First, while I really like this genre as well as many gritty French policiers movies, Special Forces was a big disappointment. The "elite" team sent in to rescue the journalist was no more competent than a band of Eagle Scouts would have been in that situation. The team parachutes into Pakistan during broad daylight and gently floats to earth interminably circling one another like a gaggle of sport jumpers. An incursion into Pakistan with any chance of success would require a night drop and HALO techniques. Without the use of camouflage sticks to darken their faces, they blithely launch, again, a daylight assault on a heavily guarded compound, of which they have little intelligence. They scoop up their objective, the reporter, and make a run for it, but of course, there was no interdiction personnel assigned to destroy or hinder the Talib reinforcements. Of course things get worse when their sole means of communication is destroyed and they can't contact higher headquarters. The helos assigned to recover them fly in, broad daylight, get chased away by Talib gunfire causing our plucky band to have to high tail it over the Hindu Kush mountains back into Afghanistan. Didn't anyone ever hear of redundant comm systems, and backup extraction points? Apparently not, so with the Talibs in full pursuit they trek onwards. Disregarding any sense of security they blithely walk into a Pakistani village hoping that the locals will be friendly. Of course they are, which results in a playful game of keep away with one of the soldier's hats, much more important than perimeter security, and oops, one of the solders gets sniped. How was he part of the unit anyway as it looked as if he was serving as an ANF assistance instructor when the team arrived in country? Anyway, after clearly exposing themselves by walking on every ridgeline in the country, more soldiers die and the Talib numbers grow. After seemingly evading being overrun by weathering a snowstorm, the half dead survivors are suddenly ambushed by the chasing Talibs who are all fresh as daisies. How did they get there? The amount of ammo expended by our heroes would require a deuce-and-a-half to carry, yet despite sending 10s of thousands of rounds downrange do they happen to carry any grenades or claymores? Nope. Finally, by sheer luck, the reporter is found and she pluckily helps the SAR team find the team survivors, now reduced to two. Most likely they'll receive the Legion d'Honneur medal, but what they really need is a refresher course at basic infantry training school.
Review of Special Forces
