The Patrol (2013) User Reviews

The 'Stan Isn't The 'Nam

[Theo Robertson · 3/10 · 21 August 2014]

This got a lot of hype when it received its very limited release . The publicity material heavily emphasised writer/director Tom Petch served in the British army for more than eight years which is eight years longer than I served . The publicity was rather reluctant to go in to details and I don't want to sound disrespectful but Mr Petch left the army in 1997 , four years before the war on terror started . Mr Petch was a civilian when the British army entered Helmand province in 2005 and it shows . If nothing else it goes to show than former ex British military can make a dreadful war drama as badly as any British civilian peacenik

The success of a war film is to bring a sense of time and place to the audience . The story is set during a British operation in Helmand in 2006 but on nearly every level the entire narrative feels like it's taking place in Vietnam in the early 1970s . Petch claims he made this film to show the lack of proper equipment and of a clear mandate British forces found themselves with in Afghanistan but is badly executed you'd think the director has an agenda somewhere

As for the equipment .50 calibre machine guns constantly jam and the reason is put down to bad ammo . Not impossible I guess . I'll give the director the benefit of the doubt even if it happens a bit too often . Likewise radios not working . Apparently though the ire of Petch goes mainly towards the SA80 rifle

" If it's supposed to be so good " whines one squaddie " Why don't the SAS use it ? "

So if the SAS don't use a certain weapon it must be rubbish ? Not sure if that's good yardstick to judge something with

" But who else uses the SA80 ? " whines Mr Whiny

40 years ago all the world's armies were split between using three assault rifles , the M-16 , the FN Fal and the AK47 . Since then nearly every country due to reasons of chauvinism has produced its own assault weapon with the British using the SA80 which is almost universally adored by everyone who uses it in the British Army and is considered better than the American M-4 carbine . Mr Whiny is obviously an obtuse contrarian

What this makes more problematic for the film is that it ties in with a bigger picture mainly one of characterisation . A British military patrol pushes in to Taliban territory in 2006 within a couple of days morale has collapsed in to near mutiny . Seriously ? From what I've read and heard second hand from squaddies a posting to Helmand in 2006 was a dream posting . Young men join the army to fight and since 1960 no one has been forced to join the British Army . Constant tours to the 'Stan might have taken a toll on the military but this wouldn't have been the case in 2006 . Nor would morale have collapsed to the extent where soldiers constantly disobey mission orders as seen here . What makes it even worse from a logic and drama point of view is the time-frame along with a distinct lack of inciting incident and motive . I don't want to sound like a cheer leader for the Ministry Of Defence but if I had served in Afghanistan I'd feel very insulted by this film and I wouldn't be surprised if some of Mr Petch's erstwhile military colleagues are arranging a firing squad for him as I write this

for an army film, it isn't what i expected.

[danielrjt · 4/10 · 14 December 2014]

If you want to watch a war film with action in it, this isn't for you.

Storyline was quite boring, and a lack of actual military knowledge made this film worse

This film is too political for me, i want to see gunfights, attack strategies, ambushes, exiting parts of army life, not people walking, and moaning

Its hard to describe a film that doesn't have much going on in it

Despite what the cover says, the hurt locker is a lot different to this film

In my opinion, this film just makes the British army look rubbish

Wouldn't recommend this film to anyone

OURS IS NOT TO REASON WHY

[nogodnomasters · 5/10 · 19 June 2019]

A group of soldiers are on patrol in Afghanistan during a fiction operation known as Icarus. This story is loosely linked to operation Achilles and might be more accurately stated "inspired" by true events rather than based upon. We get to know the characters by their nicknames, Smudge, Stab, Ginge (ginger) and Welch. The banter between them is not the healthy kind as they concentrate on their differences. Once one in the group dies, the troops begin to question the war and their mission while their commanding officer who has the same thoughts is forced to toe the company line.

