Fire Over Afghanistan (2003) User Reviews

How to Not Make a Movie.

[HalGuentert · 2/10 · 23 March 2005]

I thought this movie seemed like a case study in how not to make a movie for the most part. Since I am a filmmaker, I give it a 2 for consistency.

The problems remain from beginning to end with the plot being extremely predictable using bits and pieces of most, if not all, previous successful war stories. The computer generated graphics were too much like viewing a video game at points and there seemed to be no attempt by the director to add some realistic quality to the story. I was interested in the budget to get an idea of what he had to work with, but did not find that information.

It seemed like this project pushed the limits of a low budget movie too far resulting in a production that drags the viewer along with the story without their imagination being engaged. The actors weren't bad, but the plot needs more innovation.

Who Better Knows Afghanistan?

[bemyfriend-40184 · 3/10 · 1 May 2021]

Who better know Afghanistan, the United States; or Russia? I think this flick was made by Russians. And yes, sure, of course they do know Afghanistan. So it has a Russian feel to it, from the way the Americans seem like Europeans, to the Latino helo pilot who speaks with a Russian accent. I couldn't finish this one. It just didn't hold my attention. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site.

Stay away from this one. No matter what.

[TWerewolf · 1/10 · 24 November 2006]

I tried to watch this movie in a military camp during an overseas mission, and let me tell you, you'll watch anything under those circumstances. Not this piece of sh*t though.

The first five minutes set the tone by weak porn-movie quality acting, weird out-of-the-blue plot twists and unbelievable situations and behavior. It gets worse after that. This movie does not have one single saving grace, and yet it is not bad in a way that would make it funny to watch. It's just horrible. I've seen quite many movies in my life and I'm not one of those snobby know-all critics, I mean I'll enjoy most movies to some extent even if they're bad. This one... man.

Steer _well_ clear of this one, my friend.

in the words of homer simpson : this movie was more boring than church

[dogcow · 1/10 · 7 February 2004]

Dont let the MPAA fool you with their "Rated R for extreme violence" there is definatly no extreme violence in this boring peice of s*t. I expected some cheap rambo 3 type action that the trailer promised, however its just boring boring nonsense with tons of lame slow mo flashbacks that make no sense. AVOID!

Pure 100% garbage

[cyberscribe · 1/10 · 5 July 2009]

Wow. I have seen some really bad movies in my time, but this one truly takes the cake. It's the worst movie I've seen in the past decade - no exaggeration.

As a US Army veteran of the war in Afghanistan, I found it nearly impossible to even finish watching this ridiculous film, not because it brought back memories - far from it - but because there was absolutely no attempt at "authenticity" to be found anywhere in the film. Not so much as the tiniest little shred. It seemed like it had been written by an 8 year-old child who got all his notions of war (and soldierly behavior) straight out of comic books. The film was made in Honduras, which should have been a clue, but even that can't fully explain the atrocious production values of this cliché-ridden piece of trash.

I could try to list all the endless technical flaws, but it would take virtually forever. From the ancient unit shoulder patches which have not been seen or worn since WWII, and the character's name tags, like "ColCollins" (worn by the character "Colonel Collins"), which was actually spelled using the reversed, mirror-image "N" of the Russian alphabet (not the US alphabet) the list just goes on and on. The uniforms, the equipment, the plot, and most especially the behavior of the characters themselves -- every single scene was just chock-full of ridiculous flaws, inaccuracies and utterly mindless clichés.

Neither the storyline itself nor the characters were the least bit credible or believable. It was all laughably childish, in the extreme. This was obviously a movie that was meant to appeal strictly to pre-pubescent boys, and I have little doubt that even they would find this film utterly absurd.

In short, this film has absolutely NO redeeming qualities at all. It's a total waste of time. I'd strongly advise anybody reading this to pass this garbage by; it's truly not worth wasting a single moment of your time for.

