Movie review: 12 Strong
Chris Hemsworth ditches his superhero Thor to play a real-life hero in this film based on Doug Stanton's 2009 best-selling historical account Horse Soldiers, about a 12-man US Special Forces team deployed to Afghanistan immediately after 9/11.
Hemsworth plays Captain Mitch Nelson, the leader of the team. Michael Shannon is his deputy, Chief Warrant Officer Hal Spencer.
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, 12 Strong does not play out like his 2001 blood-and-gore war flicks Black Hawk Down and Pearl Harbor.
Much of the film sees Hemsworth trying to balance the uneasy partnership the US has with the Northern Alliance's General Dostum (Navid Negahban).
What makes this tale remarkable is that old-school cavalry warfare triumphs over missile-equipped Taleban forces.
Sure, there is air support - lots of it - but when it comes to winning a war, courage and knowledge of enemy territory and culture take centre stage.
Rating: 3/5
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