Summary:In 2006, a small unit of soldiers is dug into a ridge overlooking the Kajaki Dam in Afghanistan. A three-man patrol sets out to disable a Taliban roadblock. In a dried out river bed at the foot of the ridge, one of the patrol detonates a land mine, blowing off his leg and setting into motion a desperate rescue mission. His fellow soldiersIn 2006, a small unit of soldiers is dug into a ridge overlooking the Kajaki Dam in Afghanistan. A three-man patrol sets out to disable a Taliban roadblock. In a dried out river bed at the foot of the ridge, one of the patrol detonates a land mine, blowing off his leg and setting into motion a desperate rescue mission. His fellow soldiers come to his aid, only to find themselves trapped in an unmarked minefield, a relic of the Russian invasion of the 1980s. With no way out, any movement risks certain injury and possible death.
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Kajaki is without a doubt one of the best war movies I’ve ever seen. Like the Saftie brothers film Uncut Gems, this movie does everything humanely possible to stress you out, but unlike Uncut Gems this is a true story, so anything goes. Usually a plot will follow a somewhat predictableKajaki is without a doubt one of the best war movies I’ve ever seen. Like the Saftie brothers film Uncut Gems, this movie does everything humanely possible to stress you out, but unlike Uncut Gems this is a true story, so anything goes. Usually a plot will follow a somewhat predictable formula. You might say “they can’t kill off this character as they are too important for the narrative”, but in Kajaki this is not the case. Everyone is expendable, and no one is safe, which makes the movie quite possibly the most intense 2 hours (1hr 48) I’ve ever watched. As you’d expect from a film shot in Afghanistan, the landscapes, particularly during the opening 20 minutes of the film, are absolutely jaw dropping. I’d even go as far as to say it’s one of the most beautifully shot war movies I’ve ever seen (although there is a lot of competition). The acting is also top notch, which is made considerably more impressive by the fact that pretty much all the cast members are relatively unknown. I really liked the fact that they all had a variety of heavy regional accents, like British soldiers would in real life, however I would assume they would be fairly difficult to understand for anyone outside of the UK, so I strongly recommend to foreign viewers that you watch it with subtitles on. I’d also like to stress that this movie is not for the faint of heart. There are plenty of gruesome and disturbing images (think the mine sequence in Da 5 bloods, or the frequent dismemberment in hacksaw ridge), and you’ll find at many points the dialogue is nearly drowned out by the screams of dying soldiers. Ultimately Paul Katis’s Kajaki is an extremely suspenseful war drama that despite not taking the conventional approach, stands out amongst the ever growing stream of war movies.…Expand
As an American, it was a bit hard to understand what they (British soldiers) were saying so I had to use subtitles. Once I got used to that, however, I really enjoyed this movie. Plus it is, according to end credits, based on a true story, which is interesting (and makes it more intense, IAs an American, it was a bit hard to understand what they (British soldiers) were saying so I had to use subtitles. Once I got used to that, however, I really enjoyed this movie. Plus it is, according to end credits, based on a true story, which is interesting (and makes it more intense, I think).
To sum everything up in a sentence, I'd say it's our classical army movie in the sense that we get a sense for the brotherhood and bonds between men of war; yet it is refreshingly anti-typical in that it is without the prototypical villain of these types of movies, i.e. man in turban, but instead makes the villain the forgotten "leftovers", i.e. land mines washed into a river basin from a previous war (the Soviet–Afghan War?), to exemplify the bad guy, reminding us that the ramifications of old wars (and certainly this war) extend far beyond the dates written in Wikipedia .…Expand
I think it's a good movie showing what's behind the scenes , Stories we aren't suppose to know about especially military stuff which is so classified , This movie is showing us how soldiers are risking their lives to get the job done , Beside it's based on a true story so that's a plusI think it's a good movie showing what's behind the scenes , Stories we aren't suppose to know about especially military stuff which is so classified , This movie is showing us how soldiers are risking their lives to get the job done , Beside it's based on a true story so that's a plus for me since I love movies based on true stories, but what I didn't like is that most of the movie they are focusing on one thing in the same area I don't want to spoil it but what I can say is there is a lot of disturbing scenes even if that what really happens but when converting any story into a movie it suppose to have that cinematic plot a way to keep audience thrilled not just copy past it like re-acting what's happening in the exact way !
This is the reason my rating is 6/10 otherwise it could be better and would deserve 7/10 :)…Expand