The film is about the relationships of a diverse unit who question their leadership. The war acts as a background to escalate tension. This is not your classic war film about combat and killing the enemy. It is a war drama, one where young men are placed in combat roles and don't believe the cause is worth their life.

If anything, this is more of an anti-war film, showing how someone like Bowe Bergdahl could do and say the things of which he has been accused, although the message is not heavy.

Parental Guide: F-bomb.

By far one of the worst war films I have seen. 0 out of 10 stars.

[user-982-912434 · 1/10 · 22 April 2014]

review contains spoilers.

This movie was horrible. That its written on the cover art "the British answer to the hurt locker" is honestly offensive. The film lacks any semblance of plot whatsoever. It is beyond me why the other review made some comment about the combat scenes being realistic. As a combat veteran of the Israeli army, I can safely say that they were anything BUT realistic. Its as if the director looked up "combat Iraq" on youtube, found a video shot with some soldiers helmet cam and decided that that was what combat looks like. This could not be farther from the truth. The special effects were horrible. The acting was horrible. There was a complete lack of character development. I cannot believe that I just watched more than an hour of fake soldiers bitching about their equipment. If you expected an action movie, look elsewhere. If you enjoy being bored out of your mind and annoyed this movie is for you. If you are a combat veteran stay far away, this movie is an insult of the highest level.

crap

[stsproductions · 1/10 · 12 August 2014]

waste of £5 that I spent shopping, I spent 6 years as a tracker in SA and I've seen a better plot and action in a children's nappy, toy story has more convincing plot lines, even the basic maneuvers of this group would be wrong, terrible portrayal of the English army but on the plus side, the musical score was very good,maybe next time the crew go spend some time with a platoon, though, the scenery was excellent, i suppose it just made the English army disorganized and under supplied, the latter being true but give these boys a chance, being in a country they shouldn't be in, don't make them out to be like the characters in this movie!

Too little too late

[service-provider · 1/10 · 25 April 2014]

Given this is a low-budget film, I wasn't expecting much. Perhaps it was going to have something to say about the war in the Middle East, about politics, interpersonal relationships, maybe even an action scene, but it really doesn't do any of that for me. Even with this initially low expectation, I was still disappointed.

During a patrol we follow an incredibly unprofessional main character who complains persistently about anything/everything and is constantly putting everyone else down (just a terrible personality to have in a team; paranoid, easily stressed, quick to anger and takes it out on everyone else). I'm not entirely sure, but I think that through this character's annoyance at everything, there were some brief attempts to raise the question about whether soldiers are adequately equipped, or whether they were doing any good by being out there. The movie then ends, leaving me somewhat regretful. I don't mean to be that harsh on a low-budget film, but this really is one that I wouldn't recommend.

The loneliness of the soldier

[searchanddestroy-1 · 1 February 2016]

As I just said on Allo Ciné French website a few minutes ago, when you choose to watch a war movie, you also have to choose between realism and spectacular pop corn entertainment. Both don't fit together. Because realism - reality connection - may be more boring, more atrocious and more crazy and unbelievable than the usual large audiences movies schemes, with the good guys vs the bad guys, the love story and the "they remained happy ever after " crap. Here in this film, you have nothing of this. The soldiers who fight in Afghanistan are not TRANSFORMERS or RAMBO characters every day. Please, watch this film as a documentary like movie, so close to reality that it will deceive many silly viewers who expected a Michael Bay like flick with one hundred million dollars budget. The main problem with film critics, is that the people confound objectivity with subjectivity. Because if a movie doesn't square with the idea they had of this feature before seeing it, if that doesn't fit, they will say the film is a crap. And this jeopardizes the idea that the film may have on large potential audiences who read those prick critics as if it was the Bible. So, yes, that's a very good movie, so far it's the first picture from the director, an ex soldier himself, with a tiny budget and unknown actors.

Tom Petch's gripping and intelligent 2013 British war action drama film The Patrol is set in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2006, and looks at the Afghan conflict through t

[derekwinnert · 4/10 · 6 November 2023]

Tom Petch's gripping and intelligent 2013 British war action drama film The Patrol is set in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2006, and looks at the Afghan conflict through the eyes of dazed and scared British soldiers.

