Director Guy Ritchie is no stranger to crafting exciting action films, but his latest project is quite different than his previous work. The narrative is linear, there aren’t any montages, and the story isn’t about criminals, gangsters, or Brits. Fans of Ritchie will absolutely still recognize his visual style (hello, overhead shots) and testosterone-fueled themes, but “The Covenant” is a more dramatic, mature, and restrained work from the legendary director. Set during the war in Afghanistan in 2018, the film tells the story of U.S. Army sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his local Afghan interpreter, Ahmed (Dar Salim). Called a traitor by his people for helping the Americans, Ahmed has volunteered to seek revenge against the Taliban that killed his son. He has also been promised visas for his service so his family can flee to safety in America. After a lethal ambush in the desert, Kinley is gravely injured by enemy fire. With his platoon gone, Ahmed refuses to leave a fellow soldier behind to die, so he drags Kinley through the mountainous terrain in order to get him back to the base for medical help. The film tells the story of their 100 mile journey, but then pivots to Kinley’s return to the United States. It’s months after he gets home that Kinley learns Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage as promised and, as a way to repay the debt he owes his frien…

After Guy Ritchie’s last film, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, was an absolute disaster, I seriously considered skipping his most recent outing, The Covenant. However, I'm very happy I didn't because it's become one of my favorite films of the year so far. The direction is excellent, with amazing up-close shots and zooms that really add to the intense nature of the film. The first hour flew by with fantastic build-up and character development. The action was superb and brutally realistic, showcasing the true horrors of the War in Afghanistan in a respectable way. However, after this first act, the movie does slow down a bit, with a pretty substantial lull that lasted about 20 minutes in the middle of the film. It was not terrible, but something I definitely noticed. Performances were excellent, particularly from Dar Salim, who was a standout in the film. His grueling journey across the Afghanistan terrain was one of the most stressful and inspiring segments in any film so far this year and had me at the edge of my seat. Overall, The Covenant is a pretty straightforward war story, told with excellent direction, performances, and visuals. It handles the source material with incredible care, showcasing the environment of Afghanistan in a way I have never seen before. Score: 85% ✅ Verdict: Great

A staggering tale of an unhinged perseverance which is backed by a captivating screenplay. Air is a story so frivolous and flat , that the courage of Ben Affleck should be lauded with our hats down. A simple plot which would fit within 3 lines of a page is magically presented to us as a fascinating and appealing peace of history which changed the strature of business in sports in America and revolutionized a global culture, Nike's collaboration with the greatest basketball player in the history of the game, "Michael Jordan". The 2 hours doesn't feel long when you have a dazzling screenplay & a marvelous ensemble cast with their pragmatic conversations. Ben Affleck really puts in a fine effort to yield such sensational performances for the star studded cast. Brilliant is an understatement for the ensemble cast. I have never seen a better grounded performance of Matt Damon than this. He is sensational. Jason Bateman and Viola Davis add the much needed spark with their magnetic performances. Good to see Chris Tucker back and boy he just gets his sense of humor right each time. The banters between Matt and Chris Messina is the highlight for me. Ben Affleck is a master in terms of direction, the way he manages veterans into building such a collaboration is astounding. Overall, If you believe in uplifting stories behind sports and redefining moments of history which changed the…

Seems to be a growing trend nowadays to lead with the credentials of the director in order to get eyeballs onto a movie. That's what seems to have happened here, but once you're watching it turns out to be little better than a derivative vehicle for an unremarkable Jake Gyllenhaal who gets to tug at the heart strings on behalf of those vital interpreters (50,000 of them, apparently) who were abandoned to the Taliban when the allied forces quit Afghanistan. In this rather procedural effort, his guide "Ahmed" (Dar Salim) goes above and beyond to rescue his handler "Kinley" from ambush only to find that the American is flown home to safety, recuperation and a big steak on the barbecue. The latter man is left to reap the benefits of his sterling efforts by having a price on his head and so is forced to live in hiding. "Kinley" learns of this and decides that the man must be got out. After endless red tape seems determined to ensure that the promise made at the time to these folks to offer them fast-track American visas after the conflict was not going to be honoured any time soon, "KInley" decides he's going to have to take matters into his own hands. Remarkably, from his American home he manages to track down the elusive "Ahmed" and with the aid of a commercial extraction agency, funds a trip to get in and get his friend out. Aside from some serious plot plausibility issues, as ac…