Movies about the war in Afghanistan are few and far between compared to ones about Iraq, because after sixteen years we are still there and the mission is no clearer. Fun! Best way to approach it? Tell a unique story that nobody has heard before, one that everyone can rally around. 12 Strong, which follows an elite horseback unit in the early days of the conflict, tells just such a story, and it even stars Thor: Ragnarok's Chris Hemsworth.
Based on the book Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton, 12 Strong also stars Michael Shannon, Moonlight's Trevante Rhodes, Michael Pena, Elsa Pataky, Austin Stowell, Said Taghmaoui, Navid Negahban, and Rob Riggle, who is actually playing his former Marine commander Colonel Max Bowers. Damn that's cool. No pressure, dude.
Here's the synopsis: “12 Strong” is set in the harrowing days following 9/11 when a U.S. Special Forces team, led by their new Captain, Mitch Nelson (Hemsworth), is chosen to be the first U.S. troops sent into Afghanistan for an extremely dangerous mission. There, in the rugged mountains, they must convince Northern Alliance General Dostum (Negahban) to join forces with them to fight their common adversary: the Taliban and their Al Qaeda allies. In addition to overcoming mutual distrust and a vast cultural divide, the Americans—accustomed to state-of-the-art warfare—must adopt the rudimentary tactics of the Afghani horse soldiers. But despite their uneasy bond, the new allies face overwhelming odds: outnumbered and outgunned by a ruthless enemy that does not take prisoners.
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Nicolai Fuglsig, 12 Strong opens January 19th 2018.
