Allegiance (2012)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This film is actually really very good in places. It is set on an army base where units of the National Guard have been called up and are due to be deployed to an Iraqi war zone. Their erstwhile Lieutenant has used his daddy's political clout to get him a cushy transfer so he can stay Stateside with his fiancée. Meanwhile the unit's paramedic (Reyes)– whose young son has terminal cancer – has been told his permission to stay home has been revoked. What transpires is the efforts of the guys to do what they think is right in the face of military bureaucratic, indifference. We also have the story of the replacement Lieutenant and some of the back stories of the soldiers involved.Now I loved the premise and the first third of this film works extremely well. Then we start to get plot holes or contrivances and that is when it starts losing credibility. May be plot spoiler from here on in!! When Lt. Sefton runs off to the pay phone as his phone has been confiscated. In the previous scene Sgt Reyes was found by being called on his and phone while hiding in the truck and now he seems to have forgotten it is in his pocket. The security around this military base is a few guys with armbands on; No CCTV at all! I mean really, the protocols for prisoner control were never followed. Some of the fight scenes have all the 'blood' put on right at the end and some am dram fisty cuffs at that. These all occur towards the end and all empathy I had built up started to evaporate, so it went from being really good to OK and then please don't insult my intelligence – I have to say the acting and camera work are mostly good to excellent hence my overall rating.

This is a propaganda film about USA military honor.The movie quality was good (7/10) plot was a bit predictable and moral was IMO bad. Sacrificing yourself for a "greater cause" to help your country aka protecting corporate elites interests is not a moral I share.I liked the movie until the ending which I was hoping to be different and if they would have had a different one I would have rated it higher.If you are an American loyalist who likes honor to country over family then this movie is for you, but if you are tired of glory to America recruit to the army now propaganda films like me don't watch it.

This is a small budget independent film that delivers a meaningful storyline and suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat. The plot is believable and the main characters, while simple, have an interesting back-story.The soundtrack is especially solid and helps the film to build intensity. Additionally, it seems the director chose a monochromatic color/hue which gives the film a unique sense of reality (void of lots of distracting colors...not sure how else to explain it).If you are interested in watching films with substance and need a change from the big Hollywood blockbusters, I suggest giving Allegiance a try.

I am not sure why is this movie having so low grade. From my point of view it is pretty much underrated. The 'thriller' genre posted over here might be misleading considering the fact that this is more drama than a thriller. No big thrills, no tones of blood but pretty good drama development. Also pretty good casting except maybe for the main role which doesn't mean that the guy doesn't act well, just that he is not really made for the character he played. Good acting and pretty good directing. The director pretty much looks like someone who hasn't made many movies but is talented and understands very well the concept of the movie development generally speaking. I love the atypical way of developing the characters in his movie where he uses face mimics, glances and silence to express the nature of the dramatic situation rather than bunch of unnecessary words. So, I recommend this movie as pretty interesting and if the director Michael Connors ever read my comment, I want him to know that he should keep up the good work.