What’s It About
With tensions between North and South Korea, a US helicopter crashes on the North Korean side, now the survivors must work together to protect a civilian tech specialist and find their way out without the help of US military support.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
War films threaten great drama, but ” Valiant One” brings nothing but a formulaic journey through familiar ground. The movie tracks a group of soldiers who crash-land in North Korea on a routine communication equipment repair mission, which leaves them stranded in enemy country and trying to evade capture. Captain Edward Brockman leads the survivors – a mix of tech specialists and soldiers – as they attempt to cross the border. Chase Stokes plays Brockman as a typical military hero: initially cocky, gradually becoming a responsible leader. His team includes Stephanie Selby, portrayed by Lana Condor, who stands out as the most compelling character. She brings depth to what could have been a standard tough-soldier stereotype, particularly in a touching subplot involving her protecting a young North Korean girl. The movie struggles with fundamental storytelling problems. Characters feel disposable, with background stories so generic that even the characters seem bored by their own histories. The screenplay tries to generate tension through repeated hide-and-seek sequences with North Korean soldiers, but these moments feel more like checklist fulfillment than genuine suspense. The musical choices for the film border on the bizarre. Life-and-death scenes get overlayed with rap tracks, flipping a potentially intense moment into something akin to a low-budget music video. It is precisely this jarring stylistic decision that nullifies any dramatic weight that could have been established. The action sequences are okay but totally forgettable. Shooters shoot; near misses happen with the cold precision of clockwork; they lack the desired human emotions shown in better military survival films like Auntie Enemy Lines and The Outpost.” We have a lingering sense that the tunnel sequence in the story could have given rise to something but never actually does. Also, the geopolitical background fades as an afterthought. One could articulate and argue with some nuance as to why North Korea works as a setting, but in “Valiant One,” it plays on the most superficial level imaginable. The protagonist characters share the shallowest understanding of what is happening in their world, as they enter what could loosely be termed a grasp of international tensions. A bright flicker is Lana Condor, who plays Specialist Selby with intelligence and some subdued humanity that allows us to watch her scenes with the most pleasure. Unfortunately, she’s consistently overshadowed by Brockman’s by-the-numbers character arc. By the time the team makes their inevitable wrong turn – a moment that somehow manages to be both predictable and surprisingly stupid – viewers will have long since checked out. Such films simply end up at that vast, stupendous middle ground: not much more terrible than valiant; simply middling. Like any film containing a military survival story, Valiant One has nothing new to show the viewer. It’s a cover to cover exercise in action clichés with everything you would expect from a film of its kind: no thought, immense imagination, and predictable execution. Save your time and seek out more thoughtful entries in the genre.
OUR RATING – A WAR-WORN 4