n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

There is little positive that can be said about this movie, to be precise, NOTHING.With contemporary movies orientated more towards realism this movie tends to take you back in time to the 80's; "Nothing like the real world"; a shame. SPOILER!!!!To sum it up, a French reporter get's taken by the Taliban after insisting that she can save a girl who is to be killed by them.France acts like the US, "we can not allow that French citizens be treated like this in the world", and dispatches a unit of French SF to save the girl; all this before the President even gives the go.And here it is where it starts to get bad. French SF parachute during plane daylight into the drop zone; who cares that anyone could see them. The SF have a easy time taking out the Taliban holding the girl and start heading towards the pickup zone. Problem starts when the ONE communication device that the unit had with them gets destroyed by a bullet, yes they carried only one, and they miss their ride. The French SF are portrayed as complete inept by director to Stéphane Rybojad, as they just didn't bother to plan ahead an alternative pull out plan "Do you have a Plan B? NO". Also according to him the Taliban seem to living under the rocks in the mountains, as they just keep popping up and killed by the dozens a la Storm Trooper's throughout the entire movie; not to mention that they do not need to rest or anything like that. The French unit enters a escape that last 10 days, going over mountain chains a la Lord of the Rings. The only reason why the French Unit makes it so long is because the Taliban's are just more inept then them. But of course, as a bad movie is, after surviving a face of battle against the Taliban where the French didn't even bother to take any kind over cover, of course defeating the Taliban, they start to get killed one after an other.I love movies and I always watch them till the end, but this movie was SO bad, I started writing this review when there where still 20 min left of it; believe me, in those 20 min it got only worse like a cliché like final face off battle between the hero and the villain.Eventually the girls survives, of course, the hero does as well, of course, and we have a bad cliché ending.If I can recommend anything it would be to not wast your time and watch it, unless it's for a cinematic class where you want to put is as an example of a bad movie and director.

While a tad overlong and light on character development, SPECIAL FORCES nevertheless delivers a fairly solid entry in the modern warfare genre. The plot is rather simple: a French special forces unit (the movie is French/French-produced) is sent in to rescue a journalist from Afghanistan who has been captured by a Taliban warlord. Right off the bat, you are introduced to the principal characters, but not much is given in the way of character development or making the audience care, aside from some small character moments interspersed throughout the latter half of the film. The performances are adequate, with the best being given by Diane Kruger (as the journalist) and Djimon Hounsou (one of the special forces guys). The actor who portrays the Taliban warlord also does a good job, probably adding some depth to his character by having him be Western-educated and somewhat caught between Western culture and his own culture and beliefs, but not much attention is paid to his character either. It also doesn't help that his demise later in the film is done so haphazardly and unceremoniously. As far as the combat sequences go, they were fine and done in current "en vogue" style of somewhat shaky "cinema verite" realism to give a sense of the chaos of battle. The violence was effective and not gratuitous in any way. However, towards the end the movie drags a little bit as we're shown day after day passing of the core group trying to get away from their pursuers and safely back into Afghanistan (they've been wandering around in the Pakistani desert for most of the movie). Overall, the movie is effective in the combat sequences and showing how the special forces team bond with the people they try to rescue. Over the course of the film, you do grow to care a little bit more about the characters but not because you feel like you really know them, just because you empathize with the sticky situation they're in. The movie aspires to be SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (made by the French, and set during the Afghan war), but it falls short of the mark. Still, it makes for a somewhat entertaining, slightly taxing, viewing experience.

Sometimes movies require a certain suspension of the accepted laws of reality, and for various reasons every plot device is not explained by a bread trail. This movie, Special Forces (2011), requires a certain indulgence of both. I've read other critical reviews that take exception to various scenes that to me aren't that mysterious or unclear, while certain things I've noticed on repeated viewings aren't mentioned. So let me say, this is a good movie, with very good (and realistic, in conflict with some reviewers opinions) action scenes about French Special Forces on a rescue mission of a French journalist. She happens to be a female, and one of the SF guys is single, so there's that subplot. The main plot is of the SF group who are sent on a recon mission, then pressed into a rescue mission. That particular plot point seems to escape some, who have unrealistic views of why potentially sacrifice many (the SF team) for a stubborn journalist who didn't get out even with repeated warnings to do so. Apparently this makes her less attractive to rescue, as this is her fault, after all. The SF group does the job, as that is what they do. They are not fans of the press or this journalist in particular (another plot thread) but, as it is in real life - soldiers do what they are told. The best do it with a passion that makes failure worse than any feelings they have about the mission. This is also real. At least from what I've seen. There are other plot directions, e.g., the new guy on the team who hasn't proved he has the right stuff, then takes an unbelievable risk to divide the forces in chase and does prove exactly who he is. Who lives, who dies, this is all familiar ground for anyone who watches the "Rescue movie." Some claim they know, saw it a mile away, no surprises; yet I've seen this same thing play out many different ways. (The unexpected death; that's what makes a Director "edgy".) The tactics, the weapons, the scenery, and the journey - Yes you've seen it before (with variation). This version was an enjoyable (with subtitles, as much of it is in different languages) tale, beautifully filmed that is worth watching more than once. I would recommend it without hesitation. 8/10, because some of the extreme human effort that the entire group of survivors achieves, and the curious coincidence of the lucky Taliban group who find what the French Army and Navy can't.

Special Forces (2011)The main reason to see this movie is to get a look at a French parallel to American war movies set in Afghanistan. There are clear similarities, and even some borrowed clichés (assuming the American movies created the clichés—mostly from earlier war movies). And there are some interesting differences, like the way the characters are developed and their slightly different sense of camaraderie.The bulk of this movie is similar to many adventure films. A group of "good guys" is trying to escape from forces of evil that want to kill them. This is on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the "bad guys" are some extremist Taliban (if that's not redundant). The main bad guy conveniently speaks perfect Oxbridge English (not French) and is thoughtful and thoughtless at once. All of this seems like good stuff, and it is somehow interesting for its uniqueness coming out of French movie-making and French national pride. Don't expect any soul searching here, or actual revelations about character or even about the cause of war. The good and evil aspects are simply given, and then shown in the usual way. What sustains the movie through all this is that it's very well done, and the acting (and therefore the characters) are quite believable. There is true heroism and suffering. And a taut suspense in many scenes.It's too long by far, however, and there is a huge chuck of the movie where the group, with its shrinking numbers, struggles through the mountains that seem to become impossibly snowy and alpine. It isn't clear why the French military gives up trying to save them after dropping them in enemy territory. The Americans, who would have been there more or less de facto, are not mentioned or hinted at (which I don't mind, but it's not quite realistic as the crisis gets worse).There's even an improbable moment, after days of absolute struggle through some high snowy terrain, that the bad guys show up as if they took a taxi. Maybe they did. But it's all so convenient and packaged.So, take it for what it is. Well done, solid in some ways, and wobbly in its larger arc.