The Veteran 2011 - film review

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The Veteran...

This is a small UK production, which might have slipped under the radar, and runs against the vein of the usual summer blockbusters. Toby Kebell (he played one of the princes in Prince of Persia) is a veteran who has return from Iraq and Afganistan to UK to a drug and crime ridden neighbourhood. He faces a life in which his skills in war are no longer prized and he gets involved in a world of terrorism and drugs in which he has to call upon all his wit, strength and other soldier qualities to face up to a world where no one is who they present themselves to be.

However this movie is dark and is no Jason Bourne. Those looking for a Hollywood ending will be quite disappointed. However the final firefight is quite realistic and for those who have experience holding the M16, or going through the BCTC battle inoculation course, his fire and movement skills, the weapon handling will appear well films and quite true to life.

This movie will leave you in deep thought for a while and those familiar with these public housing neighborhoods in UK will understand the squalor and the despair, whilst also appreciating that UK is no longer the white population of 20 years ago, and you can feel the palpable threat of terror, which rings a rather sombre tone, as we remember the various terror threats that UK has had to face over the past few years.

This is a slow burner which only takes off near the end, and the tone take a leaf from Michael Caine's Harry Brown.

Plot: 4/5
Action: Thank God for no Bourne-esque shaky cam action scenes 4/5
Worth a rental.



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