Credit: Christopher Raphael © 2023 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc)
Filmmaker Guy Ritchie steps out of his comfort zone of flashy action scenes and characters with witty stylish dialogue to take on a down-to-earth, gritty, serious war story about loyalty and courage with Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.
The film focuses on U.S. Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his unit hunting for Taliban forces in Afghanistan. During a routine checkpoint, the unit’s interpreter is killed when a bomb explodes. Back at the airbase, Kinley handpicks a new Afghan interpreter, Ahmed (Dar Salim), despite his reputation of being hard to get along with.
It’s not long before Kinley and Ahmed are strongly disagreeing on how to go about hunting the Taliban. On one dirt road search, Ahmed tells Kinley to stop and that they shouldn’t be going in this direction, vehemently insisting their intelligence is wrong and they’re headed into a trap. Kinley initially reacts by reminding Ahmed that he’s just the translator. Ahmed quickly clears up that misconception by pointing out, “Actually, I’m here to interpret.”
Ahmed insists it’s a trap, so Kinley reluctantly stops. He orders two of his men check out the situation from a higher point. Using binoculars, they confirm a Taliban force is waiting to ambush them.
Kinley starts to trust Ahmed more after this and after learning that his new interpreter is not just helping his unit for the money but because the Taliban killed his son. He’s helping the U.S. forces for the right to get a visa and go to America.
Kinley and his unit come across a Taliban force stockpiling weapons and come under intense fire from Taliban reinforcements. Kinley and Ahmed are forced to flee on foot after the rest of the unit is wiped out. With their communications cut off, the two men find themselves being hunted behind enemy lines.
Kinley is seriously wounded during a skirmish with some of the Taliban, and it falls on Ahmed to make a stretcher and drag Kinley, who is out of it due to his wounds, through mountain ranges and challenging terrain to get back to the U.S. airbase.
Kinley wakes up in a hospital and, three weeks later, is sent back to his family in California. He finds out from a friend in the army that Ahmed has been forced to go underground with his wife and infant child because the Taliban’s hunting him after saving the American sergeant’s life. Kinley’s PTSD is made worse by the bureaucratic red tape, yet he’s determined to get Ahmed and his family visas and get them out of the country to America.
Realizing he’ll never be able to find Ahmed and get his family out of the country by going through normal channels, Kinley calls in favors. Kinley returns to Afghanistan, set on finding Ahmed and doing what’s right.
Written and directed by Guy Ritchie, The Covenant is a gripping, suspenseful war thriller with two standout performances and some excellent camera work. It’s a serious, realistic look at war and the bonds of trust and loyalty between men who serve together in combat.
Jake Gyllenhaal gives one of his best performances as Sergeant John Kinley, a man who comes to trust his new interpreter and ends up owing him his life. Gyllenhaal captures the command and respect he has over his men and equally wonderfully shows Kinley’s frustration and exhaustion by his failed attempts to rescue Ahmed.
Dar Salim delivers a strong performance as Ahmed, a man who loves his family and goes above and beyond to save Sergeant Kinley from certain death. Salim and Gyllenhaal have solid chemistry in their shared scenes.
The film benefits from terrific camera work that creates an intense and almost docudrama feeling to the action movie. The cinematography and Christopher Benstead’s intense musical score add to the tension.
Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant is a fierce, powerful war thriller that shows the terror, brutality, and heroism of war without glorifying it. The film also puts a spotlight on the interpreters who remain in danger from the Taliban back in Afghanistan and are hunted for assisting America in its fight against terrorism.
GRADE: B
MPAA Rating: R for brief drug content, violence, and language throughout
Release Date: April 21, 2023
Running Time: 123 minutes
Screenwriters: Guy Ritchie, Ivan Atkinson, and Marn Davies
Studio: United Artists Releasing
