Depicting a similar incident to the one in Benghazi, Libya in 2012, the film Jarhead 3: The Siege becomes has been released on Blu-ray/DVD and it’s a very good war action thriller. The plot may be similar to the recent film 13 Hours, but this rollercoaster ride, although with a bit more Hollywood magic, gets staged as good. The acting, direction and script are nicely done and it contains a few surprises I didn’t see coming. Although this film is considered a sequel to the original film Jarhead, you won’t have to dig that action film out for plot points to enjoy this barn burner.
The film starts out with Corporal Evan Albright (Charlie Weber) arriving in a Middle Eastern Country. He’s an elite Marine soldier that’s well known for his heroism. But, he’s not too happy being in the Middle East, especially having to be a part of a squad babysitting U. S. Embassy Ambassador Dan Cahill (Steven Hogan).
Way above the skill set of the other Marines guarding Cahill, Albright gets overly protective and finds himself tarnishing the reputation with which he arrived. He decides to back off his intuitive training somewhat as his Gunnery Sergeant Raines disapproves of his paranoia when it comes to an Embassy that has had no incidents of trouble. He even gets FBI Region Security Officer Kraus (Ed Spila) upset when he thinks he picks out an wanted terrorist Khaled Al-Asiri (Hadrian Howard) in a crowd, but is not 100% sure. When the Embassy gate gets stormed, Albright and his squad Stamper (Joe Corrigall), Sunshine (Romeo Miller), Hansen (Tom Ainsley) and Lopez (Erik Valdez) meet up with Gunnery sergeant Raines and strike out to protect the Ambassador.
The film gets very exciting from that point on. Director William Kaufman uses enough blank ordinance to make it look like a real war while his actors attempt to reach the Ambassador and keep him out of harm’s way. Not a stranger to action packed films he’s had five released within the past 10 years. Explosions and automatic rifles abound in his film, making it look real and threatening. In one scene with the character Albright on the back of a pick-up truck, hundreds of shell casings spew out of his machine gun in an attempt to ward off an army of Arab terrorists.
The characters are well represented by a cast that looks like they have gone through Navy Seal boot camp. Lead by Charlie Weber (plays Frank Delfino in TV’s hit series “How to get Away with Murder”) as the tenacious Albright, the fire he projects delivers a Marine dedicated to the cause. Constantly moving on screen from the moment the Embassy gets attached to the very end, he’s a bull in a china shop taking the audience on a non-stop terrorist fight. And, I’ll just say that the Digital Security Director Olivia played by Sasha Jackson does her part to make the film exciting as well.
BONUS FEATURE: As always do not watch the bonus features before you see the film as there are a lot of spoilers.
“Making Jarhead 3: The Siege” Shows key scenes from the film as actors Charlie Weber, Scott Adkins, Dennis Haysbert, Erik Valdez, Sasha Jackson, Hadrian Howard and Dante Basco talk about their roles.
Jarhead 3: The Siege Blu-ray/DVD combo pack comes with two versions of the film both discs, Rated R by the MPAA for violence throughout and language and an unrated version. You can choose which one you want to see prior to pressing your film start button.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good non-stop war action film. (B+)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Scott Adkins, Charlie Weber, Dante Basco, Romeo Miller, Erik Valdez, Sasha Jackson, Dennis Haysbert
Directed by: William Kaufman
MPAA Rating: (Rated Version) R for violence throughout and language.
Genre: War, Drama, Action
Running Time: 1 Hour 40 Minutes (Unrated) / 1 Hour 39 Minutes (Rated)
Video Release Date: June 7, 2016
Language: English, Aribic
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray combo (also available on DVD)
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio
Video: 1080p HD widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Number of Discs: 2 Disc, plus Ultraviolet
Distributed by: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
