The movie is based on a true story, and it follows the attack against U.S. forces by Taliban fighters in October 2009. The battle was one of the bloodiest of the Afgan conflict; eight American soldiers died in the engagement. In addition, two U.S. soldiers, Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha and Staff Sergeant Ty Carter were awarded the Medal Of Honour for their courageous actions.
Camp Keating was situated in a deep valley surrounded by mountains. The geography gave insurgents an advantage over the Americans below. Taliban fighters used the high ground to probe the American base for weaknesses in the weeks leading up to the main assault.
The film's ‘plot' depicts the events leading up to the battle and the fighting itself. As a result, character development is more substantial than most war movies but not as deep as other films. However, it doesn't affect the film negatively; critics have remarked on the weak dialogue, which I feel is nitpicking at best. No one is watching this for long monologues. The Outpost is a factual war movie in the style of ‘13 Hours – Secret Soldiers of Benghazi‘.
Scott Eastwood (Son of Clint) plays SSG Clint Romesha; he gives an excellent performance in the role and has undoubtedly put a marker down for being considered as a leading man in future pictures. Orlando Bloom stars as CPT Ben Keating, and Caleb Landry Jones stands out as SPC Ty Carter.
The story moves along at a decent pace, even when trying to convey the long periods of tedium soldiers endure. The Action sequences are powerful, and the close-quarters fighting captures the chaos of battle. The fighting scenes are reminiscent of ‘Black Hawk Down' or ‘Saving Private Ryan' in their intensity.
Even though this movie doesn't employ any new techniques or deviate from traditional storytelling, what it does, it does well. Overall, if you enjoy war movies, you'll love this. Even if you don't usually watch this type of film, you should include it on your watch list.
‘The Outpost' is available with your Amazon Prime Video subscription.
