In August of 2021, the nation watched as the United States Armed Forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan. For those who followed the media coverage, there were terrifying images of Afghan people fleeing their country in desperation, fearful of the brutal retaliation promised by insurgent forces. Among the many tragic ripples flowing from the Afghanistan withdrawal is the abandonment of Afghan citizens who worked as interpreters during the 20-year war. Hollywood is now bringing these stories to screen. Based on true incidents, Gerard Butler’s newest action vehicle Kandahar mashes tidbits of intel to deliver a mediocre race against time thriller that clumsily straddles the propaganda line.
Butler knows the assignment as he plays undercover CIA operative Tom Harris, a grizzled, ham-fisted shadow man who’s first act of sabotaging an Iranian nuclear facility spirals into dire consequences when his cover gets blown by an overzealous journalist. With the Iranian government and the Inter-Services Intelligence on his trail, Harris and his translator (played by Navid Negahban doing his best to bring the leaden script to life) have 30 hours to get to an extraction point in Kandahar or be left for dead behind enemy lines.
Director Ric Roman Waugh is adept at showcasing collaborator Butler (Angel Has Fallen, Greenland) in action set pieces. Kandahar is no exception. The action sequences aren’t necessarily revelatory, but Waugh’s skilled at delivering visceral machismo with every stray bullet and explosion. Two stand outs are subplot characters that would have possibly delivered a stronger narrative if the focus was shifted more in their direction. Ali Fazal plays the west-leaning egotist ISI agent Kahil with so much verve and presence that you’d want to see his character in his own action film. And Bahador Foladi’s portrayal of Iranian asset Farzad Asadi emotes with understated compassion and exhaustion of war in his homeland.
It’s a particular shame that Foladi’s role is essentially downplayed. His moments of empathy would have given a great balance to the film’s clumsy attempt at social commentary. This is where Kandahar falls short. In between the action sequences, and militarized posturing before the next action sequence, we are invited to one-sided preachy monologues commenting on the war in Afghanistan and the aftermath of the US withdrawal. Taken at face value, the editorializing is commendable. But thematically, such speeches are force fed into the script and play on screen like a commercial PSA. Never mind the harm from stray bullets and the collateral damage deaths of thousands in the opening sequence by the “good guys.”
Kandahar holds steady as an action thriller. It doesn’t raise the bar and it seems very comfortable and confident in knowing so. Gerard Butler’s stoic man-of-action persona can only carry it but so far, and the supporting cast must make way for bullets, Humvees and choppers in lieu of depth, introspection and empathy. The only reason this matters is because the filmmakers wanted Kandahar to be more than what it is. In doing so, they illuminated what it’s not.
Photo courtesy of Open Road Films
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