Thor has been promoted to Captain America.
By putting Chris Hemsworth in charge of the dozen-person Army Special Forces unit at the heart of “12 Strong,” director Nicolai Fuglsig and producer Jerry Bruckheimer ensured their war movie would not be marching through any morally ambiguous minefields that would come to surround the War in Afghanistan.
The is, after all, based on the real covert mission undertaken by the men of ODA 595 — one chronicled in Doug Stanton’s non-fiction book “Horse Soldiers.”
Launched just two months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the plan was to embed with Afghan rebels to strike a blow against the Taliban forces that helped support Al Qaeda. It harkens to a time when the vast majority of the American public rallied behind the military response, before the War on Terror got more complicated.
And that’s fine: the real-life Captain Mark Nutsch, played by Hemsworth as “Mitch Nelson,” and his heroic men certainly deserve their close-up 16 years later. Leave the handwringing about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to the politicians and more nuanced films like “Stop-Loss” or “The Hurt Locker.”
“12 Strong,” perched on the strong shoulders and wobbly American accent of its star, succeeds in its mission. Having his real-life spouse Elsa Pataky play his on-screen wife adds a little emotional nuance.
Battle sequences on horseback are executed perfectly for maximum pulse quickening. It helps to have a few good men — with apologies to Army vets disgusted with the Marine reference — cast in the supporting roles. Michael Shannon and Michael Pena have yet to accept a script that they don’t make better. It’s good to see Iranian actor Navid Negahban defect to the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance after playing Al Qaeda mastermind Abu Nazir on “Homeland.”
In a politically divided climate outside the theater, there’s nothing wrong with saddling up for a patriotic thrill ride.
