In an especially diverse war tale, Kandahar, Scottish actor Gerard Butler as Tom Harris is as grizzled as ever but now evades other grizzlies from practically the entire roster of mid-Eastern bad boys: the Taliban; Iran’s Revolutionary Guard; ISIS; and my fav of all, a matinee idol-like operative from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency. Not to forget American black ops forces either.
It's best not to try to memorize the players but rather enjoy a tale from the mid-East that makes a bit of sense. Tom, stoic and smart, uncovers a CIA black ops initiative, forbidden by the rules, and consequently spends the rest of the adventure evading being caught, and, oh, yes, of course, getting back to his daughter and wife, who is soon to divorce him.
Not surprising that most of our cinematic heroes’ struggles are with wives who don’t like waiting for husbands to return draped in a flag. New to the usual heroic mix is another middle-aged kick-ass fighter, Mohammed ( David Negahban), who enjoys a limited-edition bromance with Butler. Both fight the good fight with family as their prime motive.
Fortunately for us, director Ric Roman Waugh and writer Mitchell La Fortune restrain themselves from multiple flashbacks about formerly-happy family life. Tom has the distinction of joining ranks with other heroes missing their children’s graduations because they extended their tours.
Unfortunately, most of Kandahar is Humvee chases across arid desert with some pretty-phenomenal escapes. (It is Butler, after all, and like Liam Neeson, he must survive to serve another lone-gun operation.) Not to be missed is the night-vision gun fight between operatives and helicopter. Pure action ballet.
If you’ve seen other Butler actioners such as the recent Plane or the Mike Banning Has-Fallen rescues, you’ll know the hero is sincere and caring, a low-key screen staple who more than satisfies a summer urge to veg out on quality action. That’s the Butler way.
Kandahar
Director: Ric Roman Waugh (Angel Has Fallen)
Screenplay: Mitchell LaFortune (War Face)
Cast: Gerard Butler (Plane)
Run Time: 1h 59m
Rating: R
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts NPR’s It’s Movie Time and hosts Cinema Classics as well as podcasts Back Talk and Double Take out of WCBE 90.5 FM. Contact him at JohnDeSando52@gmail.com
