MAN OF WAR Review: A Gritty And Grim Action Thriller From The Director Of ‘The Channel’
Man Of War is currently available on VOD and arriving September 8th on Blu-ray from Well Go USA
In Man Of War Conner (LaMonica Garrett), a former Navy Seal, sets out on a one man rescue mission to save his niece Riley (Rosmary Yaneva), a nurse who is kidnapped by Russian commandos while supplying aid in the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Conner uses his connections to catch a ride to the Ukraine with a group of mercenaries hired to locate and extract a wealthy client from the war zone. Once in the country, he links up with a local guide/handler Dany (Andrew Howard) and the two set out on their mission encountering countless horrors of war along the way to save Riley.
I had some reservations going into this movie considering it’s set in a war that is only a few years old and still ongoing; I pondered how do you use that as the backdrop to an action movie without it being exploitive or distasteful? Fortunately, the movie handles the subject matter in a more thoughtful and sober manner than I expected. It doesn’t glamorize war and presents it as a horrifying no win situation spreading death and destruction. There are no heroes.* Conner and the mercenaries he flew in with are not there to help the Ukrainian people; they are only there for profit or personal reasons, and at times ignore people in distress because it’s not part of their mission. The movie is clearly on the side of Ukraine but yet still highlights how the Ukraine military is quick to execute a group of young Russian prisoners who most likely were forced to fight. War corrupts everything it touches.
LaMonica Garrett is good in the lead as Conner, the haunted stoic veteran with a strong physical presence and is believable in the action sequences. Andrew Howard gets to play the movie’s most heroic character Dany, Conner’s Ukrainian guide who wants to protect his family and country and serves as a sort of Jiminy Cricket, acting as the movie’s conscience on their nightmarish journey. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Daniel Bernhardt plays an almost cartoonishly evil black hat villain as Koniev, the Russian commander who kidnapped Riley. Bernhardt is great in the role, his scenery chewing performance is worthy of a Cannon film villain and stands out– contrasted against the grim and grounded tone of the film. Jason Patric’s inclusion in the cast is a welcome surprise and is well used in the limited role of Charlie Conner’s friend and contact.
With this movie and the gritty heist thriller The Channel (2023) under his belt, director William Kaufman has proven he is a master of low budget tactical combat. Man of War is a step up in scope and scale featuring a variety of tactical action both in tight quarters and in large scale shootouts, but really pops when hand-to-hand combat is mixed in with gunplay. For the most part the presentation is more grounded and realistic than stylized, matching the tone of the film.
Personally I question the choice to set a movie in a war that is still ongoing with a climbing body count. However the film is so grim and horrific in its depiction of war, it would be hard to label it as exploitative. If anything the appropriately somber and dark tone are often at odds with the film’s Rambo flavored rescue mission action movie premise. While it’s well made It’s hard to enjoy a movie as entertainment when there is rape, death and destruction based on real word events at every turn. I applaud the filmmakers for not going in a more exploitative route, but there is no denying that doing so results in “entertainment” also ending up as a casualty of war.
*SPOILERS even the ending is shockingly unheroic, most of the mercenaries don’t survive and, while they do rescue Riley they don’t defeat Koniev and merely mange to escape leaving him to continue committing atrocities.
Passionate genre film enthusiast
I don't believe in guilty pleasures
