12 Strong

12 Strong is about the first Special Forces team that was chosen to go into Afghanistan after 9/11. Their mission: to meet up with the local warlord, earn his trust, and take down the Taliban between Bescham and Mazar-i-Sharif.

The movie begins with the leader of the Special Forces team (played by Chris Hemsworth) at home with his family. We come to learn that he was about to submit his paperwork for a desk job. He has never seen real battles, and has only trained his men in the field. After some convincing, he is allowed to lead his men into this war. For the rest of the movie, you watch Chris Hemsworth as he discovers what a real war is like, and you see the changes it makes in a man.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this movie, but there are a few things that were unbelievable. I understand that it is a movie, but it's based on a true story, and key points need to be kept. For example, the biggest problem I had was that the 12 men never wore a helmet. Why??? Since when do we allow any soldier to enter into enemy territory without a helmet? That's asking for a death wish. I know Chris Hemsworth is nice to look at and we hate seeing his beautiful hair covered up....wait that's Thor... but come on. Give the man a helmet.

I did, however, enjoy seeing how a man that had no experience with war, learned (from a warlord, no less) how to become a true soldier. He went from never having killed a single man, to taking on an army of Taliban on horseback. With all the odds set against him, tanks vs. horses, thousands vs. a few hundred, and with everyone saying he wouldn't come home to his family again, Captain Mitch Nelson proved them all wrong. He completed his mission in three weeks even though everyone told him it wasn't possible. That this portion of the war would take years to complete and that he would only be the first to die. He and his 11 men, proved the world wrong. He is an inspiration, and he deserves to be recognized as such. It makes me very happy that these men are now recognized with a statue at the World Trade Center, and it makes me even happier that the world now knows their story.