There is something about going up against it. I love movies when you honestly can not tell how it is going to turn out. Are all our heroes going to make it out alive? Will they accomplish the mission? So many times, we see a movie, and everything gets wrapped up in a nice, neat package where the good guys win, and bad guys lose. Sometimes its nice to not know how that is going to turn out. I thought today we would explore some movies where our heroes seem to have the odds against them. so here are five movies where we go against all odds.
Rogue One a Star Wars story is probably one of the darkest of the Star Wars films. I also think it is a great stand-alone film as well. Yes, I love Star Wars and like many others in my age group I have loved it from the very first moment we saw that star destroyer slowly appear on the screen in A New Hope. The cast here is excellent. The story is the story we have imagined since we saw the first movie. I know I have always wondered what the story was on getting the plans for the death star. This film delivers on so many levels.
Galen Urso is the designer of the death star. We see him trying to lead this quiet life in the middle of nowhere. The serenity does not last, and he has planned for it. Mads Mikkelsen, who you know from the show Hannibal as well as the movies Doctor Strange and Polar, delivers this wonderfully tortured performance. He knows he cannot allow this weapon to be built, but he also realizes it is going to be built with or without him. At least if he is involved, he can delay and sabotage the production as much as possible.
Jen Urso, daughter of Galen, is a tough as nails rogue, to put it bluntly. She is living on the edge as best she can. A criminal, yes, a survivor, definitely. January Jones plays this wonderful character. You know her from Theory of Everything Inferno, and On the Basis of Sex. She is not a believer in the cause. She also has no love for the empire. She is simply trying to survive as best she can through all of this.
Diego Luna plays Cassian Andor. He is a rebel and does what he needs to do to get the job done. You will know Diego Luna from Narcos: Mexico, the remake of Flatliners, and well Andor the prequel series to Rogue One. If you are not watching Andor you need to be. Cassian Andor is a calculating rebel. He looks at what is needed and finds the best way to do it. He does his best to follow his orders, but he has a moral compass and is able to think for himself how to best serve the greater good.
We get a wonderfully wise cracking robot, not as true to Star Wars as we are used to, but a wonderful addition. Alan Tudyk plays K-2SO, a reprogrammed Imperial Droid. This droid seems to not only have a mind of its own and definitely speaks it without a filter. Great character work here as usual from Alan Tudyk. You know him from A Knight’s Tale, Resident Alien and of course Firefly.
Riz Ahmed plays Bodhi, an imperial pilot who has defected to the rebels. He is sent by Galen to deliver an important message to aid the rebels. Throughout most of the film he is dealt with as being untrustworthy, and of course why wouldn’t he be met with distrust. He is an imperial pilot, and this could all be a trap. You know Riz Ahmed from the wonderful HBO show The Night Of, as well as Sound of Metal and Nightcrawler.
Post order 66 you got to wonder what has happened with all the Jedi. Donnie Yen plays a blind Jedi knight who was once protecting a temple and now essentially surviving on the streets. He seems harmless and a little crazy, which is probably how he has survived the hunt for the Jedi all these years. You know him from the IP man series, hope I am saying that right, as well as the live action Mulan, and crouching tiger hidden dragon sword of destiny.
Another Jedi hiding in plain sight is played by Wen Jiang. He seems more battle hardened and ready for the fight if it is going to appear. Seems his primary focus is protecting Yen’s blind Jedi. I am thinking the story of these two and their bond might be a wonderful movie itself. You know Jiang from Devils on the doorstep, let the bullets fly, and the sun also rises.
I love the acting of Forrest Whitaker. Here he plays Saw Guerrero, more of an extremist with his own agenda in this rebellion. He rescued Jen Urso after Galen was captured by the imperials. He plays a run down and beat up leader of a rogue band of extremists. They are willing to take the fight to the empire whenever and how ever. Each seems as though they are willing to die for this cause. You know Forrest Whitaker from about a million things, but the short list is Last King of Scotland, the butler, and blown away.
Of course, Jimmy Smits reprises his role as Bail Organa here. This really helps to tie in the prequel trilogy as well as the original trilogy, if you know then you know. A brief appearance that seems designed to do exactly what it does and tie these stories together. You know Jimmy Smits from NYPD Blue, sons of Anarchy and the believers.
