The Covenant

Guy Ritchie and his war movie The Covenant! Anyone who likes these modern Afghan war dramas will not be disappointed here. It may not surpass it's related brethren in terms of genre, but it maintains a similar high standard of craftsmanship and that's the most important thing. The first half hour is slower, but then it picks up decently with a cool action sequence involving a Taliban ambush, culminating in an uncompromising survival drama with two great actors – Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim (great chemistry, fatality, manly words). It is a very suspenseful sequence with a thumping soundtrack where the viewer is slowly left breathless. The second half is a little different, but definitely not bad. Gyllenhaal shows off his acting skills to the max, and even though the action drops, it's still a very engaging and high quality film that culminates in another action intensive finale on a bridge. There's not much to fault the film, there's simply everything you'd expect from an proper and well made modern actioner. Admittedly I don't quite have the urge to see The Covenant again straight away as I did with 13 Hours of Benghazi or Lone Survivor, for example, which I have a notch above. But this one too is a great flick that shouldn't offend anyone. Ritchie is awesome and an expert on macho movies. Leave the women in the kitchen and The Covenant with a beer won’t disappoint. 8/10. (26/05/2023)

I love Jake Gyllenhaal, I love Guy Ritchie, and I love war movies, so I kind of assumed I would like The Covenant, but I didn't expect it to be such a high quality and complex film. Ritchie is an incredibly talented, because to make things like Sherlock Holmes, Aladdin, Wrath of Man, and a war like The Covenant, and to do it all in such quality and scope, with feeling, with a sense of the genre and with a perfect choice of actors, literally nobody can do that. I hugely appreciate the complexity and multi-dimensional quality of The Covenant, as it combines war action, chases through the Afghan mountains (the visuals are breathtaking!!) and steamy drama along with a story based on real events, and when I add to that a brilliant musical score and the damn talented Dar Salim, who steals scene for himself and quite possibly outshines even Gyllenhaal, I come up with an excellent flick that will please a wide range of audiences without a doubt. Ritchie, you're a god! (14/05/2023)

Episode 1: The Trap. Episode 2: Survive. Episode 3: Conscience Glows Orange, Waiting for the Green Light from the Wife. Episode 4: Settled Debt. The first brings masculinity and testosterone, the second the calm strength of Dar Salim, in the third it becomes clear that the director isn't quite confident with characters free of exaggeration, and in the fourth, the commitment is fulfilled according to the expected last-minute notes. Ritchie is creatively stifled outside his islands, and in the last few slow-motion seconds, I wondered if he had handed over the director’s chair to Peter Berg, but as an example from the code of honor, which internally tells a person what is right to do, it had an impact on me. Just like when the Angel of Death appeared without the silhouette of flares that gave him his name. (23/05/2023)

It's refreshing to see Guy Ritchie tackle a more serious topic instead of his usual pop culture-heavy fare. The Covenant is a solid piece of filmmaking. The story of Afghan translators deserves attention — they risk not just their lives but also the safety of their loved ones. The film perfectly captures the war-torn atmosphere and delivers flawless action sequences, all underscored by a strong sense of honor. And as any man can attest, honor is the highest virtue we can offer. (23/12/2023)

Guy Ritchie has become an unexpectedly interesting filmmaker in recent years, making a "smaller", gritty and honest-to-goodness film here and there in addition to crafting decently done commercial stuff. After The Gentlemen and Wrath of Man comes The Covenant, which isn't necessarily the best of the aforementioned trio, but at least manages to translate a whiff of creative verve into the viewing experience. In the first half, Ritchie delivers an almost procedural war drama, only to switch into John Woo mode in the second half with his over-the-top bromance action, culminating in a fetishistically long montage of the immeasurable physical and emotional effort one partner can make to save another. (28/05/2023)