Its been sometime I've seen Thor, I mean Chris Helmsworth in a non avenging role. I saw him in Black Hat and Red Dawn yet I can't quite place him there on those roles. Now here in 12 Strong, he leads a bunch of soldiers with him totals 12 thus the name of the film.
Spoiler aside, the movie is about America's first retaliation after the 911 attack. It showed what they were doing when it happened and what they did after. He has already retired from active service and was relegated to a desk job when tragedy took place and immediately he wanted to be put back in action. He had a little bit of problem since he retired prior he had to get back his team.
Eventually he was able to group together and got selected to be the first one to strike back at Al Qaeda. The movie then shifts to Afghanistan where they infiltrate the country and integrate with a local militia. A lot of cultural clashes and military strategy difference ensues. Amidst all these, the movie focused on three things for me. 1) respect and 2) justice (maybe not for some) and 3) love for family.
The movie is entertaining enough to keep you on your seat. The story line might not appeal right away to non-americans but along the way you'll get the drift. Now as to the actors in it, I have a few hit and misses with them.
First is a miss with Chris Helmsworth. His acting here remind me of Thor. The way he speaks, and walks and acts, I was still thinking of him as Thor. His acting is not bad though, I am just saying it wasn't enough to make me believe that he is Capation of an elite military unit. Other team members acting were great, so great that I felt them as part of the group, but enough for me to forget them. Almost all of them, even the other characters were just fine and are really into their characters. Who stood out from the crowd? The acting of Michael Shannon as Hal Spencer and Michael Pena as Sam Diller. Its just coincidence that their names are similar but kudos to both for doing some good piece of Sh** of acting here.
Michael Shannon honestly I love in an antagonist role. His facial features easily identifies him as a bad guy and with great acting skills, I'm a fan. When I saw him here as the right hand man to Chris Helmsworth, I thought he would suck being a good guy. I was wrong. I learned to love him as a good guy here and I do hope he gets more roles on the good side.
Michael Pena recently I had a chance to watch in Antman and the Wasp. I thought I would see again the sweet talking mother effin guy in 12 strong. I was wrong. He definitely was different here and I forgot about his Antman gig. He is still slick here but his suave nature truly bring out the character of Sam Diller. A military man with loyalty to their Captain.
Overall the movie is a good one, and its a good feel at the end kind of movie. Years after the US overcame the country, still clueless with its outcome, this movie feels like a propaganda to remind everyone how the US striked back at Al Qaeda.
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