chinth
Plot is much similar to Special Forces (2003). It is based on US special forces in a former soviet country trying to rescue a journalist. This movie is likely to be a remake of Special Forces (2003). Actors are well suited to portray the roles of Special Force soldiers, specially with the beard, as many armies allow their special forces to keep their beard unshaven.
Comet Jo
I really liked this film a lot. I thought I had kind of outgrown my war movie phase in life, but recently have started watching them again. This film is actually pretty entertaining. You do not watch these kinds of films to find inner peace, harmony, the meaning of the universe, or wow you with poetic symbolism, etc. They are for fun only, and on that level, this one succeeds indeed. It's also satisfying for me to see that the country of France still actually has a military with special forces units, and can at least make movies about them "taking care of business" against the crazy fundamentalists in the world. I always thought France would just about put up with everything. I guess they have changed their mind, or I was dead wrong about them! Also, since I saw him in Blood Diamond, I've really come to like Djimon Hounsou as an actor. Great choice to cast him in this film.
Guy
SPECIAL FORCES is basically an advertisement for the French armed forces -- and a very good one at that. After a French journalist is kidnapped in Afghanistan by the Quetta Shura (Taliban) whilst doing a story on Afghan women (that never ends well), the French decide to send in their SOF. Unfortunately, although the mission goes well, extraction is a disaster and the team find themselves trapped in Pakistan and forced to hike/fight their way to safety. Cue lots of gorgeous shots of Central Asian scenery (with bits of Africa and the Alps for good measure) as the boys - all played by grizzled character actors - fight both the elements and the pursuing Taliban. With lots of help from the French military - one of the characters is even played by an ex-SOF guy, whilst the director's previous works were military documentaries - it largely feels authentic (not least because the elements are as dangerous as the enemy). The story seems predictable at first but the high mortality rate of the characters keeps things unpredictable. Similarly, although patriotic, the film never veers into jingoism. The action scenes are exciting, the scenery lovely, the actors excellent and the Afghans get more coverage than is usual in these sort of films.
secondtake
Special Forces (2011)The main reason to see this movie is to get a look at a French parallel to American war movies set in Afghanistan. There are clear similarities, and even some borrowed clichés (assuming the American movies created the clichés—mostly from earlier war movies). And there are some interesting differences, like the way the characters are developed and their slightly different sense of camaraderie.The bulk of this movie is similar to many adventure films. A group of "good guys" is trying to escape from forces of evil that want to kill them. This is on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the "bad guys" are some extremist Taliban (if that's not redundant). The main bad guy conveniently speaks perfect Oxbridge English (not French) and is thoughtful and thoughtless at once. All of this seems like good stuff, and it is somehow interesting for its uniqueness coming out of French movie-making and French national pride. Don't expect any soul searching here, or actual revelations about character or even about the cause of war. The good and evil aspects are simply given, and then shown in the usual way. What sustains the movie through all this is that it's very well done, and the acting (and therefore the characters) are quite believable. There is true heroism and suffering. And a taut suspense in many scenes.It's too long by far, however, and there is a huge chuck of the movie where the group, with its shrinking numbers, struggles through the mountains that seem to become impossibly snowy and alpine. It isn't clear why the French military gives up trying to save them after dropping them in enemy territory. The Americans, who would have been there more or less de facto, are not mentioned or hinted at (which I don't mind, but it's not quite realistic as the crisis gets worse).There's even an improbable moment, after days of absolute struggle through some high snowy terrain, that the bad guys show up as if they took a taxi. Maybe they did. But it's all so convenient and packaged.So, take it for what it is. Well done, solid in some ways, and wobbly in its larger arc.
AD
