If you hadn’t known it beforehand, you would never know that Guy Ritchie directed The Covenant. Known for movies (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Gentlemen, and Sherlock Holmes) with clever plots, quick-wit scripts, and fast-moving action, The Covenant feels wholeheartedly different. Perhaps, this film differed so much from the norm that he felt the need to put his name in the title. The Covenant is, by far, Ritchie’s most realistic film and is entrenched in events from recent history. Had the film been based on a true story, The Covenant Ritchie’s first attempt at a warm movie had the potential to rival American Sniper, Hacksaw Ridge, or Black Hawk Down.

The Covenant takes place in 2018, 17 years after the first group of US soldiers were sent to Afghanistan and a few years before the last troops were withdrawn. Ritchie’s film aims to call attention to the uncelebrated and unremembered Afghan allies who helped advance the US forces’ cause against the Taliban by serving as interpreters in exchange for promised visas for themselves and their families.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw, Brothers) gives a dazzling performance as Sargeant John Kinley, a nuanced, emotionally drained, but driven leader of a platoon assigned with the unenviable task of tracking down the Taliban’s hidden weapons and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) factories throughout the unforgiving Afghanistan terrain, rich with snipers who want nothing more than to kill American soldiers. When his interpreter is killed in battle, he opts to hire Ahmed Abdullah (Dar Salim), a former partner of his heroin-dealing brother turned mechanic with a reputation for being stubborn. When bluntly asked about his reasons for taking on such a dangerous assignment, Ahmed’s answer of hating the Taliban because they killed his son, along with the promise of obtaining visas that will allow his wife and soon-to-be child to come to America, earns him the job.

Ritchie wastes no time getting into the action. His war sequencing is some of the best in recent memory. We meet the other soldiers under John’s command, but they are mostly unidentifiable outside of name and duty. This film revolves solely around the relationship between John and Ahmed and the lengths each man will take to save the other’s life. Ahmed slowly earns the respect of John after he oversteps his position to give strategy or to warn the Sargeant when he senses something doesn’t feel quite right. While John reminds him that his role is to translate, Ahmed respectfully replies that his job “is to interpret.”

The film’s trailer gives away too much of the plot to mention. It doesn’t take much to determine how it concludes if you’ve seen it. However, it doesn’t mean that the journey isn’t worth it. You have two leads who are good men, take calculated risks, are stern when they need to be, but also can remain calm and collected in the face of danger. Moreso, they are good men who are each put in a situation neither wants to be in but is loyal to the cause. The viewer must grapple with the question, “Would either man be willing to do what they did, and, if so, to what lengths?” While the numerous far-fetched scenarios and movie cliche coincidences will cause your eyes to roll more than once, they allow the film to power toward a rewarding finish line.

The Covenant isn’t a fun movie, but it is well-made and worth watching. I struggle with calling it enjoyable because of the gravity of the real-life situation and the thousands of service members and contractors who have died in post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, it is a film that allows you to cheer for our two protagonists, each of which is thrust into a situation that neither likely ever imagined, each determined to do a job that, hopefully, brings an end to the senseless violence exerted by the Taliban and other terrorist organizations.

Ritchie’s style works for this movie. His approach is solemn yet earnest. He sheds the wit-heavy cuteness he exemplifies in many of his other works for a film that is equally rooted in its action sequences as it is loyal to its mission and camaraderie among characters. There is no boasting or showboating. Likewise, The Covenant is not a political movie. However, jabs are taken at our country’s government bureaucracy, its treatment of our veterans, and its failure to honor the promises it makes with foreign contractors. Ritchie doesn’t dig too deep into these issues. He does, however, plant some general ideas for us to ponder while accentuating the consequences of actions in a less-than-glamorized way.

Plot 8/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 7.5/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 9/10
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 9.5/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
85.5%

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