KILO TWO BRAVO

(director: Paul Katis; screenwriter: Tom Williams; cinematographer:
Chris Goodger; editor: Brin; cast: Mark Stanley (Tug Hartley), David Elliot
(Mark Wright), Scott Kyle (Stu Pearson), Benjamin O’Mahony (Stu Hale), Bryan Parry
(Jonesy), Liam Ainsworth (Andy Barlow), Andy Gibbins (Smudge), John Doughty
(Dave Prosser), Paul Luebke (Jay Davis), Thomas Davison (Jarhead), Grant Kilburn
(Alex Craig), John-Paul Bell (Luke Mauro), Malachi Kirby (Snoop), Ali Cook (Spud McMellon), Hazem Al-Agha (Bomb Head), Abe Dababneh (Kajaki Jon), Felipe Cabezas (Kajaki Mike), Ryan W. Sadi (Kyle Minshew), Nick Johnson (George Foreman); Runtime: 108; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Paul Katis, Andrew De Lotbiniere; Alchemy Releasing/Head Gear Films; 2014-UK)

“
The well-executed and tense film highlights the camaraderie and bravery shown by these heroic soldiers.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

In his feature film debut, with an unknown cast, the talented Brit filmmaker Paul Katis (“Kinetic”/”Once A Pilgrim”) directs this unflinching, no-nonsense, nerve-jarring apolitical war drama of the Brits fighting the Taliban. It’s written by Tom Williams, and is based on a tense true story (with no music) that kept my interest throughout. It left one dead and six Brit paratroopers seriously hurt.

In 2006, a small Brit Parachute Regiment (aka “3 para”) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, overlooking the Kajaki Dam, are approach a Taliban roadblock in an unmarked minefield with a 3-man patrol. Any wrongly placed footstep could set off a deadly explosion in the minefield left over from when Russia invaded the country some 25 years ago. After one soldier steps on a landmine and the rest of the unit gets trapped coming to the rescue, the tenuous scenario makes for one of the more realistic war dramas even if it’s almost unbearable to watch such a harrowing film.

The soldiers who make such an impression with their bravery are Corporal Mark Wright (David Elliot), the medic Paul “Tug” Hartley (Mark Stanley) and Lance Stuart Hale (Benjamin O’Mahony). The latter steps on a mine and loses a leg. A second soldier to step on a mine and lose a leg is Corporal Stuart Pearson (Scott Lyle). Wright is wounded while calling for helicopter support but still acts to save the lives of several of his comrades.

The well-executed and tense film highlights the camaraderie, sacrifice and bravery shown by these heroic soldiers.

REVIEWED ON 6/14/2025  GRADE: A-
dennisschwartzreviews.com