The Covenant

Another classy and focused Ritchie flick. As with Wrath of Man, this is not a lightweight, verbally refined stylistic feature, but direct and vigorous male-driven action with minimal dialogue, this time paying tribute to Afghan interpreters. Although it is not based on a true story, it feels very realistic, with the highlight being the chase with ragheads in the mountains about halfway through. The tension can be cut and the technically perfect Michael Mann-style action is breathtaking. The warfare is bloody, grounded, and even the barracks feel very realistic, more like a non-production area in a factory than a modern control centre. Gyllenhaal is economical and doesn't take credit from Dar Salim, as his unassuming mechanic with a family and a baby on the way is the real main character here. There's nothing much more to the story than what's in the synopsis, but it's really about a man's word and his commitment to help someone who got you out of some shit. (05/10/2023)

A macho story about commitments that are really important in life and should be fulfilled. With a minimum of words, but an ideal amount of gestures and decent music as support. Ritchie's directorial finesse is nowhere near Spielberg's or Scott's, so the gunfights are rather generic, full of annoyingly digital effects (what else could we ask for 55 million dollars?) and certainly not the main draw of the film, but at least he delivers another solid adult film with emotions, suspense and without pathos after post-modern bullshit like King Arthur or Sherlock Holmes. The Covenant will probably get lost among war movies because there’s is too little war and the depiction of Eastern terrorists is not as catchy and dynamic as in, say, The Kingdom, nor as meticulously detailed as in Zero Dark Thirty, but in terms of content, it is is relatively strong, simple and straightforward. (06/02/2023)

Guy Ritchie and his war movie The Covenant! Anyone who likes these modern Afghan war dramas will not be disappointed here. It may not surpass it's related brethren in terms of genre, but it maintains a similar high standard of craftsmanship and that's the most important thing. The first half hour is slower, but then it picks up decently with a cool action sequence involving a Taliban ambush, culminating in an uncompromising survival drama with two great actors – Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim (great chemistry, fatality, manly words). It is a very suspenseful sequence with a thumping soundtrack where the viewer is slowly left breathless. The second half is a little different, but definitely not bad. Gyllenhaal shows off his acting skills to the max, and even though the action drops, it's still a very engaging and high quality film that culminates in another action intensive finale on a bridge. There's not much to fault the film, there's simply everything you'd expect from an proper and well made modern actioner. Admittedly I don't quite have the urge to see The Covenant again straight away as I did with 13 Hours of Benghazi or Lone Survivor, for example, which I have a notch above. But this one too is a great flick that shouldn't offend anyone. Ritchie is awesome and an expert on macho movies. Leave the women in the kitchen and The Covenant with a beer won’t disappoint. 8/10. (05/26/2023)

I love Jake Gyllenhaal, I love Guy Ritchie, and I love war movies, so I kind of assumed I would like The Covenant, but I didn't expect it to be such a high quality and complex film. Ritchie is an incredibly talented, because to make things like Sherlock Holmes, Aladdin, Wrath of Man, and a war like The Covenant, and to do it all in such quality and scope, with feeling, with a sense of the genre and with a perfect choice of actors, literally nobody can do that. I hugely appreciate the complexity and multi-dimensional quality of The Covenant, as it combines war action, chases through the Afghan mountains (the visuals are breathtaking!!) and steamy drama along with a story based on real events, and when I add to that a brilliant musical score and the damn talented Dar Salim, who steals scene for himself and quite possibly outshines even Gyllenhaal, I come up with an excellent flick that will please a wide range of audiences without a doubt. Ritchie, you're a god! (05/14/2023)

Episode 1: The Trap. Episode 2: Survive. Episode 3: Conscience Glows Orange, Waiting for the Green Light from the Wife. Episode 4: Settled Debt. The first brings masculinity and testosterone, the second the calm strength of Dar Salim, in the third it becomes clear that the director isn't quite confident with characters free of exaggeration, and in the fourth, the commitment is fulfilled according to the expected last-minute notes. Ritchie is creatively stifled outside his islands, and in the last few slow-motion seconds, I wondered if he had handed over the director’s chair to Peter Berg, but as an example from the code of honor, which internally tells a person what is right to do, it had an impact on me. Just like when the Angel of Death appeared without the silhouette of flares that gave him his name. (05/23/2023)