In terms of something being "cinematic," there's a lot of factors here that would suggest that this shouldn't be a movie that was released in theaters. It's set in one location, it's primarily a one man show, and the action is essentially just a person hiding behind a wall. One could argue that this should have just been a stage play instead. While the premise of the story is compelling, it does feel like it's already pretty stretched out to last a whole 81 minutes. That's not a very long run-time for a movie as it is.
The strength of the movie relies on it's main character Sergeant Allen Isaac; played really well by Aaron-Taylor Johnson. Just having our lead character, usually talking to himself, showing signs of exhaustion, frustration, and pain, talking to a disembodied voice, is actually a good case to show that Aaron-Taylor Johnson is a pretty solid and underrated actor. The character has a very believably humanistic quality to him, that makes it a bit easier to spend all that time with him next to the wall.
I really do like the premise of Sergeant Isaac talking to an enemy sniper through radio communication. There's a good simplicity to the conversation they both have with each other that expands greatly to our understanding of the characters. It also adds weight to the story of the movie, that already contains socially-political commentary about wars and the soldiers involved. The direction by Doug Liman makes the best of the limitations that screenwriter Dwain Worrell has given him with this story, and he is able to give us a sense of tension, as well as make us feel like we are right there with Aaron-Taylor Johnson in a real time kind of way, just trying to survive through this life and death situation.
I'm able to admire the production of the movie for what it is, but in the end it still feels like I wanted more out of it to be a "complete" film. I don't think it's a waste of time to see it, but I guess it depends on your perspective.
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