Warhorse One follows a desperate civilian rescue attempt set in motion shortly after the 2021 withdrawal of the United States military from Afghanistan. After a SEAL team helicopter is downed en route to the rendezvous point, the lone surviving operator must evade hostile insurgents and navigate treacherous terrain while guiding his one remaining charge—a traumatized young girl—to safety. Co-directed by first-time director Johnny Strong & veteran William Kaufman (The Hit List, Shrapnel), Warhorse One stars Johnny Strong (Black Hawk Down, The Fast and the Furious), newcomer Athena Durner, Raj Kala (Black Adam, Mayday), newcomer James Sherrill, and Siya Rostami (Black Easter).
What We Thought:
Warhorse One is a solid military action flick. It has a couple of small issues, but for a non-mainstream/non-major studio war movie, it’s highly watchable and entertaining.
The film focuses on a lone survivor type situation where a SEAL member falls from a helicopter before it crashes because of an RPG attack. They were on their way to rescue a missionary family left behind after our government left everyone for dead during the fall of Afghanistan. The lone SEAL is able to track down the family, but the only one alive is a young girl and he must get her to an extraction point while being chased down by the bad guys.
This year we’ve already seen a similar movie in The Covenant and I used the term lone survivor because this film is similar to the movie Lone Survivor, but I’m ok with any similarities to other films. I like war movies. I especially like seeing movies where the situation goes sideways and you see the best in people. He has no flight in his fight or flight option, he does what he needs to do to stay alive and keep the girl safe.
The action is pretty good for a lower budgeted film. One of the negatives is they use post-production muzzle flash and I hate that. Yes you aren’t going to use live rounds in a movie like this, but post-production muzzle flash on the rifles and handguns drives me nuts. If it doesn’t bother you, so be it, but I’m always docking a point off a movie that does it.
I know I’ve seen Johnny Strong in other things and he’s decent in the lead role. No he won’t be confused for Mark Wahlberg or Jake Gyllenhaal, but he handles the role well. He looks believable as a SEAL although he does leave his helmet behind which wouldn’t happen. The young actress playing the scared girl is quite good as well.
Warhorse One won’t be seen as a classic war movie, but that’s fine. I enjoyed it and can see myself watching it again at some point. The action looks realistic. The location works for the film. It’s an easy to follow story and will be one of many films about the fall of Afghanistan. If you like any of the previous war movies I’ve mentioned you should like this one too.
Warhorse One has a runtime of approximately 126 minutes and is rated R for bloody war violence and some language.
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