Fake

[vincent_romeijn · 5/10 · 17 August 2006]

Please do not watch this movie. The story is too boring. Too much dumb flashbacks. Too open-ended. Its better than "Escape from Afghanistan", but still seriously bad. The special effects, well even I can create better special effects, they look absolutely terrible. The helicopters look like its an "MS-DOS 1.0" game, and the computer-generated sound of the guns is so annoying. Don't watch/buy it, not even for 0,5 cents. Please watch a real movie, and not this crap, because its just too bad.

I can't believe its made in 2003; the special effects make it look like it was made in 1960. The music is also bad, don't bother about that either. The only reasonably good actor is that American general. Only watch it when you love bad movies. If the story was better, it could have been a good movie. But it isn't.

Afghanistan is a stick of rock

[vitachiel · 5/10 · 18 November 2006]

Of course this movie is bad. There were a few highlights for the one who likes to be entertained though. Another commenter spoke of a cheap-looking video game and he was right: just look at the fluorescent candy cockpit, wow! And then the imagery of the invented Afghan landscape: move your ass, Google Earth! All very trippingly futuristic and - unintentionally it may be - very cool. "Escape from Afghanistan" was the master of dark, here we have the master of light.

The story, acting and direction are awful. The soundtrack is OK. And I keep wondering how our hero manages to keep his hair in such a good shape after an other rough 'n tumble fighting sequence...

A window on war...

[mbdwriter · 8/10 · 12 October 2003]

Afghanistan is thousands of miles from anything in our world and yet because

of 9/11 has acheived a central status that this movie trains its sight on. The two Americans would seem to be there for entirely different reasons and

yet there is a chilling sense that both are there to escape personal tragedy or the sense that being alive when others are dying is patently unfair. The movie's two lead actors are up to the task of making us pay atention and there is an

aching sense that only in this ridiculously violent world could they possibly find each other and in the end save each other. Although there is no real explanation for why Afghanistan has to suffer so much death and destruction, this movie at least gives us the sense that there are real people there who deserve a chance for something better. Although there is

plenty of violence and action, it always seemd justified. Worth a viewing.

Location, Location

[tenspearslong · 6/10 · 18 August 2007]

There's nothing wrong with this movie that some budget wouldn't fix. The acting, dialogue and direction are fine -- the story is derivative of The Purple Plain, but that's 50 years ago and using it as a springboard is not a bad idea. We begin with a struggling pilot's fantasy that his world is exploding around him. When nobody else reacts he and we realize that it's in his mind... and we are supposed to wonder why. Having established him as a helicopter pilot (in a thin but story-forwarding action scene) we learn the reason for the pilot's internal struggle: he lost a son to a suicide bomber's madness. The story unfolds with the pilot being given a chance at salvation, a chance at finding a reason to live: when his chopper is shot down, he and the female reporter on board must find their way across Afghanistan to safety while bounty hunting bad guys pursue them.

Yes, yes, there are never enough stunts or explosions -- but when our hero charges the bad guys, it isn't bad strategy, it's his suicidal side coming out. There are noble ideas at work here. It's a shame there wasn't enough dough to silence the idiots who care what the cockpit looks like more than they care what characters are feeling.

intense talent to behold!

[admin-108 · 10/10 · 4 October 2003]

I got the screener in the mail and thanks to word of mouth about the female lead in the movie, sat right down to watch it.

What I've heard is true. This woman has a talent that ranks right up there. I'm actually disappointed that I haven't seen more of her.

The movie itself is set in a scene that we've unfortunately either have gotten too familiar with or have become sanitized against, but thanks to the lead charactes in this movie, we get to look at it from a more personal view: two people in the middle of the war and having to make their way out against the odds.

I found myself watching it in two ways: one as a viewer and reviewer of films and the cast involved, and then as an audience member. Two things stood out from both: the part of Kris Andrews was intense; anyone that has the talent to carry it out during the more violent scenes and then show when she finds a breaking point and takes matters into her own hands to save herself so that the audience is actually cheering her on to do it... well, that's good old fashion talent and, why was Fred Dryer in the movie when we only got to see a few minutes of him? I had hoped for a little more involvement there.

