The Action Entertainment Website

Reviewed: I am Soldier (DVD)

Written by (Editor) on 13th March 2014

Films involving the military are hardly a rarity, but 'I am Soldier' sets out to track what it takes to be a member of the SAS...

The SAS (Special Air Service), created in 1950, remains one of the most respected elite military units in existence. Though its initials and  famous moniker are often casually referenced and sprinkled into generic action productions, one might well have to go back to the likes of 1982's Who Dares Wins to see the mainstream microscope trained  any more specifically on its supposed inner workings.

So I am Soldier is already a rare project. It charts the progress, trials and tribulations of Mickey Tomlinson (Tom Hughes), a hopeful candidate for the elite unit. Mickey has his own secrets and tragedies in his background, but he’s trying to reset his life and service record and is determined to get his career back on track. However he’s one of over a hundred candidates for a part of the service that is legendary for its high standards and the vetting procedure is tougher than anything he’s been prepared for. As instructors such as Carter (Noel Clarke) and Canterbury (Alex Reid) chart his every success and mistake, he knows that braving the harsh elements and tasks set for him may be the least of his problems…

I am Soldier may be a film that celebrates the SAS, but anyone expecting an armchair patriot romp of mere flag-waving and saluting will have to alter their expectations. This is more about the physical and mental attitudes it takes to be an elite soldier and it’s tempting to think that its core audience will be those with existing ties to the military or whose appetite for on-screen combat goes far beyond the commonplace carnage delivered on screen. 

Tom Hughes (Silk, Casualty, Dancing on the Edge) takes the central role of Mickey and is not an obvious choice for the role. Plenty of other productions might have titled to traditional heavy-set, man-mountain proportions and in that respect Hughes is thinner and more angular. However in all other respects he carries himself well – giving a performance that often suggests the inner weight needed. 

Noel Clarke may have burst onto the popular consciousness in a tardis, but has long since shown himself to have a determined ‘come-and-have-a-go’ attitude and commitment to promoting himself and his career in the wider industry – balancing acting, writing and directing in varying degrees and genres. I am Soldier is an interesting choice for him. It gives him a more background role than usual, this time playing an aloof mentor rather than 'hero' for most of the running time, but he seems more than capable of everything asked for by director Ronnie (Green Street Hooligans III) Thompson, with whom he previously worked on Screwed.

The problem with any film based around the military or elite forces is that the modern audience HAS been conditioned to accept the Hollywood version. We expect to see single square-jawed heroes taking down entire brigades, to take a bullet to the chest and spit it out. And to smile while doing it. This isn’t that film.  That’s no bad thing but makes its DVD release, rather than a theatrical run, pragmatically understandable.

Though it jumps across its metaphorical and mega-physical assault course with a decent enough gritty determination and furrowed-brow seriousness, it can’t quite escape SOME shackles of  traditional story-telling elements.  Sometimes these feel welded on through studio notes rather than being organic – the hints of a love-interest and a tragic back-story remain somewhat at odds with a feature that feels like it would much rather be up to its neck in a bivouac and wanting to be perceived as a cross between a warts-and-all  recruitment video and a pilot for a cable series.

It’s also fair to point out that the pacing of the third act of the film feels somewhat off - as if it's just setting the scene for more to come. After the intense, punishing regime we've watched, the first genuine mission of the successful candidates is in danger of feeling a little like just another training exercise. It may be once again a matter of audience-conditioning, but after the trials and tribulations of how we got there, it feels less climactic and imperiled than it really should … and with an abrupt ending that feels like it has had any epilogue overtly pruned.  Some may feel  that as a result we’ve been shown an interesting journey but were cheated of a completely satisfying destination. 

Despite that uneven result, there's no doubting the commitment and intent that the team behind the film put in to the production. Having been on the set during shooting it was clear to see that the team didn't want to deliver a jingoistic romp or mere defacto Brit-flick hard-man outing.  Hughes, Clarke and company weren’t fairweather performers and, indeed, faced up to the bleak, cold winter conditions demanded. Thompson himself was determined to make this less of a thespian romp and more of a bootcamp and that shows through.

The result may divide audiences depending on their expectations - and certainly could have been better structured - but it’s good to see a film that dispenses with many of the bells and whistles of the often diluted marketplace and actually gets its hands as dirty as its boots. 

Read our interview with Noel Clarke HERE...

Read our interview with Richard Kemp CBE  HERE...

 

I Am Solider is out on Blu-ray and DVD on 17th March

Review score: 8 out of 10

Written By

John Mosby

Editor

John Mosby

Born at a early age, creative writing and artwork seemed to be in John’s blood from the start Even before leaving school he was a runner up in the classic Jackanory Writing Competition and began...

Cookies: We are required by law to tell you this website uses cookies. We assume by using this site you agree to this. Click here to read more or click here to hide this message.