It is highly recommended, though right now it has an unfairly low vote on the IMDb.

It won the jury prize for Film of the Festival - Feature at the Raindance Film Festival 2013.

The cast are Owain Arthur as Taff, Nicholas Beveney as Sergeant 'Sol' Campbell, Daniel Fraser as Lieutenant Jonathan Bradshaw, Alex McNally as Ginge, Oliver Mott as Stab, Ben Righton as Captain William Richardson, and Nav Sidhu as Smudge.

Usual errors

[bdean-76367 · 3/10 · 24 July 2020]

Whenever I watch a British made film about the modern British army I always wonder why a military person wasn't hired to advise on the nitty gritty. Could have been a great film as I thought the acting was quite good. What let it down for me was incorrect clothing insignia, ill fitted helmet covers and mistakes most soldiers just wouldn't make. I did like the scenery as it was as close to Afghan as is possible.

Why all The bad reviews?

[chrisjones-51312 · 7/10 · 3 April 2019]

I could rant for ages about the bad reviews but to name a few. Firstly if your not British how can you say what its like as a british soldier in afghanistan, secondly the muppet who said it was more nam than stan and that hos mates had a great time in afghanistan well i ask you this , losing a mate infront of you, what is great about that? What a muppet. Clearly all the bad reviews are from people who have never served a day in the forces or they sat in an office all day and pretend to friends and family they were Rambo and The closest they probably ever got was call of duty or the cadets. 1 review even says that the sa80 is brilliant. Not so when this film was set. Nor was the soldiers equipment. I served 21 Years before a medical discharge 3 tours of Afghan, Bosnia, Kosovo and NI. For the low budget it was made on i found it good. A refreshing change from seeing some hollywood star looking pretty with a rifle that never jams and has everlasting rounds. The sound is pretty damn good. The acting pretty good and they do pass as soldiers., but give me this over Hollywood any day. The scenery is realistic and beautifully shot I think they done a great job and should get together for another. Oh and for the record a happy soldier is a moaning soldier. In all I say give this film a chance and don't listen to idiots who think call of duty is what war is about.

Terrible sound.

[AndreanDatura · 2/10 · 22 March 2021]

The audio to this film, particularly the dialogue was at times indecipherable to the point you had to increase volume only to have your ears blown off by explosions. Why do filmmakers persist with this poor quality? A real shame.

A War Film for Grown Ups

[sdp-williams · 9/10 · 29 April 2014]

I suppose if your experience is limited to veteran level on Call of Duty or Michael Bay films then this probably isn't your cup of tea.

I saw this film in Brighton recently, and was very impressed given the limited budget. Combat is 98% boredom and 2% sheer terror, and this film didn't try to make out that war is anything other than that, along with soldiers bitching about their kit and conditions, and the inevitable stress and tension between fighting men, particularly when the enemy is elusive and rarely clearly seen.

Judging by other reviews, one might be forgiven for thinking that war is an entertainment franchise. Nice to see a war film directed by a former soldier with a grounding in the realities of combat, rather than some fist-pumping gung-ho CGI-fest directed by a Hollywood celebrity with a massive budget and zero experience of the realities of war.

Something of an antidote to the usual war film cheerleading, and not one to appeal to MMRPG playing geeks.

Some are expecting too much...

[tm-wood1995 · 7/10 · 30 April 2014]

As someone who is fed up with watching countless American films about their involvement in their wars, I was fairly excited to watch this British take on the Afghanistan conflict. Unlike the American versions however, this film had an incredibly small budget. Having said that, the kit is good, the sound effects and the explosions etc are incredibly good. It's not perfect however, the storyline could be better and at times some voices seem dull. But all in all, with such a tight budget, this is an excellent film, I hope that this production team will get together once more and produce another film with a slightly bigger budget.

