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‘Valiant One’ Review: No-Nonsense Action-Thriller About U.S. Soldiers Trapped in North Korea Gets the Job Done
Producer-turned-director Steve Barnett marshals troops and hardware efficiently in an old-school war movie that pays tribute to those who serve.
The first film directed by longtime producer and production executive Steve Barnett(“300”) doesn’t add anything to the “trapped behind enemy lines” playbook but does offer a pacy combination of well-executed combat scenes and reluctant-hero drama that should play especially well with military movie buffs. Observing time-honored war movie tradition, the mission’s mortally wounded commanding officer, Lebold (Callan Mulvey), gives Brockman inspirational words and entrusts him with a service pistol that’s been passed down through generations of his family of soldiers and will naturally play a significant practical and emotional role later in proceedings. What’s refreshing is the significant role played by Selby, a Vietnamese-born medic whose tactical nous and compassion come to the fore when the group is forced to take shelter at the farmhouse of a frightened couple (Michael Cha, Jerina Son) and their young teenage daughter Binna (Diana Tsoy).
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