Kandahar – A Decent Yet Disposable Action Thriller (Early Review)

Coming hot off the critical and commercial success of Plane, Kandahar (formerly Mission Kandahar) is Gerard Butler’s second action vehicle of 2023 and see’s him reteam with his Angel Has Fallen and Greenland director Ric Roman Waugh. The story follows Tom Harris (Butler), an undercover CIA operative stuck deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan. When an intelligence leak exposes his identity and mission, he must fight his way out, alongside his translator Mohammad “Mo” Doud (Negahban) in a race against time to an extraction point in Kandahar, all while elite special forces are hot on their trail. While the film certainly isn’t Butler or Waugh’s finest hour, it continues Butler’s recent winning streak as its star and director each elevate it considerably, resulting in a decent and completely serviceable action thriller.

Now this isn’t the deepest or most fleshed out character Butler has ever played, but he brings a lot more to Tom than what was on the page. Tom is a thin character with a fairly generic backstory but he brings more emotion that one would expect as he gets audiences to care about him in a way that only a true action star can. Negahban is just as great here and gives the best performance as the film’s most compelling character whose storyline is easily the most tragic. He and Butler work very well together where their strong chemistry sells their friendship and growing bond though plenty of heartfelt and surprisingly emotional scenes. Fimmel, as Roman Chalmers, makes the most out of what he is given and is a genuine scene stealer thanks to the cocky energy and arrogance he brought while also being extremely likable and charismatic. Meanwhile, the action might not be anything to write home about, but it’s all very well helmed and entertaining to watch highlighted by the film’s action-packed albeit abrupt climax which ends things on a very strong and exciting note.

While the film may be a perfectly enjoyable action thriller, it doesn’t strive to be anything more than that and is pretty disposable overall. Its biggest issue is how it fails to generate the type of thrills, tension, or excitement that a film with this family premise needed. Though it’s never boring, it fails to create any stakes which only worked against it. The film also takes way too long to get going as the first act drags and becomes somewhat convoluted. Setting up too many story beats and introducing too many characters who either serve little purpose to the overall story or are introduced only for them to disappear later. In spite of its issues, the film’s 2 hour running time will be barely felt, however, it could have benefited from a shorter running time or if more of its running time was used to better flesh out the relationship between Tom and Mo.

At the end of the day, even with its many faults, Kandahar is still a decent watch and one that is definitely worth a recommendation to those who happen to be action junkies. Like Plane, the film doesn’t exactly reinvent the action genre or bring anything new to the table but is simply yet another perfect matinee or rental 3-star thriller that doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is. It may not be one of Gerard Butler’s better films but for those who are fans of the actor, this one will certainly be one to check out.

still courtesy of VVS Films

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/