Boring Political Propaganda Film

[werushing · 1/10 · 14 June 2023]

This is nothing more than a sad attempt at a British propaganda film against war. Watching it I kept waiting for some action, or some real deep meaningful point. I would have applauded. There was none. Ever. The movie droned on and on, more like a B rated soap opera than an action or real drama flick. None of us watch a film just to be witness to the verbal meanderings of soldiers during day to day events. Being ex-military, i salute the soldiers, but those day to day conversations don't really make for a great movie. And the awards i apparently garnered in some obscure film festivals are meaningless. I would have been more entertained watching my dog sleep for 2 hours.

not the same as the hurt locker

[dustin-196-676503 · 7/10 · 27 December 2014]

i found this movie to be slightly bit eclectic, and slow. i like that in some ways, but it lacks excitement in my opinion. i am glad i watched it, but found it to be nothing like the "hurt locker" like everyone keeps saying. maybe because i am not English i am missing a sort of understanding from a British perspective. it doesn't hold the same entertainment value i find on British television. definitely worth watching, though you might fall asleep. the acting is good, and the theme consistent. i didn't understand some of the British slang words, but my imagination filled in the blanks. if you like military history, or military film, you will enjoy this film. it's a fancy documentary type film, with a lot of camera movement, but does a good job not to make you dizzy like some films do with all the jumpy cameras moving around.

See it and judge for yourself

[sam-1384 · 9/10 · 29 April 2014]

This is a triumph of British cinema, giving an account of a war which has come to embody the West's reaction to terrorism. An army patrol with no understanding of their mission, overcome by the futility of their orders and betrayed by their politicians - an embodiment not just of our forces' presence in Afghanistan but of the nation as a whole. An ever constant threat, an enemy never seen, and the boredom of military life - this is a tough act to pull off in cinema and retain the audience, but The Patrol succeeds by virtue of its honest approach. We empathise with the individual cast members and this makes the conclusion all the more gut wrenching. Any war film which doesn't follow the "gung ho" line will have its detractors, especially when depicting current conflicts with such brutal honesty. The Patrol deserves to be seen by as wide an audience as possible.

The strongest anti-war film I have seen in years

[elliotgrove · 8/10 · 10 December 2013]

I saw this film at the Raindance Film Festival in London and was literally blown away: The sheer simplicity of the story layered with as convincingly portrayed combat scenes you are likely to see anywhere in the movies, with a strong underlying message that underscores the futility of armed combat. By the end of the movie you see half a dozen British soldier trudging through the sand and you wonder what act of political madness sent these good men on a mission of futility.

The fact that a Brit has launched his feature film career with a movie of this ambition is, quite frankly, awesome.

Also of note: Was Nominated for a British Independent Film Award

Very Realistic War Film

[chicagopoetry · 10/10 · 23 April 2014]

The Patrol is one of the most realistic war films ever made. It's about a small team of British soldiers with "a job to do" in Afghanistan. The only problem is, like the war itself, the job (Operation Icarus) makes no sense. They are sent in to protect a small, all but abandoned village for the "Afghan National Army" (that is nowhere to be found), with obsolete weapons and faulty equipment. What starts out as a three day mission gets extended day in and day out until the soldier's moral becomes at an all time low because they know "this isn't their war" to begin with. They have no stake in it. There is no purpose to it because they know when they leave the Taliban will simply move right back into the town. They are there for one reason and one reason only, because someone somewhere gave them the order to be there despite all logic. The combat scenes are very realistic in that they aren't glamorized but depicted as they happen, just sporadic fighting during which they kill people for no reason whatsoever and they get killed for no reason whatsoever. I can see how this film upsets those who want to cling to the notion that being a soldier and following orders is somehow heroic, but when the war makes no sense and you are asked to die for no logical reason whatsoever, what else can one do but begin to disobey orders. Standing down from an unjust war is the only patriotic thing to do. Everyone should see this film. It is truly realistic and truly a gem.

