isn't one of them. The soundtrack is terrible by the way. Almost so bad it ruins the movie. Skip this. Go watch a real war movie.

Wow wow wow where to begin... I started this movie with the expectation that it was going to be just a campy B-Movie, with some cool action scenes and cheesy one liners (with a generic name like "Special Forces"). Little did I know I sat through 2 hours of the best choreographed, best acted, and most heart wrenching tale, I have seen in a long time. It is pretty much the French version of Sole Survivor. Djimon Hounsou strikes again as one of the best actors I have ever seen, I consider my self a "tough guy", but his emotional moments had me fighting back the tears. Another favorite character of mine was Raphaël Personnazs' character of the Rookie Elias. He was that guy we all want to be when we think of a hero. He always acts without regard to himself to save lives, and is torn apart seeing Innocent people killed, but the movie does a good job of showing that war is a terrible thing. Lastly as being someone whom served in Afghanistan, I can say the military choreography was spot on. The actors did an excellent job of of reenacting combat. This is a must see and I already ordered the Blue Ray off Amazon, because this is a must watch, and I want it in my movie library. 5 out of 5

Without going into a plot summary, others have done that, it is almost impossible to list the things wrong - in a technical sense - with this movie. None of the characters who play soldiers have a clue about basic combat, they fire standing and grouped together, ignoring available cover. They abseil slowly, one at a time, from a chopper in a situation where there would have been less risk to the men and the aircraft if it landed to disembark them. The story might be fine for those who do not have a military background or training, but for me it was almost a comedy. They had an initial pick-up point a ludicrous distance from the operation, considering that right from the start they were expected to be transporting possibly wounded civilians. Not one part of the story was likely or plausible to me. It was the sort of thing you could imagine being dreamed up by a teenage girl whose sole experience was based on comic books. Very disappointing.

Maina gives Elsa an interview. She reveals her face, and the fact that her family sold her as a child to Zaief. This sets the stage for all the difficulties that follow.Emily is kidnapped, French special forces gather to rescue her with the backing of the highest reaches of the French government.Zaief has an interview with a high-ranking religious figure; he does not quite get the blessing he had hoped for. Maina and some of her supporters are murdered, firing squad style. The Special Forces group does not intervene, since their orders are for reconnaissance only.They find Elsa and Amen early on, and start the long and winding escort to freedom.Forty minutes in, their expected evacuation by helicopter fails due to lack of radio contact. This seemed a bit implausible, but allowed the rest of the screenplay to proceed.They continue with the odds against them. Sacrifices are made, and the mission is eventually successful in a technical sense.----Scores-----Cinematography: 10/10 Top notch; magnificent visuals.Sound: 10/10 Great sound.Acting: 8/10 I thought the actors performed well versus the script.Screenplay: 7/10 Dragged a bit in the middle. A small number of the fighting tactics looked amateurishly stupid. Compared to a number of recent American action films, this is intelligent, well plotted, and engaging.