There's nothing wrong with the story of Kandahar Break. I did a little research and it seems that this film is the Director/writer's first feature film. That's the problem with it. It shows. I won't mince words. Some of the filming is very good, but a lot filming of the action is ordinary. I'll go right out on a limb here. I question the casting of the lead. He looks very indoors white and soft, not to mention almost a tad overweight, and not a classic front man, to play such a brave and action-orientated role. In the movie they say he has a background in Africa, and has been in Afghanistan briefly recently. He's also an expert on mines, seemed to knows guns, which probably indicates a military background. I'm sorry, but, to me, he just didn't look the part. I kept that under my hat though and ended up enjoying the movie, mainly because the story was good, with lots of twists and definitely not beyond the bounds of plausibility, and all the actors were obviously very committed with an authentic script. It lacked the zing, shock and splatter of gunshots of more modern movies, but this is a decade old. I liked a lot of the photography of the countryside, but I felt it needed a dedicated cinematographer. For a first movie Kandahar Break is much more than just a good first effort, and does deserve praise. It is unique, yet a simple action/escape movie, which has very authentic imagery and culture and good actors, but should not to be confused with movies such as The Hurt Locker (2008), The Kingdom (2007) or Kandahar (2001).
Review of Kandahar Break
