After Plane, the second action film of the year is coming out, in which Gerard Butler has to fight for survival in enemy territory. This time he must reach Kandahar. Find out what the film is about and what the reviews say about it below.
Kandahar starring Gerard Butler was inspired by true events
The screenplay was written by Mitchell LaFortune, who appeared in 2013 as Intelligence Officer for the US Defense Intelligence Agency iworked in Afghanistan and incorporated his experiences in the context of the Snowden leaks into the story.
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Gerard Bautler in Kandahar
Gerard Butler plays black ops agent Tom Harris, tasked with disrupting Iran’s nuclear program. When his cover is exposed by leaks, he flees to Afghanistan. Within 30 hours he has to cover more than 600 kilometers with his translator Mo (Navid Negahban).to catch a transport plane in the city of Kandahar to fly him out. However, an Iranian special command, Taliban troops and other organizations are hot on their heels.
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The reviews for Kandahar are rather mediocre
The English language reviews for Kandahar are rather disappointing. Glenn Kenny from RogerEbert.com gave it two stars and complained that the film staged its “tiring” agent story way too seriously and dryly and didn’t offer much respectable action.
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David Negahban in Kandahar
Similarly, Slant’s Jake Cole notes that Kandahar lacks the necessary paranoia and dread that the story of the pursued in enemy territory demands. Only one action scene in which night vision goggles are used stands out positively.
FILMSTARTS critic Jochen Werner awards three out of five stars and writes:
Kandahar is neither in the genre of the serious spy thriller nor in the action genre so completely – and just this position between the chairs can be found interesting.
Kandahar has been running in German cinemas since today. The cast also includes David Negahban (Homeland), Ali Fazal (Death on the Nile) and Vikings star Travis Fimmel. Ric Roman Waugh directed. The former stuntman is responsible for the excellent butler disaster film Greenland and the third installment in the Has Fallen series, Angel Has Fallen.
If you’re looking for a streaming alternative to Kandahar, check out Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim who is currently streaming on an Amazon Prime subscription.