Simply Perfect

A Masterpiece!

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I didn't like this movie at all. I watch it from beginning to end, several time's I wanted to give up and stop watching, but I forced myself to keep watching on the belief that it would get better... I was wrong.I got nothing, but respect for the SAS and any other special forces group.But this movie is just awful, During the first combat, several of the SAS group should have been killed or at lest by the explosion by the BMP main cannon. The explosions were right at the feet or a few inches off and yet the soldiers some how survived.Then there's the weapon flash and fire rate inconsistency, which were just that they were completely off a light or even heavy machine gun doesn't fire 3 round bursts.And during the whole part when Andy Mcnab is capture and is being interrogated his acting was just plain horrible and annoying. The best part of this movie was the ending.

Based on the book of the same name by Andy McNab, a pseudonym for the squad leader of a real life, ill-fated SAS patrol during the Gulf War, Bravo Two Zero tells the story of several soldiers stuck behind enemy lines. They're outnumbered, hopelessly ill-equipped, and surrounded by the Iraqi army, conveniently standing in the way of their extraction point. Patrol leader Andy McNab (Sean Bean) elects to go to Plan B, make a 160 km trek to the Syrian border through the freezing desert as Iraqi forces close in. What ensues is a desperate struggle for survival. The group gets split up, frost bite sets in, skirmishes transpire... It's a story of heroism and courage. But it's more than that. We also see how these men are only human, how in spite of their bravery they make a series of significant, occasionally deadly mistakes. Many claim McNab changed or exaggerated parts of the story to save face and look good, but I'm mostly indifferent to the controversy. Whether or not parts were fabricated or the enemy kill count was embellished, the movie as it stands is a terrific modern warfare film boasting realistic tactics, believable characters, and the depiction of an immeasurable will to survive. 9/10

I first saw a documentary on the Discovery channel about the mission that is portrayed in this movie. I know a lot about the history of the Gulf War but I had never heard about this particular mission. I was completely fascinated as to what these soldiers went through and how they managed to deal with their incredible situation.Then by pure coincidence, about a week later I stumbled across this movie on cable. The movie dramatized the mission slightly and gave it a very personal feeling, which is captured wonderfully by the actors portraying the soldiers. The movie gives a very real sense of the comradery, dedication, and professionalism that Special Forces troops exhibit. I would definitely recommend this movie if you have a fascination or appreciation for the military.

It took the BBC to tell this gripping story honestly and with authenticity. And what a story. As the Gulf War got underway in early 1991 an eight-man SAS patrol was dropped behind Iraqi lines. Its mission: destroy mobile Scud missile launchers and the lines that carried instructions from their crews.History shows how it all went wrong. Their communications equipment failed. The weather closed in. They were discovered and fought a series of running battles with overwhelming Iraqi forces. Finally half the patrol was captured and endured weeks of torture and interrogation at the hands of the Iraqi secret police in Baghdad.The story of Bravo Two Zero - the patrol's call sign and the title of this terrific British television movie - puts most Hollywood movies to shame. It is a story of courage, resilience, guile, resourcefulness and black humour. It also offers up a fascinating insight into the workings of Britain's special forces and the reality of the Gulf War.There are those who consider the film one-sided, and it is. What war film isn't? How much objectivity goes into the average war film? The answer: precious little. Bravo Two Zero is based on the book by Andy McNab, the SAS sergeant who led the patrol. Consequently it tells the tale from his point of view. But McNab doesn't come out of this a whiter-than-white superhero. He makes mistakes. He is human, fallible and, locked in a Baghdad prison, frightened out of his wits. For Sean Bean, it was the type of gritty, realistic and believable role that most actors would kill for. Throw in the authenticity of the soldiers' kit, jargon and reactions under fire - they were trained by real soldiers while McNab himself was the film's on-set consultant - and Bravo Two Zero leaps to the top spot in the (albeit limited) annals of Gulf War movies.And the Iraqis? They are depicted as McNab saw them: peasant farmers, ill-equipped and poorly trained conscripts, goat herders, grieving parents and, occasionally, gentleman officers.There is no agenda to Bravo Two Zero. Instead it seeks to present a soldier's story. And while there is another side to the story - patrol survivor Chris Ryan, who was separated from his comrades and fought his way across Iraq to the Syrian border, and freedom, also wrote an account - this is simply one man's version of events. McNab presents it as he saw it: a botched mission, eight desperate men, a series of bloody firefights and skirmishes, capture and torture and, finally, repatriation.If the Iraqis come across as thuggish, brutal, dim and sadistic, then history has shown that Saddam Hussein's regime was built on such people. That was McNab's experience, and Bravo Two Zero puts it on screen.What the film does not seek to do is present McNab and his patrol as trigger-happy killing machines. When they are spotted by an Iraqi child they spare his life rather than kill him to ensure his silence. As McNab says, it's a matter of common sense: kill a child and they will eventually face the wrath of the Iraqi people if they are caught. And, he adds: "We're not into that anyway".Compromised by an elderly shepherd, they talk to him, make friends and let him live. On the outskirts of Baghdad the patrol hijacks a taxi. They spare the occupants. Consider this: would the average Saddam Hussein loyalist have done the same to an elderly Yank or Brit? Bravo Two Zero is a superb document of a military debacle. It shows how professional soldiers, caught in a disaster, try to fight their way out. As soldiers, that's their job. And they do it exceptionally well. As the motto goes: Who Dares Wins. McNab and his men dared. Bravo Two Zero is a magnificent tribute to them.