Keith’s Movie Korner: ‘Valiant One’ may have courage but tacks talent

By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter

Straight up, this is a bad movie that’s rescued by a somewhat interesting storyline. “Valiant One” is a GI thriller based on true events, or it should be said very loosely based on true events, because the level of incompetence shown by these American soldier characters would be very terrifying if it is true. Sloppy direction, horrendous acting, and a heavy dose of cliches ambush this decent story, fragging it into the realm of ambivalence.

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On a mundane mission to fix an underground radar in the DMZ separating North and South Korea, a massive storm pops up out of nowhere (strangely no rain is even present during or after), scrapping the American soldiers’ mission. The ensuing turbulence knocks their helicopter out of the sky, leaving the survivors stranded in North Korea with enemy soldiers encroaching on their position. If discovered by the North Koreans, it would be considered an act of war, so the small squad must travel on foot to avoid detection.

As the highest-ranking soldier, Sgt. Brockman (Chase Stokes) is tasked with getting his fellow soldiers and civilian technician back to South Korea and safety. Looking like a clueless lost puppy, Brockman seems ill equipped to handle the responsibility of buttoning his own shirt let alone leading a squad. Nevertheless, the others obediently follow him with severe misgivings, and they find themselves in one fierce gun battle after another. In order to survive, they must have the courage to withstand the barrage of bullets and self-doubt to make it home.

After viewing this film, the prevailing outrage is make it make sense! The DMZ is less than 3 miles across, so anybody dropped into this situation with a simple ability to read a compass should be able to make it back rather easily, let alone trained soldiers. Making his directorial debut is Steve Barnett, who also co-wrote the screenplay, and it becomes immediately clear that logic and common sense are not at the forefront of his filmmaking strategy. At one point, the main character asks the others which way south is while holding a compass, really?! It’s almost as if Barnett’s objective was to tell this story in the style of a Geico commercial mixed with The Keystone Cops.

Barnett’s commitment to accuracy and detail is appallingly poor, obviously filming the entirety of the movie in Vancouver, which looks nothing like the DMZ. He can’t even seem to find a cohesive emotional tone as evidenced with his decision to incorporate a pump-you-up type of rap song during a gun battle sequence right after a tragic moment, killing the emotional impact of that scene. Then, the amount of cliches he includes is nauseating, like the trigger-happy soldier, the Korean American who can’t speak a word of Korean, or multiple instances of self-sacrifice that come off as hoaky. If Barnett never ends up in the director’s chair again, it will be too soon.

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Unfortunately, the acting does not fare any better. Chase Stokes, star of TV’s “Outer Banks,” headlines the cast, and it becomes immediately evident he did not prepare at all for this role. At no point does he look the part of a soldier or even sound the part of a soldier, let alone a Sergeant in the United States military. He wouldn’t even be believable in the ROTC or a boy scout for that matter. His wooden line delivery is nearly as bad as his vacant stares, making viewers wonder if his character suffered a stroke at some point.

While the dialogue writing is cringingly bad, the supporting cast is incapable of bailing it out. During the short downtime moments of the film between tense hiding and gunfight scenes, Desmin Borges, Jonathan Whitesell, and Daniel Jun are given the responsibility to add comic relief but fail miserably. Their sad attempts at levity miss the mark completely with awkward line delivery and timing. Only Lana Condor, who plays Selby, a more serious soldier who inexplicably supports her inept sergeant, is somewhat believable in her role.

With all that being said, if you can somehow overlook the gross negligence of common sense and the extremely bad acting, you might actually find the film enjoyable. At its heart, “Valiant One” has a compelling story of courage, but that heart is buried beneath an avalanche of bs and incompetence. The unfortunate quality of production should have sentenced this movie straight to streaming.

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