“12 Strong” is a movie adapted from the best-selling novel Horse Soldiers which is based on a true mission of a US special force team in Afghanistan.
A true story about 12 American soldiers on horseback
The time context in 12 Strong is hours after the September 11 attack that killed nearly 3,000 people. After identifying Afghan terrorists as the enemy of the United State of America, a group of 12 members of the most elite force is ordered to travel to an unknown land with the burden of the country’s security on their shoulders.
The task of this special force team is to defeat the Taliban while millions of Americans are crying for their loss. These are the first soldiers to participate in the war on terror that continues to this day in America.
The 12-member team bearing the name Operational Detachment-Alpha 595 is given a secret mission consisting of two parts: to cooperate with the Afghan army and to eliminate the Taliban. Senior Lieutenant General Mulholland, one of the members of the task force, stated that there was a shortage of equipment and information needed to prepare for the fierce war. They must familiarize themselves with the equipment available there and find ways to understand everything possible about the strange country of Afghanistan.
The soldiers read all the information, including those in the magazines. Because there are no military maps, they have to use tourist maps instead. Shortly, the special force team is able to gather some knowledge about the ethnic conflict that has lasted for 100 years in Afghanistan. Through the little information they have, they must analyze and assume who can become their allies.
“What happened in Afghanistan really was a miracle,” said Mr. Mulholland
The process of bringing the story to the screen
In order to make sure the scenes in 12 Strong were as authentic as possible, the crew invited two members of the legendary task force to the studio to personally direct and inspire the cast. Warrant officer Robert Pennington (played by Michael Shannon) and Lieutenant Colonel Mark Nutsch (played by Chris Hemsworth) spent three days working with the crew.
Robert Pennington and Mark Nutsch during a premiere of 12 Strong in the US.
In the opening scene of the movie, the character played by Michael Shannon has a playful line right after the September 11 attack. The Oscar-nominated actor found it to be inappropriate and consulted the two veterans. Immediately the two historical witnesses thoroughly explained to the actors about the tense situation then and the script was altered appropriately the next day. Actor Michael Shannon also learned from the soldier he played in the movie the way he carried weapons, rode horse, and carried out other actions in combat in order to portray his character in the most honest and accurate way.
“God of Thunder” Chris Hemsworth with the soldier he plays on the movie.
The fruits of their hard work efforts are the scenes that make the real soldiers themselves satisfied. In an interview with ABC after the movie’s release in the United States, the heroic soldiers commented that the cast of 12 Strong had successfully portrayed the spirit of the Special Force team.
The battle scenes of the soldiers on horseback are a special highlight of 12 Strong compared to other war movies.
12 Strong will be officially launched nationwide from January 26, 2018.
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