71
Director: Yann Demange
Year Released: 2014
Rating: 3.0
Callow British soldier Hook (Jack O'Connell) goes with his fellow troops on a raid in Northern Ireland (during The Troubles), only to be separated from them and forced to run (and hide) from would-be murderers. Assured action filmmaking by Frenchman Demange that reminds me of both John Carpenter's Escape from New York and Elem Klimov's Come and See (primarily the bombing sequence), and the confusion between who's a friend and who's an enemy (... or traitor) provides ample tension. It would have been nice had Demange devoted a bit more time to focus on the politics of the (unbelievably convoluted and messy) country - it's a bit textually thin - but that's only a secondary concern. Anyone who ever uses the (currently popular) phrase "Only Muslims are terrorists" needs to be reminded of poor old Ireland: may the road always rise up to meet them.
