This Star-Studded War Movie With 91% on Rotten Tomatoes Delivers Unforgettable Tension and Sacrifice

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Although war films have always been popular as a genre, there has been much more hesitation in crafting adaptations of recent events. Audiences flocked to historical war epics like Oppenheimer and 1917, as they are removed enough from the actual historical events that they don’t pass as much judgment in the way that the films interpret history. This leniency is not always afforded to films that deal with subjects such as the Afghanistan War, as many viewers lived through the conflict as it was emerging, and have already shaped their opinions on what the conflict’s ramifications were. Although it was sadly denied a proper theatrical rollout due to shutdowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, The Outpost is a powerful recreation of modern military tragedy that pays respect to the heroes whose lives were lost.

What Is ‘The Outpost’ About?

Based on a nonfiction novel by CNN reporter Jake Tapper, The Outpost provides details about the Battle of Kamdesh, in which assailants from the Taliban seized the American base known as Combat Outpost Keating, which had been stationed to help protect the supply lines that were running in and out of Pakistan. Given that the outpost was obscured by the Hindu Kush mountains, it was considered to be a particularly dangerous zone due to the prevalence of terrorist attacks. The most significant of these seizures occurred in late 2009, in which over 300 Taliban insurgents attacked the base whilst the Americans were training members of the Latvian military. Although there were significant casualties on both sides, the base was ultimately abandoned after it was ransacked by Taliban operatives. Although survivors like Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood) and Specialist Ty Michael Carter (Caleb Landry Jones) were proclaimed as heroes and awarded the National Medal of Honor, the tragedy opened the eyes of many Americans to the dangerous nature of the Afghanistan conflict.

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The war movie delivers a psychological complexity that’s startling for its era.

The Outpost does a great job at showing the intense pressure that these men were under, as they had to live each day knowing that they could be in danger. Although the film climaxes with one of the greatest action sequences in the last few years, a majority of The Outpost explores the responsibilities that these men faced on a daily basis, which included running schematics, scoping out enemy activity, and trying to connect with locals. It is a credit to director Rod Lurie that these men are each distinguishable, and get to voice different concerns that they have about what their service really means. Although the entire cast is uniformly excellent, Orlando Bloom gives a standout performance as Captain Benjamin D. Keating, an altruistic leader who paid the ultimate price due to his insistence of saving innocent civilians. Although it had been many years since Bloom had had a prominent role in a major film, he gave an inspiring, charismatic performance in The Outpost that showed why he was such a star in the first place.

‘The Outpost’ Attained a New Level of Realism

The Outpost crafted a harrowing depiction of the tragic battle, as it lacked the formal structure that defines many historical dramas. Lurie seemed to understand that the battle itself was very chaotic, as it was often difficult to determine where assailants were coming from when the soldiers faced a rain of gunfire. The time spent showing what these soldiers did in their daily lives in the first half of the film was integral, as it makes the final sequence even more harrowing. Victories are ultimately decided by a series of small choices, and The Outpost shines a light on how each member of the unit came to play an important role.

The Outpost was able to honor the memories of these soldiers without inserting any overt political commentary that would have been distracting. Given that the film was grounded in an in-depth level of research from Tapper, it makes sense that its goals are very journalistic, and not to impress any agenda upon the viewer. Although the film leaves it ambiguous as to why this tragedy occurred and who is to blame, The Outpost succeeds in vividly capturing a powerful moment in American history.

The Outpost is available to rent or buy on Prime Video in the U.S.

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