Customer Reviews

The Objective

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a good movie and well worth your time and money.

This is an excellent example of a moderately budgeted film without the extreme special effects of overblown Hollywood "blockbusters". It delivers an involving story, convincing characters, and really shames the Hollywood elite who think "Hancock" is what the public wants.

It is obvious that research was done to find out how special forces units work, act, and speak. This is appreciated when you consider that may of the movies out there don't even have rank insignia placed on uniforms correctly. This is a real irritant for someone who has military experience.

The story itself is a take on "Heart of Darkness" and I think that is all I'll say about the plot...

A well done story, an excellent cast, and way beyond the Hollywood drek.

Well done!

Being in the Army, I always hate movies which feature the military but give it the "Hollywood" treatment which renders it completely unrealistic. However, I can see that The Objective hews as close to actual Army operations and tactics as I have seen in a movie. Everything is authentic, from how they are dressed to the equipment they use to how they speak on the radio. I give it 5 stars just for that.

As for the movie itself, it follows a CIA agent and team of Special Forces soldiers (an "A-team" or Detachment Alpha) as they search supposedly for an important contact. However, as the movie progresses the truth is revealed. This movie is great because there is tension at many different levels, including between the CIA agent and the Special Forces team.

I thought the ending was a little weak, but otherwise I'd highly recommend this movie to anyone!

Daniel Myrick, one of the directors of the Blair Witch Project, spins the Blair Witch storyline a bit and comes up with this nifty other-worldly thriller. Like Blair Witch, he strands a group of people, in this case a special ops force, in a hostile environment and sets a supernatural agent upon them.

These special ops dudes, headed by a CIA operative, are in search of, what we're told, may be nuclear weapons in Afghanistan. He gives his men some more benign story but they know something's up. Even with the help of a local guide, they become lost. Is it because all their high-tech gear ceases to function or has the terrain actually changed.

Soon they are set upon by an enemy and, one by one, they are picked off or choose to off themselves. Mr. CIA is filming all of this with an infra-red camera and uplinking it home via infra-red. He sees things through the camera his men cannot see and finally he spills the beans to the one remaining soldier. He is trying to verify, for the CIA, the existence of Vimanas which seem to be an other-worldly force that may have been around even before Alexander the Great's conquests. They may be the ultimate weapon.

As I mentioned, it's a remake of Blair Witch but with a larger budget and scope. Myrick even uses a re-occurring icon not dissimilar to the one used in Blair Witch. This is a good, solid undertaking with a mid-sized budget. The story is good. The acting is adequate and the directing is solid. As another reviewer noted, this shows you don't need truckloads of money and huge stars to make a good movie. Granted, had this had some known names, it would have gotten better backing and distribution but that's the business, not the art. If you're at all disposed to this kind of film, this is well worth your time and money.

I will argue the ending. It's very brief (one shot held for a few seconds) and I'm not certain what Myrick was trying to convey. But by that time the movie was over and I was pretty much satisfied so I won't lean on that too heavily.

I liked this movie a lot but I knew I was going into it as an "Indie Flick". I wasn't expecting a CGI masterpiece. The story is pretty straight forward and very focused. There is only one thing going on. It's like the opposite of Pulp Fiction in that regard. If you like unexplained/mystery/thrillers with a nice dose of firearms this is for you. And on the firearm note it was refreshing to see a movie where the gun play was realistic and believable. To bad Hollywood hasn't figured out how to do it (except for Heat").

Although this movie was made with a fairly small budget you would never know it. There is a feeling of gritty realism resulting from good dialogue and good acting by the cast of relatively unknown actors. This disc is a great deal at the price and worth twice the amount I have paid for some real stinkers (I like to check out low budget movies - call me crazy). This movie was far better than such recent bombs as "Transformers 2", and deserves a look. I found it creepy and entertaining.

I was highly entertained by this movie. It conveys a sense of real horror unlike most horror movies that use just cheap scare tactics like loud abrupt noises. This is one where if you lack the ability to suspend your disbelief and immerse yourself in the story telling you just wont get it. Its not for the mindless movie watcher who wants to sit back and not think. The acting was superb I had no issues with that. The special effects are what one would expect on a low budget movie. But that is also one other thing that I can look past.
You can have the flashiest special effects and have a horrible story. The story is very interesting. The tension is ramped up as you go along and the terror that is vexing them slowly starts to become defined. But thankfully it isn't explained all the way. Doing this sometimes actually does a disservice to the story. Sometimes I like it more if I am left wondering what in the world was going on.
It gives you something to think about. Having an interest in some of the subject matter that is very real helps too. There is an artifact in this movie that actually exists. I recommend this movie if you liked the Blair Witch Project even though they are dissimilar. There is thankfully a whole plethora of good independent horror films out there to dig into. Movies like The Sauna, Perfect Creature, Dante 01 and many others. One things for sure if the making of real horror was left up to Hollywood we would be bored out of our minds. If your wondering how I reviewed this before it was released I found it at Blockbuster as an exclusive.

This movie flirts with the idea that the old notions of the magical Djinn are based in truth, and that out in the deserts of the Middle East they are still to be found.

I have a soft spot for movies about small bands of soldiers, heading off into the boondocks where they will face the unknown in ways they could never have imagined. Outpost, Predator, Aliens, Dog Soldiers... These are all films that fit into that niche. So does The Objective.

The Objective is riddled with mythological motifs that will fly over the head of most people. If you've ever read the substantial works of Joseph Campbell and liked them (Hero with a Thousand Faces, The Masks of God series, etc.,) then this film will really appeal to you. If you have no idea what the books I just mentioned are all about, then you probably have very little interest in comparative mythology, and this movie might not be your cup of tea. Without the mythological references, The Objective might just seem like a bunch of things that don't make much sense, and in the end feel unsatisfying.

If you like mythology, definitely give this one a look. If you don't know much about it, you should look anyway, and maybe it will broaden your horizons. If your idea of an imaginative romp is Law and Order, leave this one alone.

Great movie. Looks realistic. Cool Sci Fiction that keeps you guessing throughout the movie. I recommend this movie to everyone. Even women. Wife watched it and loved it. Especially my friends. Only thing bad, can not buy in Blu Ray. But definately worth buying even in regular format.

The Objective was a movie I bought on a whim while browsing on Amazon. I really don't know what made it stand out from all the other movies I looked at but I have Zero Regrets on buying it! It's one of the best films of its kind I've seen in a while even topping the somewhat disappointing Predators, the latest installment to that series. The Objective tells the story of a C.I.A. Operator and U.S. Army Special Forces Team who try to discover what's causing strange electronic jamming signals in a mountain region of Afghanistan, what they find will blow you away! I don't want to say to much more about the plot, it'll ruin it for you. I will say Buy This DVD, You won't be sorry.

I watched this fim via NETFLIX and didn't realize it was from a "Blair Witch"! I thought the worst until I watched it. I found it very realistic and enjoyable. I spent 32 yrs in the active Army and worked w/ SF guys and found it quite accurate in many ways far above the current genre of combat films. I found it more realistic than "Hurt Locker" since I worked w/ EOD teams in Baghdad! The V thing was different and I must do some research on what it's all about but enjoyed the bit about the 44th Foot British uniform which was a forgotten disaster in Afghanistan in 1842. The ending was a bit lame but he was the sacrificial lamb to get into the "V" for further research and gives up everything for the mission. The CIA guy pushed thatt decidation and sacrifice during the whole film. Very realistic and a new take on an ancient question.