12 Strong 4K Review (Warner Bros.)

12 Strong is a 2018 action film directed by Nicolai Fuglsig (The Commissioning). It was written by Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon, The Juror, and All the Pretty Horses) and Peter Craig (The Town, Top Gun: Maverick, The Batman, Blood Father, The Hunger Games franchise, and Bad Boys For Life). It’s based on the book “Horse Soldiers” by Doug Stanton. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Beverly Hills Cop franchise, Bad Boys franchise, Top Gun, The Rock, Gemini Man, Days of Thunder, and Con Air) and Don Simpson (Top Gun, Days of Thunder, The Ref, Beverly Hills Cop II, Crimson Tide, and Bad Boys). The budget was $35,000,000 and it grossed $67,359,190 worldwide at the box office. U.S. Army captain Mitch Nelson (played by: Chris Hemsworth from the Thor franchise, Avengers franchise, Extraction franchise, The Cabin in the Woods, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Men in Black: International, The Huntsman franchise, Rush, Vacation, and Red Dawn), is charge of the Green Berets (ODA) unit which includes Sam Diller (played by: Michael Peña from the Ant-Man franchise, Jack Ryan, American Hustle, Crash, End of Watch, Fantasy Island, The Mule, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Martian, Chips, War on Everyone, Fury, Shooter, The Shield, and Million Dollar Baby), Ben Milo (played by: Trevante Rhodes from The Predator), Sean Coffers (played by: Geoff Stults from Wedding Crashers), Charles Jones (played by: Jack Kesy from Death Wish), Bill Bennett (played by: Kenny Sheard from John Wick: Chapter 2), Kevin Jackson (played by: Kenneth Miller from Only the Brave), Scott Black (played by: Ben O’Toole from Hacksaw Ridge), Fred Falls (played by: Austin Stowell from Whiplash), Pat Essex (played by: Austin Hébert from Jack Reacher: Never Go Back), and Vern Michaels (played by: Thad Luckinbill from Special Ops: Lioness). On September 11th, he gets an order from Lieutenant Colonel Bowers (played by: Rob Riggle from The Hangover, 21 Jump Street, Strays, Night School, The Other Guys, Step Brothers, Saturday Night Live, and Let’s be Cops). After considering retirement, Nelson volunteers to lead his 595 unit which includes veteran Hal Spencer (played by: Michael Shannon from Bug, Revolutionary Road, 99 Homes, The Flash, Bullet Train, Knives Out, Nocturnal Animals, Waco, The Iceman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Boardwalk Empire, Jonah Hex, Man of Steel, Pearl Harbor, Tigerland, and The Shape of Water) into Afghanistan for a secret mission. After being briefed and evaluated by COL Mulholland (played by: William Fichtner from Heat, The Dark Knight, Crash, Black Hawk Down, Armageddon, Strange Days, The Birthday Cake, Equilibrium, GO, Drive Angry, The Longest Yard, and Prison Break), Commander of 5th Special Forces Group, they are teamed up with Northern Alliance leader Abdul Rashid Dostum (played by: Navid Negahban from Homeland). They are trying to track down the dangerous Taliban leader known as Mullah Razzan (played by: Numan Acar from Homeland). They split up in teams of 6 to carry out their plan. The Taliban keeps the elite squad on their toes with their vicious and powerful attacks. Can Mitch Nelson and his soldiers accomplish their mission before things get much worse from their country???? 12 Strong is an action packed war film from 2018. It’s a non stop adrenaline rush, there’s never a dull moment in it. 12 Strong is very entertaining, it’s loaded with battles and bullets. It doesn’t shy away from violence or death in this. The script keeps you focused on it’s main characters during their chaotic mission to defend the country. Action star Chris Hemsworth is the perfect choice for a lead in something like 12 Strong. It’s his type of project and he really shines with this material. Chris Hemsworth gives a fantastic performance as the leader of this elite squad. It has an excellent supporting cast that includes William Fichtner, Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, Rob Riggle, Numan Acar, and Navid Negahban. The chemistry and teamwork with the entire cast especially the special unit is great. 12 Strong has a quality mix of action, drama, and suspense. It’s one of the better war and based on a true story movies in recent years. It has strong replay value and it’s delivers on everything that you would want from this sub-genre. RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Warner Bros Pictures! This 2160p (2.40:1) transfer with HDR10 looks amazing in 4K. 12 Strong gets an impressive improvement on this UHD. The blu ray already looked great but this is even better and it’s worth the upgrade. The locations, cinematography, and the action really shines here. It has an English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This one is reference quality, it really tests your home set up. All of the dialogue is crisp, the battles have a killer boost to them, and the music is elevated here. It has English SDH subtitles. “12 Strong: The Making of an Impossible Mission” is a little over 22 minutes. It has interviews with the cast, crew, the real unit, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer. They go over the real life story with the men who lived it. They go into great detail about their experiences. The cast and crew show their appreciation for the veterans. They bring up the book it was based on. They talk about the development and the casting for 12 Strong. They chat about the production and putting together this war feature. “Monumental Effort: Building America’s Response Monument” is a little over 10 minute interview with sculptor Douwe Blumberg. This focuses on the tribute that was built for display to pay homage for the men that risked their lives on this secret mission. It has a “Theatrical Trailer”. This is considered a M.O.D. home video release for it’s limited availability but it’s definitely pro pressed. I haven’t seen any UHD releases that weren’t so you will getting a high quality version with this one. It’s available everywhere right now including MovieZyng.com, CHECK IT OUT!!!!