12 Strong Movie Review by a Former Action Guy
Jan 20th 2018
Thor son of Odin VS the Taliban
I think the main purpose of a movie is to allow you to forget you are watching one. The movie 12 Strong let me forget. I went back to Afcrapistan in the theatre last night, and I was led by none other than Thor, son of Odin.
The movie tells the true story of the first effective strike of Special Forces ‘green berets’ against the Taliban in Afghanistan immediately following the 9/11 attack on the Towers. It was based on the book ‘Horse Soldiers’ by Doug Stanton, and it comes with my excited recommendation — go see it. Twice.
It was the little things in the new movie 12 Strong that impressed me. For example, look above at Chris Hemsworth (playing the part of CPT Mitch Nelson) — he is carrying the realistic rifle setup of the time with that big ‘Hershey bar’ PEQ-2, vertical fore grip, undergun light, and Trijicon ACOG. He is wearing the ‘uniform’ a Special Operations soldier would have been rocking with a hadji shemagh, DCUs, and pockets sewn on the sleeves (angled wrong, but oh well).
More importantly, the movie correctly captured…
the personality profiles of the green berets on mission,
the heartbreaking goodbyes as the soldiers deployed,
the dark sense of humor,
the terrain,
the firefights,
the fear,
the confusion of sorting out friend from foe on the battlefield,
the frustration of coordinating forces,
the soldier’s bond,
the heroism,
and the indomitable spirit shining through the mist of all of it.
12 Strong was a movie that made me miss those great men I served beside and it made me proud to have fought beside the best in the world.
In my video review below I mentioned how the dudes of ODA 595 were “that perfect blend of insanity and genius” necessary to pull off such a ballsy mission. They deserve our respect. The will forever have mine.
Visit our website for Warrior Poet apparel, gear, training, and video content
Get tickets on Fandango
Check it out on IMDb
