Rating: 
Summary: Uncompromising detail from beginning to end
Review: When I discovered, to my surprise, that the BBC made a movie of Andy McNab's bestselling book BRAVO TWO ZERO for British television, and that they had the wherewithal to cast Sean Bean as McNab, I was immediately interested.But it was a specific, incisive review on Amazon that had me buy the DVD sight unseen. Knowing that McNab co-wrote the screenplay, served as military technical advisor (can you possibly beat that for authentic detail?) and carefully chose how the film would be produced, I was confident its foundation was solid as granite. And I was not disappointed in the least. I read McNab's book in 1996, so it gave me the advantage of knowing the subject matter in the movie. Some viewers will be put off by the casual use of military jargon. There are elliptical references to the "SatNav" (satellite navigation unit, otherwise known as "the shiny thing"), "TACBE" (tactical beacon, or two-way radio), "RV" (rendezvous point), and "tabbing" (walking), just to name a few. Likewise, some of the rhythm of the characters' language may skip past American ears. But I think this is not a weakness, because it deliberately avoids trying to be all things to all people. In my opinion, it's the authentic language and the camaraderie between squad mates that set this apart from just about any war film ever made. It also presents a unique brand of casual, sometimes fatalistic humor that bonds the unit together, even in the face of incredible adversity. It's something that's extremely hard to convey to a viewing audience without seeming trite, but here it hits the mark time and again. The scale of military action by the squad is also very well portrayed. McNab apparently drilled the actors pretty well, because you can see a little bit of snap in almost every move they make. Especially in the initial engagement, I was getting the indication the action was choreographed, or at least overseen, by McNab himself. In fact, the film as a whole is very faithful to the book, right down to the last line uttered by Sean Bean (which is the last line in the book). Many scenes come off in such an extemporaneous manner that the film takes on an almost documentary-like quality. It's a credit to the author for finding the best possible way to present his story. And that's not even mentioning the film's harrowing last half, and a dozen other things worth mentioning, if it weren't for space considerations. BRAVO TWO ZERO had me quickly revisiting my list of favorite war movies. Of those films, this is already in my personal top ten after two viewings. I highly recommend it. "Pass it on!"
Rating: 
Summary: Gulf War, down and dirty
Review: You'll never think of the Gulf War the same way after watching this harrowing, documentary-style account of an SAS squad dropped behind Iraqi lines to hunt Scud missiles. It's an intelligent, understated BBC production, so forget the cheesy cover art and snap up a rental at your local Blockbuster. No sneering villain chops for Sean Bean here; it's great to see him in an heroic role that would really be Oscar-caliber if films like this made it to theatrical release. These may be the only guys who fought the Gulf War on foot, and you'll feel like you're right there with them. A must-see war story.
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