The Covenant

Testosterone meets character. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant outshines Berg’s pure-blooded action genre flick Lone Survivor because it is not merely a pure-blooded action genre flick. Ritchie offers a more powerful story, or rather he is able to draw a dramatically deeper spectacle with intellectual reach out of the story that he has at hand. The shooting is of secondary importance. The Covenant is well cast and Jake Gyllenhaal turns in another fantastic performance. The buddy motif with Dar Salim is minimalist in gestures but all the more powerful at its core. Commitments and principles in a bulletproof man code. (19.05.2023)

Guy Ritchie and his war movie The Covenant! Anyone who likes these modern Afghan war dramas will not be disappointed here. It may not surpass it's related brethren in terms of genre, but it maintains a similar high standard of craftsmanship and that's the most important thing. The first half hour is slower, but then it picks up decently with a cool action sequence involving a Taliban ambush, culminating in an uncompromising survival drama with two great actors – Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim (great chemistry, fatality, manly words). It is a very suspenseful sequence with a thumping soundtrack where the viewer is slowly left breathless. The second half is a little different, but definitely not bad. Gyllenhaal shows off his acting skills to the max, and even though the action drops, it's still a very engaging and high quality film that culminates in another action intensive finale on a bridge. There's not much to fault the film, there's simply everything you'd expect from an proper and well made modern actioner. Admittedly I don't quite have the urge to see The Covenant again straight away as I did with 13 Hours of Benghazi or Lone Survivor, for example, which I have a notch above. But this one too is a great flick that shouldn't offend anyone. Ritchie is awesome and an expert on macho movies. Leave the women in the kitchen and The Covenant with a beer won’t disappoint. 8/10. (26.05.2023)

Another classy and focused Ritchie flick. As with Wrath of Man, this is not a lightweight, verbally refined stylistic feature, but direct and vigorous male-driven action with minimal dialogue, this time paying tribute to Afghan interpreters. Although it is not based on a true story, it feels very realistic, with the highlight being the chase with ragheads in the mountains about halfway through. The tension can be cut and the technically perfect Michael Mann-style action is breathtaking. The warfare is bloody, grounded, and even the barracks feel very realistic, more like a non-production area in a factory than a modern control centre. Gyllenhaal is economical and doesn't take credit from Dar Salim, as his unassuming mechanic with a family and a baby on the way is the real main character here. There's nothing much more to the story than what's in the synopsis, but it's really about a man's word and his commitment to help someone who got you out of some shit. (10.05.2023)

A macho story about commitments that are really important in life and should be fulfilled. With a minimum of words, but an ideal amount of gestures and decent music as support. Ritchie's directorial finesse is nowhere near Spielberg's or Scott's, so the gunfights are rather generic, full of annoyingly digital effects (what else could we ask for 55 million dollars?) and certainly not the main draw of the film, but at least he delivers another solid adult film with emotions, suspense and without pathos after post-modern bullshit like King Arthur or Sherlock Holmes. The Covenant will probably get lost among war movies because there’s is too little war and the depiction of Eastern terrorists is not as catchy and dynamic as in, say, The Kingdom, nor as meticulously detailed as in Zero Dark Thirty, but in terms of content, it is is relatively strong, simple and straightforward. (03.06.2023)

Guy Ritchie has become an unexpectedly interesting filmmaker in recent years, making a "smaller", gritty and honest-to-goodness film here and there in addition to crafting decently done commercial stuff. After The Gentlemen and Wrath of Man comes The Covenant, which isn't necessarily the best of the aforementioned trio, but at least manages to translate a whiff of creative verve into the viewing experience. In the first half, Ritchie delivers an almost procedural war drama, only to switch into John Woo mode in the second half with his over-the-top bromance action, culminating in a fetishistically long montage of the immeasurable physical and emotional effort one partner can make to save another. (28.05.2023)

After a long time, finally a good film project from the contemporary war environment. The story is very strong in its depth and relevance. It is almost frightening to imagine what the local interpreters working for the U.S. had to go through after 2021. The film is packed with action, tension and very well developed emotional bonds. Both Jake Gyllenhall and Dar Salim are a great fit for these roles. Recommended. (11.05.2023)

This movie is OK, if you're a total newcomer and know nothing about the actual military. I watched it with my hubby, who is a former US Army Ranger Sniper and has been planning similar operations for years, so I got a pretty detailed analysis of how this movie is a real piece of sh*t. Look, the plot is there, it starts off with a lot of action right from the beginning, Jake is Jake and he acts brilliantly, and the story is good too. But that's all. After the initial well-executed operation, it drags on and you can't ignore the ridiculously stupid things Jake does. Even as someone who has never served in the military, I have a common sense that if I were escaping from someone, I'd do it mostly at night, not during the day. I definitely feel deep in my guts that I wouldn't camp out in a single house in plain sight, because that would be like punching somebody in the face. This really bothered me because I was really excited based on the ratings, and Guy Ritchie usually pays attention to every last detail in his movies...but unfortunately not here. He should have fired his military advisor right away and maybe tried to make a fantasy movie instead, where he wouldn't need to rely on facts. However, I do appreciate the clear message of the movie and I like it - honoring the Afghan translators who helped the US and their total fuck-up after their withdrawal, leaving them at the mercy of the returning Taliban government. For that and the 10-second action with the Angel of Death, I give it two stars and nothing more. (21.05.2023)