12 Strong (Horse Soldiers)
12 Strong tells the story of the first Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan after 9/11; under the leadership of a new captain, the team must work with an Afghan warlord to take down the Taliban.
19 August 1946, Hope, Arkansas, USA
6 May 1968, Edmond, Oklahoma, USA
10 March 1957, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
7 October 1952, Leningrad, RSFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]
9 January 1981, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA
9 July 1932, Chicago, Illinois, USA
7 August 1974, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
1 December 1969, Plymouth, Devon, England, UK
15 December 1977, Detroit, Michigan, USA
18 July 1976, Madrid, Spain
24 April 1975, Enid, Oklahoma, USA
January 18, 2018
As Nicolai Fuglsig doesn't allow any complicated thoughts about war, colonization, and mortality to hover around his characters, 12 Strong inevitably proceeds as a jaunty imperial adventure through the wilds of northern Afghanistan.January 18, 2018
More often than not, "12 Strong" feels like a sports movie, where all the stakes rest not on matters of honor and duty, but on a single field goal.January 18, 2018
It's not a bad movie, as far as it goes. In terms of context, though, it goes virtually nowhere.January 18, 2018
Yet what could have been a flag-waving slog across the beautiful wilderness of Afghanistan (substituted here by New Mexico), interspersed with massive explosions, is instead surprisingly elegant for a blockbuster.January 18, 2018
'12 Strong' finds its strength as a flag-waving, stand-up-and-cheer movie.January 18, 2018
12 Strong winds up being an almost-good film about some great American soldiers.January 18, 2018
A fairly straightforward and enjoyable movie about an extremely complicated and demoralizing war. Its goal is to focus on a small group of heroes, and it shows little interest in the bigger picture.January 18, 2018
Ultimately registers as old-fashioned and artificial, like a WWII propaganda movie trying to drum up sales for war bonds.January 18, 2018
The real-life heroes who bravely risked their lives deserve something better than the forgettable mediocrity that is '12 Strong', and truth be told, audiences deserve more too.January 18, 2018
In the end, the feat these characters pull off is rousing, but 12 Strong never gathers the momentum it needs.January 18, 2018
Big-screen military fireworks are a signature of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and in that department 12 Strong doesn't disappoint. Things blow up good. Believability? Not so much...January 18, 2018
For devotees of cinematic blowouts and dedicated students of screen masculinity (like me), "12 Strong" is premium, Grade A catnip.