Review of The Veteran (2011) by Aidan H — 12 May 2014

I expected an ok to good, shoddily shot and produced (typical of British low budget ventures) affair, but this delivered more than I hoped for.

It's wonderfully bleak - the whole government is running terrorism to instigate fear among the public in order to make war (to attain oil, etc.) seem justifiable twist for one thing, and the ending for another; a typical film of this sub-genre would have the hero win in the end. I thought it great and realistic that he didn't manage to kill them all and actually got killed himself, allowing Jones and one other to get away.

Kebbell did a great job. Curran and Cox worked as bosses-turned-antagonists. It got better as it went along, it was shot in such a self-assured manner, it didn't opt for violence just to satiate the sort of audience who typically watch these films for action, and it had a very smart story (which could have been a tad better polished, but that still worked as it is). Surprisingly good.