Solid movie with an authentic feel

[demelewis · 8/10 · 8 August 2014]

Tom Petch delivers a well-paced no frills look at the realities of the early days of the British Army's recent involvement in Afghanistan. To anyone with any knowledge of this conflict, or of some of the less than brilliant equipment British soldiers generally have to put up with, it offers few surprises, but that is not to say that it isn't worth a look.

It works well thanks to some great performances from the cast, combined with a sterling attempt at showing battles and the nuances of the chain of command in a small unit, wrapped up in a realistic production, rather than in an overtly CGI-laden Hollywood style. There is some CGI and matting of course, since when limited to a budget of about a million quid, and filming on location overseas, one cannot afford to have AH-64s, F-16s, A-10 and CH-47s on call. But even though there are some visual effects, they are well done and thanks to the almost documentary-like cinematography of many action sequences, such effects composite shots slot in convincingly enough to not detract from the narrative at all, in fact most people probably won't even realise they are CGI shots, which is the essence of what good CGI should be of course.

Despite the storyline being not especially revelatory (i.e. the familiar tropes are all in evidence here: war is bad, war is often pointless and futile, officers are posh, the ranks are working class, the equipment sucks, the conditions are tough, the enemy is elusive, etc) the film does manage a couple of things which are often not done well in other war movies, in conveying the loneliness of command, as well as the 'them and us' feeling often prevalent among the ranks and how a code of conduct beyond mere salutes develops when away from HQ. This alone is compelling enough to keep you watching and is indicative of the director's ability to convey a subject he knows well to his cast, in that he was actually a British Army officer who experienced this first hand.

Being that Tom Petch is both the writer and director of the film, this is a very good effort, all the more so when we take note of the fact that he has previously only directed one short film and had a couple of jobs as a technical military adviser on one or two other movies.

So, no real surprises in the storyline, especially given the opening narrative which telegraphs part of the tale to us, but The Patrol is certainly worth a look for its convincing portrayal of combat for an isolated small unit in a largely pointless war, as it does this better than a lot of other films which have tried on a much larger budget.

Fantastic cinematography and thought provoking storyline

[Claire-992-326737 · 9/10 · 4 May 2014]

My boyfriend persuaded me to go along and see this and I'm very pleased we did. It's a beautifully shot piece of independent cinema with a thought provoking storyline brought to life very well by the cast. It's the first film I have seen about UK soldiers on the frontline in Afghanistan which gave it a very unique angle. While clearly not having the budget of the Hurt Locker i can see why parallels have been drawn as it draws you into the emotions, stress and pressure of being in a war zone. I also loved that it doesn't have an agenda (maybe unlike the previous reviewer?!). Would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys independent cinema and who is interested in a soldier's view of the conflict. Very enjoyable.

A War Film that gives a different view.

[maverick-84924 · 8/10 · 4 September 2017]

Considering the low budget of the film, the Patrol does a sterling job of showing the various emotions, conflicts and actions that can occur during war.

For those decrying the film as garbage, I wonder if that 'knowledge' is based on how many hours you've clocked up on COD or how many times you've seen 13 Hours.

One reviewer attempts to suggest the SA80 is a wonderful rifle as one Private routinely bitches about it during the course of the film.

Apparently, said reviewer knows more about the quality of the firearm than Ian V Hogg, one of the foremost experts in the field of small arms.

"Soon after being adopted for service, problems began to surface:

…the first five years of this rifle's service have been disastrous. A number of manufacturing defects showed up in service conditions, and it was not until the closure of the RSAF at Enfield and the setting up of an entirely new production line, with new computer- controlled machine tools, at the new RSAF Nottingham, that the quality of the production weapons began to improve. It will take some time for the poor reputation gained by the initial issue weapons to be overcome; the only consolation is that the same sort of thing has happened to other military rifles in the past, and they have managed to live down their early reputation and prove their innate reliability. It is to be hoped that the L85A1 will do so as well."

