Kandahar : 2023

Introduction 

American action thriller Kandahar was released on 26th May 2023 and is authored by Mitchell LaFortune and directed by Ric Roman Waugh. In addition to Navid Negahban, Ali Fazal, Bahador Foladi, Nina Toussaint-White, Vassilis Koukalani, Mark Arnold, Corey Johnson, and Travis Fimmel, the supporting cast of the movie also includes Navid Negahban and Navid Negahban.

Table of content

• Details
• Plot
• Release
• Reviews
• Production
• Casting
• Crew
• Character analysis
• Songs
• Controversy
• Box Office Collection
• Awards

Details

Plot 

The plot revolves around Tom Harris, a freelance undercover operative contracted by the CIA. Tom's initial mission involves inserting malware into an Iranian nuclear research facility disguised as a field technician for a Swiss communications contractor. The successful execution of the mission leads to the self-destruction of the facility.

Simultaneously, a British journalist in Iran, under surveillance by the Iranian government, receives evidence of the CIA's ongoing sabotage of Iran's nuclear programs from a whistleblower. When the facility is destroyed, she is arrested by Iranian security agencies. Suspecting a connection between the destruction and a Belgian contractor, known for its contracts near sensitive government sites, she shares her suspicions with the Iranians.

While on his way to London from Iran with a layover in Dubai, Tom's flight gets delayed. Taking advantage of the situation, his CIA handler, Roman Chalmers, arranges a meeting with him. Roman offers Tom a lucrative CIA contract in Herat, Afghanistan, as he needs the money to cover his daughter's university expenses. Tom reluctantly accepts the new assignment.

Upon arriving in Herat, news leaks of Tom's involvement in the destruction of the nuclear facility, exposing his cover. The mission in Herat is abandoned, and Roman instructs Tom and his Afghan-American translator, Mohammad "Mo" Doud, to head to an extraction point in Kandahar.

The Iranian and Pakistani intelligence services catch wind of Tom's presence in Herat and dispatch their operatives to capture him. The Pakistani agent, Kahil Nassir, who has influential Taliban members on his side, intends to ransom Tom to the highest bidder. Tom and Mo find themselves pursued by the Iranians and Kahil in Herat but manage to escape to the desert.

During their journey to Kandahar, the CIA monitors Tom's progress through satellite or high-altitude drones. In an intense encounter, Tom destroys an Iranian helicopter and eliminates its crew.

Continuing on foot, Tom and Mo seek help from Tom's friend, an Afghan warlord who is not aligned with the ruling Taliban. However, Mo reveals that the warlord was responsible for the death of his son years ago, leading to tensions. Despite this revelation, the warlord provides them with a vehicle before they depart.

Meanwhile, Roman abruptly stops communicating with the CIA and unexpectedly arrives in Afghanistan, joining an ISIS K unit.

Tom and Mo fall into the hands of a Taliban warlord, who is working for Kahil. Tom suspects that his warlord friend betrayed him.

In a dramatic turn of events, Roman and his ISIS K fighters launch an attack on the compound where Tom and Mo are held captive. The Taliban warlord is killed during the chaos. As the battle ensues, Tom, Roman, and Mo manage to escape in a vehicle.

Kahil arrives at the scene, realizing that the attackers are actually Afghan soldiers paid by the CIA, pretending to be ISIS K. He organizes another Taliban unit to intercept Tom and his group.

As Tom, Roman, and Mo approach the extraction point, Kahil's forces launch an attack on their vehicle. Roman sacrifices himself by jumping from the vehicle, buying Tom and Mo valuable time. Before succumbing to his wounds, Roman inflicts severe injuries on Kahil and recites the Shahada.

Unbeknownst to Tom, the CIA's director overseeing the malware and Herat missions orders an unauthorized missile strike on the remaining Taliban pursuers. This unexpected intervention enables Tom and Mo to escape on a British military cargo plane.

While Kahil seemingly survives, the body of the leader of the apprehension team is returned to his Iranian widow. The British journalist is released from custody, and Tom is joyfully reunited with his daughter. Mo also reunites with his wife and son, marking the conclusion of their tumultuous journey.

Release

Open Road Films purchased the movie's U.S. distribution rights in September 2022 for an eight-figure sum. The movie was released on 26th May 2023.

Reviews

The movie, on the other hand, takes a while to get going, which makes it hard to get into the story at first. But sticking with it pays off, as the story picks up speed and gets more interesting.

Kandahar doesn't follow the usual pattern of superhero films like the Marvel comics films. Instead, it works by showing how the characters are like real people. Even though this process feels a bit rushed because of time limits, it is a welcome change.

One thing that really stands out is the way the movie was shot. The end credits say that the desert scenes were shot in Dubai, which gives the story a true background. Some scenes, like the nighttime desert chase helped by infrared, feel almost unreal.

 The movie would have been better as a miniseries on Netflix, which is an interesting thought. This format would have given the filmmakers enough time to develop interesting characters, like the American who converted to Islam and moved to Dubai, the reporter who leaked information, the Pakistani spy on a black motorbike, and the Iranian army officer in charge of catching saboteurs.

 One important thing about Kandahar is how it shows that the people in the story are real people with families and lives outside of the war. The story focuses on the human side of war, which is not something that most famous films do.

Herman, who went to the movie with me, liked it too, even though the slow start almost made him fall asleep. He didn't like the way the story was edited. He thought there were too many jumps in the story, and I had to agree with him.

As someone who lives in Jakarta and is constantly exposed to superhero films, Kandahar is a nice break. Exploring the murky areas in a real and modern setting is a breath of fresh air in a cinematic world where good vs. evil stories are often the norm. Even though it has problems, the movie shows that you can tell a story with a lot of meaning in a relatively short amount of time.

Production

Former military intelligence officer Mitchell LaFortune sold Thunder Road Films his unproduced screenplay for Burn Run in June 2016. In 2013, during the Snowden leaks, he was deployed to Afghanistan while working for the Defence Intelligence Agency, and he based his story on that event. In June 2020, it was revealed that Ric Roman Waugh, the filmmaker of Angel Has Fallen and Greenland, will once again collaborate with Gerard Butler to produce and appear in the movie Kandahar movie.

Casting 

• Gerard Butler

• Navid Negahban

• Ali Fazal

• Bahador Foladi

• Nina Toussaint-White

• Vassilis Koukalani

• Mark Arnold

• Corey Johnson

• Ravi Aujla

• Ray Haratian

• Tom Rhys Harries

• Travis Fimmel

Crew

• Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
• Produced by Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Brandon Boyea
• Written by Mitchell LaFortune
• Cinematography by MacGregor
• Music by David Buckley

Character Analysis

• Gerard Butler as Tom Harris

Gerard Butler is playing the role of a freelance undercover operative named as Tom Harris. Tom Harris works for the CIA on a mission to insert malware into the nuclear research facility of Iran.

Box Office Collection

Till 16th June 2023, Kandahar movie has grossed $6.2 million worldwide from which $4.8 million just came from United Stated and Cnada alone.

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