There's nothing groundbreaking about the tale of this movie - which was already been told countless other times with different characters - and the tension, while present, doesn't really put you in the edge of your seat when you pretty much can predict how it will all end, but the end result is still entertaining nonetheless.
The Covenant is a very different film for Guy Ritchie. The story is gripping and poignant. Definitely one of Ritchie's better movies.
Thank god for Dar Salim STELLAR performance. Otherwise this would have been a waste of time.
The budget constraints are painfully obvious at times, and I feel the kinship between Gyllenhaal and Salim could have been fleshed out to much better effect, but overall Covenant manages to carve out a compelling, engaging war movie with a great score and some solid tension throughout.
Feels like US Army recruitment material... like, "Join up NOW to help us bring home thousands of our allies!"
The characters were flat, macho grunts. The drama was as straightforward as it could get. The cinematography was basic and uninspired.
With his streak of bad movies from King Arthur to Aladdin to Wrath of Man to Operation Fortune, if Guy Ritchie feels that he has to put his name on the title now to draw audiences, you know he's finished.
Skip this and go watch The Outpost (2020) instead.
Good, enjoyable and well paced. Jake was pretty good in the movie and Dar was quite amazing.
Biggest Flaw is that it’s unbalanced which is unfair due to the nature of it being based off a true story. I wasn’t going in expected a action packed war movie but when that’s what it gave me at the beginning I couldn’t help but want more. First Act of this movie is spectacular and relighted a spark of love for war films for me as I had grown very worn on the genre. When this film is delivering action is when it’s at its best which is no surprise because that’s what Guy Ritchie is great at. As well as giving us some beautifully directed shots that and probably the best score I’ve seen in a movie in a very long time.
I didn't expect it to be that good. Jake was very good but of course Dar Salim stole all the spotlights. The action is not that much really, i don't get the negative Rambo anti-american propaganda it that detail, the music was fantastic and a great direction and production by Guy Ritchie
My favourite film of 2023 to date. Outstanding performances from Salim and Gyllenhaal. Ritchie doesn't miss often. The pacing does slow slightly at some points, and that lowered the score for some, but I was fully immersed throughout. Spectacular. 9.0
Heartbreaking. Makes me feel ashamed to be an American....One of the most underrated movies I've ever seen.
Very good movie. Gripping all the way through especially for such a timely topic in North America. All that dispute to offer these interpreters asylum should be forced to watch this movie. I would bet there are many, many more stories like this. Dar Salem’s performance was incredible and I hope to see him in other movies!
I wish I knew how to quit you Ahmed!
Sad to see that a country after it was helped immidiately falls back to their old habits.
Good movie. Loved the ending.
The musical scores impressed me more than anything.
How egomaniacal should you be to put your own name in the actual title of the movie! Removing a star just for that!
They got their US Visas, great, wait these are US Passports. Who let that pass?
[Prime Video] More interesting when it doesn't look like a Guy Ritchie movie, it offers a reflection on the relationship between occupying soldiers and occupied citizens that is ultimately lost in a rescue thriller that is predictable. Despite the title, it is the film that brings the least Guy Ritchie style, which is not necessarily a negative. But there is a narrative background to how the invaders handle their collaborators in this Afghanistan recreated in Spain, which simply loses steam as the story unfolds to make way for a conventional war thriller.
I thought they did a great job of building up the bond between John and Ahmed. Great action scenes, albeit with a little too much shooting accuracy on behalf of the protagonists.
Dal Salim was definitely the star, but I’d say both he and Jake were strong together as leads.
A middling film, that goes exactly where you think it will for the most part. Which isn’t really a problem if they execute it in an interesting way, held together by Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim.
There's virtually nothing Guy Ritchie about this Guy Ritchie movie.
The performances are solid and the premise is effective enough, but ultimately I came away feeling lukewarm about the whole thing. It's a bit melodramatic at times. For a movie that seemed to position itself as being inspired by true events (though I learned afterwards that it actually was not based on anything specific), it played pretty fast and loose with realism, shattering suspension of disbelief relatively early. There's also the action, which all feels very same-y and overly reliant on cheap CGI. Over the last decade or so, amateur CGI artists on YouTube felt like they were closing the gap with professional level CGI. But it feels like Hollywood got the wrong idea and decided that it could help close the gap in the other direction by bringing it's quality down to meet in the middle. It's probably a situation where the difference between "good enough" and "great" is a massive increase in budget, so if a large portion of the audience won't notice or care? It's an easy call to make. But even if I understand the decision, it still results in a movie that was just okay.
Amazing Soundtrack and Wonderful Cinematography with breathtaking views. The story was compelling, and speaks to things that have happened and are still happening.
I would recommend all to watch this movie and just reflect on the story, to how this has played out in real life with the real interpreters who risked their lives to help our forces and have paid with their lives.
Great film, still got the Guy Ritchie wit even though it’s totally different to what he’s done before.
Uneven, but gripping nonetheless.
Jake Gyllenhaal was fine. Dar Salim was amazing.
(In case it's driving you crazy too: Parker is Homelander. I had to look it up :joy:)
Best movie of the year!
Similar to Wrath of Man, Guy Ritchie removes any comedic elements from his style and gives us a very serious, and perhaps at times too earnest, modern war drama. Dar Salim turns in a masterful performance that makes it worth the watch, though. Assuming you can get past the notion that this can at times feel a bit like a recruitment tool. There's also not a lot of nuance to the story, but there is enough to keep you invested. Not Ritchie's best work but we'll ahead of his big budget failures.
