Retro Film Review: Bravo Two Zero (1999)
First Gulf War was one of the most spectacular events in recent history. Despite that, it was almost completely ignored by Hollywood. There were various reasons for that. First, pro- Democratic Hollywood didn't want to remind American audience of Republican President's triumph. This was also one of the first wars to be experienced in living rooms and the audience seemed uninterested in paying to see it again in theatres. Finally, the perception of the war - shared by Americans and rest of the world - was created by images of a superpower making a minced meat out of couple of unfortunate Third World losers. Hollywood studios, with few exceptions, didn't see any potential for drama.
Of course, just like in many similar occasions, public perception of war was different from the reality. The war was a smashing success by all military standards, but its massive scale guaranteed that the winning side would have its share of tragedies and fiascos. Those stories, however, were simply too obscure or classified as top secret by military authorities of victorious Western countries. So, it isn't surprising that Bravo Two Zero, book describing one of those events, turned out to be among the greatest literary bestsellers of the 1990s. Its author Andy McNab owed its success partly to the public interest for the untold stories of unfinished war and partly to his own efforts to demystify one of the most celebrated military forces of the world. In 1999 the book was adapted into BBC film directed by Tom Clegg.
The film begins at the very beginning of Gulf War. Andy McNab (played by Sean Bean) is member of small unit of SAS, elite British force famous for successfully handling the most difficult missions behind enemy lines. The unit is sent to the deserts of Northern Iraq with the task to locate and sabotage Saddam's dreaded "Scud" missiles. From the very beginning mission starts to go terribly wrong. Their unit is detected by Iraqi military and although McNab and his men manage to stand their ground and defeat their pursuers, they know that the mission can't be accomplished and that their only priority is mere survival. The only way out is long journey towards the safety of Syrian border, but even with their formidable skills the odds are against them. After days of merciless pursuit, the only question is whether anyone of them would avoid death or capture.
Those accustomed to the high standards of British television won't be disappointed by Bravo Two Zero. This film lacks glamour of American high budget production, but director Clegg compensates it with the emphasis on human drama and by skilfully using desert locations of South Africa. Scriptwriter Troy Kennedy-Martin is unburdened by unnecessary subplots; characters' past and their family lives are given only lip service. Instead this film is concentrated solely on the raw simplicity of the failed military mission and its tragic aftermath. Bravo Two Zero shows both the fascinating potentials of superb SAS training and the human limitations of SAS soldiers; they aren't supermen, they make mistakes, get wounded, captured and killed. But the most fascinating aspect of Bravo Two Zero is soldiers' attitude towards their job. Flag-waving gung-ho patriotism or smug anti-war moralising of American films is replaced with more realistic, down-to-earth approach. McNab and his comrades are unburdened with politics or desire to prove themselves; they are career professionals who view war in the same way plumbers view water pipes.
Bravo Two Zero disappoints at the end, when it deals with issues that became quite relevant in the light of most current events. Ironically, this is opportunity for Sean Bean to prove his great acting ability, because it isn't quite easy to convincingly portray prisoner under torture. But this section of film passes too quickly. Either the events were too traumatic for McNab to describe them properly or the authors weren't convinced that Saddam's appalling treatment of Western POWs would be as interesting and thought-provoking as the display of McNab's murderous abilities. Ironically, the very last line of the film suggests that all those ivory tower intellectuals so outraged over recent atrocities at Abu Ghraib missed one important point. Wars, noble liberation crusades and imperialist conquests alike, are business that can't be conducted without use of violence. McNab and people like him, killing machines to whom enlightened Western democracies owe their freedom and prosperity, in many ways aren't different from the Iraqi soldiers and secret policemen abusing them behind bars.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on June 9th 2004)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/116333-bravo-two-zero
Critic: AA