12 Strong

Silent Disapproval Robot · January 25, 2018, 03:35:29 AM

It's pissing rain here so plans to hit the beach went out the window and I instead went to watch 12 Strong. It's based on a true story about a US special forces team sent into Afghanistan right after 9/11 with orders to link up with elements of the Northern Alliance, win their trust, and help them push the Taliban out of the strategic town of Mazar-I-Sharif.

It was decent. Little heavy handed on the manly-men saying manly things in a manly way then staring off wistfully while patriotic music plays but otherwise decent. I would like to know if the diversity police got involved as one of the special forces guys in the film is black but at the end, they showed a photo of the actual team and I didn't see any black guys on it. The photo was grainy and only up for a short time so I may not have seen him. Would be kind of lame if they altered history to suit the OC police otherwise.

Sir Slash · January 25, 2018, 10:51:39 AM

This one's on my 'to see' list too but I'm also wondering how much Hollywood's taken-over the real story and subbed Cowboys on horse-back killing tanks action flick with guys fighting for Social Justice and Gender Neutrality type film. Anybody here know the 'real' story?

Silent Disapproval Robot · January 25, 2018, 11:58:09 AM

The combat seemed like it got too much of the Hollywood touch. Armor didn't really do anything at all other than drive around and get taken out by airstrikes. Apart from one T-72 firing its main gun once, the only fire from any of the tanks or APCs came from commander's 14.5mm MGs and the gunners were always taken out with a well timed burst of fire. Losing the guy manning the MG seemed to take out the tank every time. The only vehicle that was ever portrayed as a credible threat was a BM.21 rocket truck. Ranges seemed too close for the low casualties the good guys sustained (well the main guys and the horses. Afghan red shirts were dropping like flies.) and the violence was pretty sanitized. Lots of shots of airstrikes hitting Taliban troops but there was very little blood and bodies were always whole and relatively bloodless.

Sir Slash · January 25, 2018, 01:05:26 PM

What I was afraid of. :hide:

JasonPratt · January 25, 2018, 01:32:29 PM

I can tell you that Moviebob, who is pretty radical-left, did not think this film was PC enough. ::) But his complaints were more along the lines of the movie's politics being sanitized in a way that seems to flatter and appeal to Republicans.

BanzaiCat · January 27, 2018, 09:13:03 PM

Just got back from seeing this with my son. It was a pretty good story but as with any 'real life' movie I take a healthy dose of skepticism going in. To be honest I had no idea this story existed and didn't know about the movie until it hit theaters, but after having seen it I want to read up on it and learn more.

I agree with SDR's summation wholeheartedly and would add it was fun watching soldiers that had never spent any time in the saddle (except Thor, apparently) fire from the hip at a full gallop and not only hit but kill everything they shot at.

Sir Slash · January 27, 2018, 11:44:51 PM

The wife and I saw it tonight too and I agree unfortunately, I think it's about 75-80% Hollywood BS but it was exciting BS anyway. From what little I've read the Afghans did all the fighting and the Taliban did not posses whole companies of T-72 tanks, BMP's, and Rocket Batteries. But maybe I'm wrong here. After all it was a 'classified' mission. And, yes the unit photo at the end had no black guy in it like in the movie but maybe he was very short and standing behind everybody else. Could happen. :-"

bayonetbrant · January 29, 2018, 05:59:59 AM

https://twitter.com/SeanParnellUSA/status/957422492947279873

BanzaiCat · January 29, 2018, 06:33:31 AM

The tweet he responded to totally deserved that.

Sir Slash · January 29, 2018, 10:24:51 AM

I don't know if it's the same one or not but some Hollywood Lib has said movies like this promote 'toxic masculinity' in males. So it's too late to save me, but for the rest of you, maybe you could watch "Mary Poppins" non-stop for 3-4 days and cleanse your system. Just a thought.

Silent Disapproval Robot · January 29, 2018, 10:27:54 AM

Sure. Recommend a film wherein a woman is relegated to the role of nurturer and servant you sexist, elitist, patriarchal cis-normative shit lord! Down with the patriarchy and so on and so forth.

bayonetbrant · January 29, 2018, 10:41:13 AM

Quote from: BanzaiCat on January 29, 2018, 06:33:31 AM
The tweet he responded to totally deserved that.

Oh hell to the yeah

Gusington · January 29, 2018, 10:45:21 AM

I need to see that tweet and then start hating my penis.

JudgeDredd · January 29, 2018, 10:51:21 AM

Yeah - skewing the truth has never happened before?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-571_(film)

Did any of you actually shout when that was released? Or does it not matter when the heroic actions of a particular nation's armed forces is stolen and portrayed by another nation's armed forces - at least the black guy in the film was still American, right?

Or is it just the inclusion of black/female/Asian/insert other minority here people into a film making it "a lie" that gets yer back up? :DD

And my point isn't tit-for-tat but that it goes on and so perhaps should the conversation.

Tuna · January 29, 2018, 11:46:32 AM

I still love the Tigers in The Battle of the Bulge! And of course the Climatic huge tank battle in the desert!