It is not a typical Guy Ritchie movie, it is entertaining, well made, it changes scenery, and it is a good movie.
I really liked how John's character grows over the course of the movie. He's kind of an asshole initially, but then learns to trust his interpreter through his act and their discussions, and of course is completely transformed after the harrowing journey.
Great acting all over, too. This was better than I expected for a war movie from Guy Ritchie.
A great movie. Slow in parts but with a big emotional pay off in the end. The suspense was done well but the combat not so much.
There's a lot of things that didn't sit right with me when 3-3 got wiped. There's been defensive actions that were in worst situations such as the Tongo Tongo ambush and the Battle of Wanat. And the NCO's did a great job tactically and decisively saving their units from total annihilation. Of course, at the same time- this is a fictional story so if the majority of his team lived then the plot wouldn't be possible. Similar movies/stories had other ways to solve it, without wiping the whole squad though.
I don't let it take away from the message, the story and the suspense all of which the directing nails. Definitely recommend watching it.
Casual war type movie.
Hated jake gyllenhaal in this, made me wanna bareback an ak47.
What a great film of the reenactment of the game story of the American solider who had his life saved by a middle eastern translator while fighting the Taliban and how the solider fights to go back to the Middle East after his recovery to bring the translator out of hiding and to US for safety. The character development is fantastic. The plot buildup was brief but good. The true excitement and edge of your seat part about this film is the journey of the life saving on both ends. This shows the true commitment US military has to its own and this was beautifully done.
I liked this one, but not as much as I wanted to like it! The trailer is incredible interesting, and the bulk of the trailer takes up too little runtime. Still solid and I will surely watch again!
Rating: 3.5/5 - 80% - Would Recommend
Good action movie, predictable by the second act, but really good overall.
Those expecting a typical Guy Ritchie film from "The Covenant" will be let down. Instead, you get a rather generic, but at least solid, war film cobbled together from similar works. The plot can be divided into three fairly distinct parts. The first third is a typical modern war movie with explosive firefights. After that comes the real highlight of the film, where Dar Salim, as translator Ahmed, is quite convincing in portraying the tour de force his character goes through.
In the final third, however, everything falls apart. It's a pure American fairy tale that doesn't have much to do with reality. And also, in general, the film seems a bit out of time. The action takes place in 2018, a time when there weren't so many firefights between US soldiers and the Taliban. And we all know where the whole thing ended in 2021. Knowing that, the plot should have definitely been set up differently, especially since there are actually still numerous Afghan personnel from Western countries stuck under Taliban rule.
Overall, "The Covenant" serves up a competently produced war film that is never really exciting or thrilling. If that's enough for you, you will probably have a good time with the film.
3.5, watched at 2023-05-20, imported from douban
started off good imo but got a bit boring, predictable
Good movie i like it
I was looking forward to this movie as I’m a fan of Guy Ritchie, I did have a feeling though that it might not be as good as I hoped. Sadly I was right.
It’s a reasonable enough action flick when there’s any action going on but it’s all stuff that’s been done before. Outside of the action though it’s just remake of Lone Survivor, a movie that was MUCH better. This is fairly low budget and it shows from the “straight to stream” screening, it’s also way too heavy on subtitles, sometimes I just want to watch a movie, not sit reading subtitles! There’s the odd Guy Ritchie tell-tale soundtrack clips in here but, oddly, they do nothing for this movie. None of the other Ritchie trademarks are present at all though, making it just a very average modern war movie.
Amazing movie. Wish I saw it in theaters
He asked for a chopper, they gave him an apple
Film is based on real life. Amazing film must watch
Despite the somewhat dramatic yet basic storyline, the movie was emotional and touching. I’m glad it’s raising awareness about Afghan “terps” (interpreters).
Another masterpiece! I love Guy Ritchie and everything he does is just perfect. Best movie 2023!
Good movie, better than expected but shouldn't have cause Guy Richie movies are always awesome
8/10
This is the best film Ritchie has made in quite a while. If he can quit doing his geezer flicks with Statham and Hugh Grant and make more movies like this one, he will regain my faith in him as a moviemaker.
Movies are still great, and Guy Ritchie (like many other filmmakers out there around the world) can prove it.
Is it just me, or did Gyllenhaal approach this film with as much enthusiasm as I had for that one time we were travelling interstate for a long weekend at grandma's, and I'd realized 4 hours in that I'd left my Gameboy colour at home?
This might very well be the most solid 6/10 movie ever made.
Very good movie, very interesting from start to finish
Very well done. Good story. Good rhythm. Good acting. Good photography. Great soundtrack. And obviously good direction.
excellent action movie .. based on real events .. very good .
really one of the best movies I ever seen, it worth the time, recommended!
Has to really work to suspend my disbelief, such was the embellishment.
Guy, you’ve done great, but leave your name out the effing movie title!
Great acting work from everyone, doesn't fall into cliches, story is thrilling and gripping. Shows true brotherhood connection between warriors who went through hell together.
And OMG the score!! So good! really emphasizes and enlarge all the special moments in the film! Beautiful cinematography.
I'm a big fan of war films and a big critic of them.
This is Very highly recommended.
Lots of action but kind of out of place in a world where he could have just said the word asylum and he would have been in the US in a couple of days
Shout by Horror future #7BlockedParent2023-08-24T10:40:34Z
Great movie kept me from the beggining till the end with some good directing. 7.8/10