For over twenty years this country has had a particular interest in the Middle East and rightfully so. The Taliban has been under surveillance by military forces and spies since long before the events of 9/11/2001 occurred. Generally, any story about that part of the world depicted men, regardless of whether they were in civilian clothing or uniform, hunting hostiles and taking them out one way or another. Rarely, have we seen women in roles they require them to take on the Taliban, until now. This month Lionsgate will distribute Dirty Angels for a limited theatrical release and video on demand beginning on December 13, 2024.
Jake (Eva Green; Casino Royale) and her men are living in cages, hostages of the rebels who have taken over the Middle East. However, when a botched rescue mission ends with her unit being murdered as she flies away in a helicopter, sometime later she is asked to return to Afghanistan to rescue some diplomats' daughters who have been taken. While at school, terrorists came on campus and after shooting and killing several students, guards, and administrators, took the rest of the students to either sell or hold hostage for ransom and the release of a political ally being held by the military.
Going into the country under the guise of being medical personnel, 2 men and 6 women, the trained fighters use their contacts to find out where the girls are being held so they can set them free. However, when the first part of the plan goes awry, the two men are killed and one of the female soldiers is taken hostage and beheaded on live television. With time running out and discovering Jake has been betrayed by her contact, the remaining female soldiers must infiltrate the cave where the hostages are in order to liberate them.
Green takes a different approach to the character of Jake than she did in her role in Casino Royale - Vesper. She has an athletic build, clearly showing she has been training for the role. She portrays the commander as cold, ruthless, and very pragmatic while showing little emotion. She speaks in a gruff tone barking orders as often as she can. However, underneath the stoic exterior, she hides a tender heart and secrets no one person should have to bear. Unfortunately, her take on the character comes across as stiff, dry, and uninteresting. The rest of the cast is unremarkable and unmemorable.
While the script is lackluster at best, there seems to be a sense of realism in the way the Taliban and members of ISIS are depicted. They have always been portrayed as savages who are ruthless and the killing in this movie does nothing to dispel that stereotype. From throwing teenage girls off the roof of a school building to brazenly shooting hostages in the back of their heads, the violence is unimaginable while accurately portraying terrorists or at least what Americans have been told about them. Those scenes are particularly difficult to watch.
Dirty Angels wants to show strong female soldiers doing everything their male counterparts do but honestly, the technical aspects and the script distract the viewer from what director Martin Campbell (Edge of Darkness) was trying to create. However, the biggest disappointment is Green. While she has been very good in past performances, she misses the mark here and, along with all the other missteps throughout this project, the overall experience is disheartening.
I wanted to like this movie but there are so many things stacked against it that I just couldn't.