A quote from the reviewer: "So if the SAS don't use a certain weapon it must be rubbish ? Not sure if that's good yardstick to judge something with". The SAS weren't alone. The Pathfinder company of the Parachute Regiment and Brigade Patrol Group of the Royal Marines also ditched the firearm in preference to M16 based platforms.

As for the SAS being a 'good yardstick'. The answer to that one is quite firmly "yes, actually". Britain's premier counter-terrorist, long range patrol & other special operations tasked unit might actually know a little of what they're talking about.

As mentioned by the unit's Lieutenant, the later A2 modification saw a quantum leap in reliability, although the weapons this unit are using are quite obviously earlier versions complete with their reliability issues.

The same reviewer feels the action is reminiscent of Vietnam rather than Afghanistan. Really? What a surprise. An unpopular counter- insurgency conflict where the lines of battle blur more often than sunsets.

As for the fractured cohesion of the unit. Is there any real wonder? Paratroopers, Royal Marines & Territorial Army soldiers mixed in within one patrol? A recipe for problems in anyone's book.

I suspect if you're after a 'ooh rah' war movie, watch something starring John Wayne or Michael Dudikoff, not something that might actually be based in some sort of reality.

Worth a watch.

[marialclwyd · 9/10 · 30 June 2021]

I'm a sucker for war films but dislike rewatching a film I've already seen and also usually only watch films with an IMBD rating above 6.5, so I've pretty much ran out of war documentary/film options on Netflix and Prime. I thought I would put one of the lower rating ones in the background while doing housework. It didn't turn out to be a background film at all, I ended up watching it closely and really enjoyed it. The realistic script and absence of cheesiness hit the spot. It's dificult to find a good British, Afghanistan war film so I was very pleased. I would put it on par with 'Kajaki', except it includes a lot less goriness. I recognised the Welsh actor in it (being Welsh, hence I chose this over other options) but none of the other casts, so I guessed the budget was low. This didn't take anything away from the film at all. The sound and effects were brilliant. Watching this has opened my eyes to lower rated and lower budgeted films.

Deserves a higher rating average

[orkneyislander · 8/10 · 29 August 2022]

Overall a good film, though the constant griping by 'Smudge' could get tiresome. The locations and equipment were realistic enough. Though I wonder would you get a patrol made up of such a mix of regiments? (Para, Marine, TA) The accuracy of the supply drop in hostile territory didn't quite ring true with such a miss made in clear, still conditions. Sound quality came and went a bit at times and with the slang used would probably make it difficult for non Brit's to understand what was being said or meant at times. The writer was obviously making a statement about the quality of equipment that was supplied to front line Brit troops and I believe this was actually the case at the time when compared to the US units. Worth a watch though and a step up from 'gung ho' portrayals of combat.

Really fun

[kitproudfoot · 10/10 · 17 May 2014]

I think this is a really entertaining film and really worth a watch, really encapsulates the passion that these people go through. Really interesting cinematography and different from most mainstream high budget films.

I think anyone that loves films should support artists like this with clearly so much talent and passion. I really like the topic, well executed and with a human side too which is always appealing.

I hope to see this film really make it into the main stream, so much of todays films are samey and very much targeted at the same type of people. really hope you watch this and the films with these type of background, it really helps the industry and helps support independent film producers that help prevent the entire industry becoming exactly the same.

hope you all enjoy it as much as i did.

Understand the disparity, dilemma and disappointment

[johnboelke · 8/10 · 18 October 2023]

Every war has a disparity between officers/leaders who's are all about mission and enlisted who ask why are we here and see the insanity on the ground Every war has "kit" issues like they did with SA80 and Vietnam with M16 Then there is the dilemma of doing things against every fiber of your being but you MUST do to survive As a former former platoon sergeant I saw all of this even though this not really all that well done or acted to gets to the heart of war and the damage done to participants.

To really get a handle on PTSD watch this and you will see the impact when one of them is lost or don't watch it and shut the hell up.