Valiant One (2025)

 

            I was surprised when the new war movie “Valiant One” appeared in my local cinema. Surprised because it did not appear to be a movie that would be given wide release. I guess the idea is that if it appears in enough theaters at 1% capacity, it might break even. The bad news is it is very unlikely that it will make a decent box office. The good news is it has such a small budget, it won’t lose a lot of money. The film was a labor of love for Steve Barnett. He came up with the story, co-wrote the screenplay, and directed.

            “Valiant One” is set in Korea. Both of them. Sgt. Brockman (Chase Stokes – star of the series “Outer Banks”) is normally an office drone, but suddenly he is thrust into a mission into the DMZ to repair a radar unit. He is to chaperone a civilian geek in what should be a scary, but uneventful in and out affair. Brockman is a fuckup and smartass who is in the Army to save money for his future career as a millionaire tech magnate. He is not military leadership material. Which means he is guaranteed to be thrust into a leadership role. The egress is problematical because of sudden severe weather which crashes the helicopter. In North Korea. Now, Brockman must lead the survivors on a trek through the forest to a rendezvous with a Delta Force. There will be fire fights with North Korean soldiers. And not everyone in the lost patrol will survive, of course.

            “Valiant One” is average in every way. The cast is average. Apparently they are recognizable to Gen Z, as is the rap songs in the soundtrack. The actors do move like soldiers and seem to have had some actor boot camp training. They are not saddled with hokey dialogue. The movie is not laughable, unless you laugh at cliches and stereotypes. You get the reluctant warrior who was hoping to avoid combat until he gets out of the Army. The tough as nails female soldier. The 21^st Century gamers turned soldiers who find the real thing to be daunting. And the civilian tech guy who would rather surrender than fight. The cliches include the redemption arc for the geek and the leadership evolution of Brockman. Being in command sucks! There is a little dysfunction when the obviously unprepared Brockman is forced to take charge because of that pesky military insistence on rank. Clearly, Selby (Lana Condor) should be in charges, but what’s the fun of that. Competence is boring. And leaders don’t braid the hair of a North Korean girl. The cinematographer used hand-held for most of the film. It’s not distracting, but certainly won’t be winning any awards. I have to compliment Barnett for embracing the low budget situation. He does not use cheesy CGI for the helicopter crash, for instance. He just used a forest, a farm, and a tunnel for his sets.

            “Valiant One” is going to soon be forgotten, but that is better than being remembered as a terrible movie. It is not memorable for anything. It is just an average little war movie. And by little, I am hinting at its 87 running time. Short and not very sweet.

GRADE  =  C-