Alexander Skarsgard has quietly carved out a niche as one of the top sinister bad guys of his generation. Whether it be the homicidal Viking in The Northman, the psychopathic tech CEO in HBO’s transcending drama Succession, the abusive antagonist in HBO’s beloved Big Little Lies, the lead sexual assaulter/terrorizer in the underrated remake of Straw Dogs, or the charming and soft-spoken, yet sadistic and narcissistic sergeant in Dan Krauss’s The Kill Team, a fictionalized version of the killings of unarmed Afghan civilians carried out by US soldiers in the Maywand District in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan in 2010.

The film is set in 2009 Afghanistan. Our protagonist is Andrew Briggman (The Fault in Our Stars, The Intern), affectionately referred to as Briggsy by his fellow soldiers, a young United States Army recruit. We first meet Briggman after an IED kills his beloved staff sergeant. Staff Sergeant Deeks Skarsgard (Melancholia, Godzilla vs. Kong). While a straight shooter and natural leader, Deeks is dark and mysterious. We learn when Briggsy does that each skull tattoo on his calves represents the killing of an enemy.

After assuming his position, Deeks informs Bravo Company (his inherited platoon) that the way that they will find those responsible for the deaths of American soldiers is by raiding villages. The team invades camps from a list of dates and locations of recent IED attacks. His way is aggressive and combative, going against the norm of what Briggsy had learned in basic training and under the command of his previous staff sergeant.

Briggsy becomes suspicious of the deaths of seemingly innocent Afghans by members of his platoon. He becomes increasingly wary of Deeks’ influence on the others, as well as of the sergeant himself, after each raid. While his comrades seem to grow closer with each mission, Briggsy pulls away, growing increasingly concerned about what he perceives as unjustified killings, unsure of how to handle it, fearful of his safety if he chooses to report Deeks to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). As the story progresses, the tension between Briggsy and Deeks thickens. Skarsgard masterfully portrays Deeks as a leader so removed from military protocol and chain of command orders that he has assumed somewhat of a God complex, believing that whatever story he conjures will justify his actions, but does so in a way that still makes him look genuine and patriotic. Many of those serving under him either seek his favor or, worse, strive to be him.

Everything felt rushed in this film. The Kill Team might have worked well as a book. It would have allowed each character to have their story flushed out. Had the novel been written in first person, we would have been given the chance to be inside of Briggman’s head. Instead, we only received bits and pieces of what he was thinking before we were shoveled off to the next plot device.

Krauss’s intentions were good. The murders of innocent Afghans and sequential coverups of innocent during The War in Afghanistan needed to be told. In a day and age where everything is transparent, stories that put a negative mark on American soldiers are as crucial as the ones in which heroism and altruism are displayed. While we wish that parties on both sides of any conflict follow the outlined rules of engagement rather than following a self-serving agenda or behaving in conduct not befitting an officer, we also know that soldiers are humans, and humans ultimately make their own decisions.

In the end, The Kill Team was unable to differentiate itself from other war movies or other whistleblower movies. While tension-filled and rich with distinct characters, the film fails to delve into the atrocities of war crimes. As we jump from one killing to the next, it feels as if Briggman is the only one in his squad with any layer of moral compass. Perhaps this is true, but it seems a bit far-fetched to believe that in an entire platoon, the killing of an unarmed man who poses no threat raises the red flag of just a single soldier. Of course, Krauss is limited in how many minutes he has to tell his story, with the focus being almost entirely on Briggman and how the events and the other soldiers impact him. It’s another reason why I think this story would work better as a novel.

Plot 8/10
Character Development 6/10
Character Chemistry 6.75/10
Acting 7.25/10
Screenplay 6.5/10
Directing 6.5/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 7/10
Hook and Reel 8/10
Universal Relevance 10/10
74%

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