In this heavy-handed action movie, Eva Green plays a Marine who leads a squad trying to rescue schoolgirls in Afghanistan.
The action thriller “Dirty Angels” — a fictional story about a group of soldiers who set out to rescue kidnapped schoolgirls in Afghanistan held hostage by members of the Islamic State, or ISIS — suffers from the discord between the real-life conflicts that make up its setting and the cartoonish characters who propel its plot.
It opens by introducing its villain: Amir (George Iskandar), a smirking ISIS member who will soon lead the capture of the schoolgirls. He kills indiscriminately, but in case that isn’t enough to telegraph his terror, an ominous score overlays his every move. Who could stop him but our hero, Jake (Eva Green, grunting her lines)? She’s a steely Marine, who was once held captive by ISIS and joins the women-led recovery mission to avenge her former unit.
The director, Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”), uses his genre pedigree to assemble a series of bloody shootouts that build the women’s squad-goals morale while establishing their toughness. They even elect to ditch names — too girlie, surely — in favor of “functions”: Mechanic (Rona-Lee Shimon), the Bomb (Maria Bakalova), Shooter (Emily Bruni), Geek (Jojo T. Gibbs).
But while the movie flouts traditional gender roles, it easily plays into stereotypes about race and religion. The saviors speak English and the terrorists speak Pashto; in one sequence, the commandos slip into enemy territory by donning niqabs as disguises. The title, presumably a gesture at the rescue team being female but ruthless, is at least accurate: For much of her time onscreen, Green is covered in grime.
Dirty Angels
Rated R for brutal violence. Running time: 1 hour 44 minutes. In theaters and available to rent or buy on most major platforms.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
