The film tells the story of the 53 U.S. soldiers and two Latvianmilitary advisors who battled a force of some 400 enemy insurgents in north-eastern Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Originally built to engage the locals in community development projects, Combat Outpost Keating — located at the bottom of three steep mountains just 14 miles from the Pakistani border — faced a constant threat of being attacked by the Taliban, putting the U.S. soldiers stationed there at significant risk. When the Taliban heard of US military officials intentions to close the outpost, they decided to make a statement.
Plot
The film story is based on the bravery of a small unit of U.S. soldiers, alone at the remote Combat Outpost Keating. The Battle of Kamdesh, as it was known, was the bloodiest American engagement of the Afghan War in 2009 and Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV became one of the most decorated units of the 19-year conflict. It was located deep in the valley of three mountains in Afghanistan, battles to defend against an overwhelming force of Taliban fighters in a coordinated attack.
Cast
Jack DeVos as Sgt. Joshua Hardt
Production
After acquiring the rights to Jake Tapper's book, screenwriters Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, as well as producer Scott Stuber, originally had a deal in place with Universal Pictures to produce the film, with Sam Raimi slated to direct. After the plan with Universal and Raimi fell through, producer Paul Merryman then hired Rod Lurie, a former West Point graduate-turned-film critic and director, to helm the project. The film was officially announced alongside the casting of Eastwood and Bloom in May 2018, and in August Milo Gibson joined the cast. Because Clint Romesha had written a book on the conflict that had in-turn been optioned by Sony Pictures, the producers rushed to get The Outpost made, and contact between Romesha and Eastwood was limited after a legal letter from the studio. Three weeks before filming was set to begin, Eastwood broke his ankle, causing a two-week delay, rewrites, and re-choreographing of the fight sequences. Filming took place mostly in Bulgaria, wrapping in mid-October 2018.
Release
In October 2019, a rough edit of The Outpost was screened for the depicted soldiers and their families in Washington, D.C., which Stoney Portis, who was the commander of the unit at the time, called "part of the healing." The film was then scheduled to premiere on March 14, 2020 at the South by Southwest Film Festival. However, the festival was cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Screen Media Films acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released via video on demand and in select theaters on July 3, 2020. Fathom Events originally planned on releasing the film on 500 screens theatrically from July 2-5, however due to the pandemic the plans were scrapped; it did still release in 69 theaters. It made $14,182 in its debut weekend.
Reception
VOD sales
In its debut weekend, The Outpost was the top-rented film on the iTunes Store and FandangoNow, and reportedly was the best debut in Screen Media's history. It remained the number one film on iTunes in its second weekend, as well as on AppleTV, while finishing second at FandangoNow and on Spectrum's weekly chart. The film continued to do well in its third week of release, finishing first at Apple TV and Spectrum and second on FandangoNow.
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7.82/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Told with gripping realism, The Outpost is a thrilling technical feat and a worthy tribute to military heroes." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Peter Debruge, in his review for Variety, called the film a "harrowing immersive account" of the battle and wrote: "The Outpost isn't glamorous, but it's respectful of the sacrifice and split-second decision-making that Bravo Troop faced, amplifying the terror of such an impossible assignment by attempting to mirror the characters' point of view." David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "B" and called it "familiar but uncommonly visceral", writing that "Lurie does a strong job of threading the needle between excitement and calamity; shooting much of the 45-minute long ambush in hectic, agile long-takes allows him to capture the Battle of Kamdesh for all of its terror, and with a clarity that allows us to feel that terror in our bones." The film was praised by veterans, including those who fought in the battle, for its realistic depiction of warfare, everyday soldier life, and the looks of the base.
