The Outpost

Starring: Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, Orlando Bloom, Jack Kesy, Cory Hardict, Milo Gibson, Jacob Scipio, Taylor John Smith, Jonathan Yunger, Will Attenborough, James Jagger, Alexander Arnold, George Arvidson
Directed by: Rod Lurie
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama, War
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A small group of U.S. soldiers fight to defend an isolated outpost in Afghanistan.

Review:

Tim: I almost skipped over The Outpost, which would have been a huge mistake. There's been so many war movies about Afghanistan that viewers would be forgiven for feeling like we've seen it all before. Rod Lurie's effective war movie proves that there's still a place for stories of courage set during this conflict. I had a blast watching this thrilling movie. It doesn't deliver anything we haven't seen before, but the setting certainly lends a new wrinkle to the story. The film is relentless, exciting, and entertaining. It doesn't offer anything new, so it's not quite a great film, but it's an exceptionally well executed one.

I'd never heard of Outpost Keating, nor was I familiar with the battle that was fought there. This is one of those "based on a true story" war movies that feels like it's fiction. The movie takes place at an isolated outpost in Afghanistan, at the bottom of a valley. Strategically, it's an absolutely terrible placement. The Taliban are able to attack the outpost from all sides, plus they have the higher ground. It's the kind of predicament that American soldiers should never have been put into. This does create a fairly compelling story- we see American soldiers being forced to defend a base (and their lives) from overwhelming odds, crippled by the unsuitability of the location and being forced to work around those challenges. This is a terrible real-life situation, but it makes for an incredibly thrilling movie. That's really the key driver of the story here. We see these soldiers put into a desperate situation, and watch as they fight to survive. The "based on a true story" angle makes a big difference here.

The other big strength of this film is the cast. Lurie does a great job of getting strong performances out of a cast without many big names. As the movie progresses, though, we do get to know these characters. That's so critical because they are put into deadly situations, and by the time they are, we've connected with them. We feel the peril and we're emotionally invested in their survival. I know that sounds simple and obvious, but it's surprising how few films are able to achieve this. Fortunately, The Outpost gets it right. What's most interesting about this is that I didn't actually love any of the characters. That's okay, though, because we get to know them. That's sufficient to get us invested in their story.

I enjoyed seeing Scott Eastwood in this role. He's not as good of an actor as his dad, but he is similar in some ways. He's good in this role. He doesn't quite connect with the audience as well as his famous father, but there's something just likable enough about it. I really appreciated Caleb Landry Jones here, too. He's always good, but he usually plays characters that you either outright dislike, or grate on your nerves. There's some of that in his performance here, but we very much want him to survive. I liked seeing him in a more sympathetic role. Orlando Bloom was strong as usual, although his role is fairly small. As a whole, I enjoyed the cast. There might not have been huge standouts, but everyone does a solid job in their roles.

The movie is well shot and it's quite exciting. The movie is appropriately rated R, so the film doesn't pull many punches of its depiction of the real-world violence. Lurie directs a film that feels like it always has forward momentum, so the 2 hour, 3 minute run time feels right. The visual effects felt grounded and contribute to the story. The execution on this film is perhaps it's greatest strength.

I really enjoyed The Outpost. I've been railing on Netflix for its consistently substandard action movies, but this one that gets the job done. The war movie genre is crowded and while this one will never sit alongside the greatest films, it's an exceptionally well made movie and one of the more pleasant surprises of 2020.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Black Hawk Down, Lone Survivor, 12 Strong, Zero Dark Thirty