This movie is a straight to video but if all the movies were like this, I doubt I'd want to go to the theatre.

***** out of *****!

... a kid so dirty the lice jump off the screen.

[bonlesslizard · 7/10 · 8 May 2004]

Rape with a pistol. Glass slicing open a jugular vein. Exploding death by missile from 60 feet away. Obnoxious reporter. Tortured hero. Vile bad guy. Ambivalent two-toned guy who dies at the end of act one. Fire fire fire. An American military officer with a dark sense of humor (Fred Dryer) -- "The guy was five foot four in reality. Tough ba****d," Fred says at one point. Imagine this from a guy a six seven. He sold the admiration though. Where was I... Faces from a John Ford movie in the Red Cross camp. A kid so dirty the lice jump off the screen. An amazingly good performance from the son of the two-toned leader. A little cheese around the edges. Not enough extras. Not enough wide shots. But plenty of blood flying. Bizarre choppers. Cool locations. ******

In the Heart of War

[vanyalalyo · 6/10 · 1 April 2004]

It's unusual to see people in a war movie who have lives and not just guns. These has heart and purpose. There was too much violence but there images that are heart breaking. My husband made me watch it because he knew how strongly I felt about that awful situation. The woman's performance was particularly compelling. It must be difficult to be a woman in a society so skewed as that area of the world is and she did a wonderful job making us experience it. Also the character of Massood; it's clear he was based on the real life individual whose life was cut short, and the sensitivity the actor brought to him echoes the loss of a man who was leader in a time of terrible crisis.

drama between the bullets

[splitupthing · 6/10 · 1 September 2007]

This is a low budget attempt at getting under the skin of people who deposit themselves into difficult territory and attempt to maintain their equilibrium. The actors are strong and the story is familiar, but there is a sorrowful angst in between the gunshots. You can tell the filmmakers care far more about the situation than they do the action -- and once you accept it, it's okay. I watched it a couple times to make sure I hadn't looked away and missed something, and the second time through I understood what they were after: the pointlessness of war. This is a movie in which a character is forced to shout "Shoot him, dammit!" A rip from Bridge on the River Kwai, a wild comparison, yes, but another war picture that wanted only to say how pointless the war itself is.

More like Hilarity Over Afghanistan

[hugheg · 10 July 2004]

"This odd little" movie is so bad it's funny. Not as funny as other hilarious terrible movies such as SHAKEDOWN, and WHEN EAGLES STRIKE, but it is good for some laughs. There tends to be a little too much dialogue (and when your dialogue is god awful, thats not a good thing) and not enough hilariously pathetic action sequences.

HIGHLIGHTS: unabashedly reused shots, terrible terrible acting, a bazooka that shoots fire, giant Afghan fighters, helicopters that defy the laws of physics, and a really really unnecessary rape scene, just to name a few things. Plus, the hero is a squirrelly little guy who could never pull off what he supposedly does.

For those of you who enjoyed the dialogue and would like to see another more boring and actionless version of this film, check out Escape From Afghanistan which features 50% of the same camera shots and 100% less awesomely bad explosions.

Also, for those of you who rent the DVD, be sure to watch the trailers for upcoming releases which seem to be promising one thing and one thing alone... if you watch these new movies, you will see boobies, lots and lots of boobies.

93 minutes I can never get back

[seans-mail-inbox · 19 July 2011]

Ha Ha Ha Ha.

I have seen some really bad films in my time but this falls directly into the "who funds this junk" category.

I was very pleased with myself as I managed to sit through 28 minutes of it before I cracked and started fast forwarding looking for any potentially good bits. I was bitterly disappointed.

The computer graphics appeared to have been done on a BlackBerry. Actually that's unfair, I love my BlackBerry. The acting was poor, the direction was worse. The "locals" dancing in one scene didn't seem to have a clue what they were doing. Nobody knew how to hold or fire a rifle and the non combatant killed more people than anyone else. I don't actually need to say more about this film as nothing about it is any good. Its proper rubbish, and not even in a good way. Do not waste your money.

A real "must miss".