TL;DR – A solid action film that knows how to craft tension from its narrative and musical score.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Amazon Prime service that viewed this film.

The Covenant Review –

When it comes to war films, the more straightforward the narrative, the defined sides, and the motivations, the more likely a movie will be made. This is why there are more WW2 films than, say, Vietnam. In modern times, it has been a struggle to depict the war in Afghanistan, with the gung-ho narrative falling flat, given how easily the Taliban retook the country back. Any film exploring this terrain needs to work through a myriad of complexities. Which is what the movie we are looking at today at least attempts.     

So to set the scene, in the aftermath of 9/11, America invaded Afghanistan in 2001. It is now March 2018 in Lashkar Gah. Where Master Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal), Staff Sergeant Charlie ‘Jizzy’ Crow (Sean Sagar), Joshua ‘JJ’ Jung (Jason Wong), Jack’ Jack Jack’ Jackson (James Nelson-Joyce), Sergeant First Class Kawa Mawlayee (Kawa Mawlayee), Eduardo’ Chow Chow’ Lopez (Christian Ochoa Lavernia), Tom’ Tom Cat’ Hancock (Rhys Yates), are all inspecting vehicles at a checkpoint, when one of the trucks explodes. Returning to Bagram Air Base, they pick up their new interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). Their team is meant to be looking for Taliban weapon caches or IED factories, but after striking out the official way, they start taking unofficial measures, which is when things turn sideways.

The Covenant works really well at focusing on the tension of every moment. It is said that military deployments are long spaces of boredom interspersed with explosive action. We capture that by concentrating on the mundane, almost routine life that could fall apart in seconds when you go from complete control to isolation in a heartbeat. Trying to take down Taliban fighters silently because you cannot afford to use your gun because the sound will draw more. Never knowing when you can get some rest or if you will turn a corner and see them there. Or hiding under rugs with fighters above you pulls at the heartstrings.

Another way they heighten things is the use of music. This is not a film where the musical score slinks into the background. It blasts forward in waves, almost overwhelming you with its multitudes of strings. It haunts you with its cellos striking with every step. It even mocks you in its absence because you know it is coming. It is the pulsating rhythm that everything hangs off. The rest of the film is solidly produced so that you are never taken out of the narrative by an odd choice, even down to the Taliban, all using Toyota trucks. If there was one thing that I did note, it was how restrained it was for a Guy Richie film.

Moving on to the acting, Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim embody the titular covenant, as they oscillate between antagonism to a deep bond and then almost an addiction. Jake is not unhinged as we have seen him in films like Okja, but there is a barely restrained anger that you can feel just brimming on the surface. This was my first experience with Dar Salim, and what an entry it was. The rest of the cast is full of some strong supporting work from Antony Starr, Alexander Ludwig, and Jonny Lee Miller, and the film does an excellent job of bringing us into the world of the squad and all its players.

The story remains uncomfortable from the start as we open with an IED, and it does not relent from there. Even when our team is winning, there is an unsettling dump of bodies, with the carnage not being celebrated with a round of applause. The movie’s subtext, and at one point, the literal text, is “pay your debts”. If you know what happened to the interpreters, you will see where the film’s second half goes. They do not undersell the ridiculous bureaucracy and complete incompetency.   

In the end, do we recommend Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant? Yes, yes, we do. This is probably one of the more mature attempts I have seen Guy Ritchie make. The cast is here for the roles, and the film has a clear message it is not shy about. If you liked Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, I would recommend 1917.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Covenant
Directed by – Guy Ritchie
Written by – Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson & Marn Davies
Music by – Christopher Benstead
Cinematography by – Ed Wild
Edited by – James Herbert
Production/Distribution Companies – STXfilms, Toff Guy Films, MGM & Amazon Prime
Starring – Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Antony Starr, Alexander Ludwig, Sean Sagar, Bobby Schofield, Emily Beecham & Jonny Lee Miller with Jason Wong, James Nelson-Joyce, Rhys Yates, Christian Ochoa Lavernia, Reza Diako, Fariba Sheikhan & Kawa Mawlayee
Rating – Australia: MA15+; United States: R