Friday, April 21, 2023

Guy Ritchie's The Covenant

 


The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer, and I’m not really in the mood for anything too heavy in a number of ways, including on the big screen.  However, the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s new film The Covenant looked too good to pass up, so that was this weeks’ movie adventure.

Let me start by saying, DAMN!

A feeling and sentiment that I felt and expressed repeatedly throughout the 2 hour and 3-minute film.  Along with some accompanying F bombs.   

The Covenant isn’t really a war movie in the typical sense, it’s about the covenant, the bond, the commitment between a solider (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his interpreter (Dar Salim) toward the end of the US War in Afghanistan and honoring your debts.  

To put it mildly, The Covenant is intense, stressful, anxiety inducing, impactful, and thought provoking.  My anxiety/stress level didn't subside until I was back in my car headed home.  With the sudden and often brutal action "The Covenant" reminds me a bit of Lone Survivor and left me without a shadow of doubt that I would be totally worthless in any capacity in the situations the characters find themselves in.  The was a great deal of breath holding and butt puckering.

The pacing in this one is a bit unusual in that over half the film is devoted to the setup for the ambush and heroic escape with comparably little focus on the rather brisk conclusion, but it actually services the film beautifully.  A true example of it's about the journey not the destination if ever there was one.

The Covenant is well written, beautifully shot, the directing is amazing, and has an incredible pulse- pounding musical score that resonates, amplifies, and elevates the film perfectly. 

Fantastic acting.  

Gyllenhaal delivers spectacularly which is no surprise.  But Salim (Game of Thrones) is the real surprise and delivers a riveting performance that’s breathtaking. The scene following the initial escape when his Ahmed wants/tries to say something to Kinley (Gyllenhaal)...DAMN.  I felt everything and it just broke me.  And his performance just gets amplified from there.    Couldn’t tear my eyes from the screen is I wanted to, which I didn’t.

The Covenant is a gripping, gritty, and at times hard to watch fictional story that ties into recent history and is most definitely worth viewing.  I sadly can’t truly convey just how intense a movie going experience this film is, so you really need to see it in a movie theater on a big screen with a killer audio system to get full appreciation.  

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant gets a 10 from me.

#guyritchiethecovenant

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