Incredible action, spectacular storytelling, and character development aside, one of my favorite details is that each time the team stops, Major Jasem cleans up the garbage around him. I can’t go into much detail about the remaining plot without major spoilers, since each scene does its own share of heavy lifting, culminating with Kawa learning what SWAT’s gut-wrenching final mission was really for, but it brings the war home in a way that I’ve never seen in another film about the conflict. When the little boys finished their goodbyes and separated, most likely for the last time, there wasn’t a dry eye in the room. The youngest wants to go with the soldiers, but the oldest wants to stay and bury their dad. In one of the most gut-wrenching scenes, the SWAT members come upon two young brothers, horribly burned and bloodied, pulling the body of their father on a cart. The film is packed with short, incredibly moving bits of storytelling that reinforce the humanity of the team while not shying away from the horror of the war. Deploying to Iraq just because your unit came down with orders doesn’t have the same emotional stakes as a young man raised during the American occupation who is furious that a band of religious fanatics has destroyed the country they’re fighting to save. All the men have a unique backstory and motivation for fighting that brings the real war home. In the relatively short 101-minute run time, the movie does an amazing job of character development as Kawa talks to each member of the unit while they pick their way through the shattered city.
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