Guy Ritchie has had a decent run of movies in the past decade, helped by writers Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. He definitely needs Atkinson and Davies though, which makes it all the more odd to see The Covenant also listed as Guy Ritchie's The Covenant. Okay, Ritchie has a certain style, a sensibility that pervades most of his movies, letting you know that you're watching a Guy Ritchie film, but he can also work on certain projects that don't feel as if they have been given any stamp of authorship. This is one of those movies. It's good, sometimes very good, but it just doesn't feel as if it needs sold on Ritchie's name.
Jake Gyllenhaal is John Kinley, a soldier trying to stay alive during his time serving in Afghanistan. Having lost his interpreter in a bombing, Kinley ends up being assigned a new man, Ahmed (Dar Salim). Ahmed is viewed with mistrust by some, as are many of the interpreters in Afghanistan, but he repeatedly proves himself a valuable asset as he keeps Kinley and his team safe from a number of traps and tricky situations. In fact, Ahmed ends up saving Kinley's life on a daring mission that sees both men struggling to get back to safety while being hunted by Taliban soldiers who view them as top-priority targets. Can Kinley get a chance to return the favour, or will he be safely back in the USA while his interpreter/lifesaver ends up trapped in Afghanistan with a large price on his head.
A modern spin on a boy's own adventure film, although there's a worthwhile point being made about those who helped soldiers in Afghanistan before being left to languish there and suffer the consequences, this is a surprisingly effective and tense action thriller that does well to balance the issues at the heart of the whole thing with the visceral moments of fighting and gunfire. Ritchie works very well in service of the script, which ultimately helps to turn the film into something much better than it could have been. It’s a bit of a tightrope act, and kudos to him for walking it well.
Gyllenhaal is a big plus in the lead role, as expected. He can do well in a military role, being convincingly sharp and fearless, and he does well in showing the emotional toll that is taken as he figures out how to repay a huge debt. Salim is equally good alongside him, and his character is shown to be just as smart and fearless, arguably even more so, despite being initially viewed with suspicion. The supporting cast all hang back, for the most part, but there are decent little moments for Emily Beecham, Jonny Lee Miller, Antony Starr, and Alexander Ludwig.
You can view this with cynicism, especially if you feel that there’s a bit too much jingoism running just below the surface, but I think it avoids the worst potholes it could have stumbled into. Or maybe I should have used a minefield metaphor, if that isn’t in bad taste. Which I guess depends on your view of this being made in the first place.
7/10
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