Chris Hemsworth has carved out a remarkable niche in the film industry, primarily known for his iconic roles in high-octane action films and blockbuster hits. Rather than following the traditional path of gaining recognition through smaller independent projects, Hemsworth’s debut in feature films came with a franchise installment, portraying George Kirk in the 2009 sci-fi epic Star Trek. His breakout role as the Norse God in Thor arrived just two years later, solidifying his presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and shaping the direction of his career.
Beyond the MCU, Hemsworth has led several impressive action films. He stars in the Extraction series, with a third installment currently underway, showcasing his dynamic range beyond superhero roles. The actor has also taken part in standalone films like the gripping 2013 sports drama Rush and the cyber-thriller Blackhat in 2015. Recently, he appeared as Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and lent his voice to Optimus Prime in Transformers One. An expert commentator has now weighed in on yet another prominent Hemsworth vehicle, the 2018 war drama 12 Strong.
Insights from a Special Ops Expert on 12 Strong
Critique of the Film’s Wartime Representation
The accuracy of 12 Strong’s portrayal of wartime operations has been examined by experts, highlighting some notable discrepancies. This film depicts a team of Special Forces soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks with the mission to combat the Taliban. Alongside Hemsworth, the cast features distinguished actors such as Michael Shannon, Michael Peña, and Trevante Rhodes. The film received a mixed reception from critics, reflected in its 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Chris Agar from ScreenRant rating it a modest 5 out of 10, citing pacing issues primarily attributed to its lengthy runtime of 130 minutes.
In a reaction video shared with Insider, Bob Keller, a veteran of the U.S. Army Special Forces and Delta Force, scrutinized the film’s authenticity. He pointed out several inaccuracies, such as Hemsworth’s character using a seven-digit location coordinate—a format that does not exist in military operations. Keller also expressed skepticism about the fighting tactics portrayed, particularly those involving horseback combat, which he felt were impractical. Nonetheless, he ultimately rated the film 7 out of 10 for its overall accuracy.
He doesn’t know what he said besides ‘drop bombs.’ It’s pretty stupid. That was a special forces team linked up or had been with the Afghanis, based off one of the first teams that was actually in Afghanistan at the start of the wars.
I’m calling in the aircraft, it would have been way more lenient back then at the beginning of the wars. I mean, we hadn’t been to war in a long time. So how they did it, you can’t say that wouldn’t happen back then. Because some of the calls were off on that scene. But yes, absolutely, like an SF team will call their own air support in.
Okay. Definitely gotta stop. He sends a seven-digit grid or a seven-digit coordinate. Which those don’t exist. It’s either 4, 6, 8, or 10. So all he gives is 7 numbers. Like where, that could be anywhere in the world. So that’s totally off.
Shooting from the hip on horses. Good luck making shots doing that. Every movie, Special Ops going fully auto. No one goes fully auto. Especially like at the unit. It’s just not a thing. So they did have horseback 100%. Like they were on horseback for a lot of their, I wouldn’t say missions, but like being over there, because that’s how they got around. Being trained on horseback, that’s not going to be a typical thing that you do every single day. Like why go down there and fight on horses, face to face with the guys, when they had the upper ground to begin with. So why go down there?
The Special Forces in the special operations community are supposed to be a force multiplier. I mean their true job is to go overseas and train your host nation so they can do ops on their own. I only did one deployment with special forces, and it was awesome because we did the true SF mission. Like we were actually a force multiplier. For one, they’re going to sex it up a little bit from what the book was, or what the actual story was. I mean, it’s a movie. You’ve got to make it entertaining. I’d give it a solid 7.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHVHnVwUbDghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHVHnVwUbDg
Implications for 12 Strong’s Reception
Keller’s Assessment: A Challenging Benchmark
Receiving a 7 out of 10 from Keller—a discerning critic—is a noteworthy achievement for 12 Strong. Given that he scored the 2013 action film White House Down a mere 4 for accuracy, and even the critically acclaimed Apocalypse Now only received a 5, this rate shows that despite its inaccuracies, 12 Strong stands out among its peers. While the film’s mixed reviews highlight its struggle with factual representation, it is not surprising for a film based on true events to face such challenges, particularly when aiming for engaging storytelling.
Source: Insider