The Outpost (2020) Movie Review

Hello guys and welcome back for another round of movie reviews, quarantine edition, with Movie Nerd, a place where you can be nerdy about movies, even in a pandemic:)))

So guys, yesterday I did not manage to get a review posted because I didn't quite had the time time to work that into my already busy schedule but, since today I have a bit more spare time on my hands, I will do not one but two movie reviews and guess what, both are war movies and both are just great.

Before I dive into the first review, a bit of a synopsis for you lot: the film tells the story of the 53 U.S. soldiers and two Latvian military advisors who battled a force of some 400 enemy insurgents in north-eastern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Originally built to engage the locals in community development projects, Combat Outpost Keating — located at the bottom of three steep mountains just 14 miles from the Pakistani border — faced a constant threat of being attacked by the Taliban, putting the U.S. soldiers stationed there at significant risk. When the Taliban heard of US military officials intentions to close the outpost, they decided to make a statement.

So, you can see from that synopsis that I am not talking about the TV show The Outpost, which actually came out 2 years ago, I am talking about a movie based on a book called The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor based on real life events.

Actually, the real life part is what you need to focus your attention on because the movie depicts those events with such realism that you can feel it's authenticity. It's gripping, violent, emotional, full of encouraging thoughts and situations which are also gritty, in their design, nature and style but at the same time, meaningful.

It's realism is not overshadowed but, mainly, lifted by it's technical feat. Camera angles, camera movements, the action sequences, the visual aesthetics of where the outpost was located and how it was stationed. All of this mixed with the final act of the movie, which is incredible, in terms of story and visual accomplishment, make for a beautiful and, at the same time, heart breaking tribute for the soldiers that died in the final assault.

Overall, an unbelievable and very real war movie that is not American propaganda or something like that, which most of American war movies are but it is a worthy reminder of the heroes that fought and, some of them, died at the Keating Combat Outpost. Very well acted, beautifully shot and well told. 8/10

OK guys, that was my review for this one. In a few minutes, I will be posting my second review of the day for the movie Greyhound, starring Tom Hanks.