The story of the Battle of Kamdesh in 2009, in which a small group of American soldiers defended Combat Outpost Keating from roughly 400 enemy insurgents. The base was part of a network established to monitor Taliban traffic in the Hindu Kush mountains. However, given its position, the base was considered to be a death trap, described by one soldier who fought there as "like being in a fishbowl or fighting from the bottom of a paper cup".
As war movies go, this is one that goes out of its way to show the harsh realities of not only war, but of life in the military as well. The movie begins by introducing us to the base, and the men occupying it. Which proves to be an eye-opening look at their perilous position, and the mundane side of soldiering. Everything from routine patrols, to the complexities of dealing with the locals, including the occasional attack by Taliban fighters, and of course the really fun stuff like burning the contents of the camp latrines, and the odd special tasking from higher up the chain of command. One such order, which involved the moving of a large truck to another base using small, poorly maintained, mountainous roads is met with a mix of anger and disbelief - rightly so. In any other situation this would be a pretty straightforward job, but in Afghanistan it's a nightmare, and director Rob Lurie is able to imbue the scene with just the right amount of tension and peril.
It helps that in trying to make a movie with such a high level of authenticity, that the cast actually look like soldiers. In fact, the relatively unknown cast don't even look like actors playing soldiers, they look and sound like the real deal - at least to someone who hasn't been in the military. They look like a bunch of guys who've been cooped up together too long, the way they get on each other's nerves looks very real. To be fair, even the stars do a good job of looking the part, with Scott Eastwood (sporting a fairly decent moustache) even showing signs of mastering his father's grizzled stare. Something that comes in handy as we creep towards the inevitable battle. However it's Caleb Landry Jones whose performance really stands out, he plays SPC Ty Carter, a soldier who didn't exactly fit in with the rest of his unit, but for his actions during the battle was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Refreshingly, the movie isn't particularly patriotic. Whereas many Hollywood war movies are all about the awesomeness of America, this one acknowledges the failings in military planning that led to this situation. The timeline has been compressed a little here and there, to include events that occured years before the battle, but in some way it helps to show the futility of the soldiers' situation, and the unnecessarily dangerous position they were put in. Instead of a bunch of hardcore Hollywood hero types showing no fear, what Lurie and his team capture is the pure, terrifying chaos that is battle. There's no glamour to be found. It's actually quite frightening to watch, seeing what they went through. Sure their training and superior equipment helped, but it also involved a lot of luck. What happened during the Battle of Kamdesh wasn't about glory, or winning the war, it was about a bunch of guys doing whatever they can to survive. Something The Outpost depicts in horrifying detail.
A eye-opening look at military life and the war in Afghanistan. Rod Lurie's depiction of the Battle of Kamdesh is as brutal as it is authentic.
9/10
The Outpost is available on Amazon Prime Video.
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