The film starts when the rebels rescue Jen Urso in an attempt to gain access to saw Guerrero. Saw had rescued Jen as a child and cared for her. The rebels believe she could get them access to saw with as little friction as possible. Saw is seen as a fringe element of the rebellion. Once they arrive at Saw’s base as captives Jen sees a message from her father. She is the only member of the group to see this message. The death star is being built here above the planet. As a proof-of-concept Grand Moff Tarkin orders a test fire on the capital city. This is a single reactor fire so the planet will not be disintegrated, just the area around the city will be decimated. Think of the most powerful nuke ever and multiply by about 100. Our group narrowly escapes, and the real issue is Jen is the only one who saw the message from her father about this space station and its flaws.
Cassian checks in with the leadership and is sent off to acquire Galen Urso. His orders are to actually kill Galen so he cannot finish the weapon. These are his secret orders. our group heads off to attempt this feat. Their ship crashes on the planet’s surface and they split the group. Donnie Yen’s character senses something is off and heads out to “follow” Cassian Andor. Bodhi is sent to find a new ship to get them off the planet. Since they crashed and coms are down the rebels assume the worse and send a squad of bombers to take out the facility. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong. But of course, our group comes through. They are able to escape however Cassian does not kill Galen. Back on Yavin 4 there is a discussion of what to do next. The rebels are split here. Half want to attack Skerriff to gain the plans to the weapon while the other half seem to think it’s a fool’s errand that would surely destroy the rebellion. Our pluck group, and some volunteers, steal a ship and head to skerriff. This is the big final push. The battle of the third act. Filled with roadblocks; each of which looks like our group is not going to make it. I do not want to give too much away here but I do want to mention the one thing that makes this the darkest of the Star Wars films. Literally everybody on the planet dies. The team we have been with through the entire film does not make it out. This blew me away. What a choice to make. I honestly think this is a great war film; never mind Star Wars movie.
I am late to this one. It has been on my watch list since it came out, but I only watched in prep for this episode. When it comes to movies based on a true story, I am always a little skeptical, and while this one has some parts that have me questioning it in no way pulled me out of the movie itself. An engaging story of survival, this one will have you on the edge of your seat all the way through. Well written and acted, as well as wonderfully shot. If you like a good military movie with seemingly insurmountable odds, then you need to see Lone Survivor.
This one starts off simple enough. Sort of the day in the life of beginning. We got guys sleeping. We got guys exercising. You know something is happening, but you don’t really know what. The entire first twenty or thirty minutes of this movie allows you to really get to know these guys, and the larger cast around them. You get a real sense of comradery and family amongst this crew of operators. Then the mission briefing comes down.
Our guys are being sent after Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. Shah is responsible for killing over twenty US Marines as well as villagers and US allies, and assets in the area. He is definitely a bad guy and must be dealt with. The mission seems simple enough. Insert via helicopter and hike to a mountain position overlooking a small village. Identify if shah is there. If he is there, deal with him and head home.
Our team does just this. We see the hike in with wonderful shots of the landscape. We get these wide views of the varied landscapes of Afghanistan. We get grassy lowlands tree covered highlands, and arid mountain peaks. It all seems very light. People are doing their jobs; it is almost boring if not for the wonderful views. The team arrives at the spot, and they set up surveillance on the village. They spot Shah and dig in for the evening. Again, nothing really happening yet you do not even notice this until after.
Suddenly up the hill comes a couple of goat herder and a couple of kids. Our seals capture and detain this group of three and begin the debate. What to do. The elder of the group had a radio on him. Is he Taliban? Most likely. What to do, what to do? Do we detain them complete the job and hope no one comes looking for them? Do we release and scrub the mission hoping to get out before they can alert Taliban forces? Or do we do the unthinkable and well eliminate the threat? It is ultimately decided that they will scrub the mission, release the detainees, and hope to get out ahead of any alerted forces. This is where the movie starts.
You know how a lot of movies have a little lull in act two? Lone survivor has a sustained gun fight that takes place for almost all of act two. This group of four seals come under fire as they try to flee the area undetected. They are outnumbered and outgunned but they never stop. Jumping or outright falling off of a couple of cliff faces to put distance between them and enemy forces. Being shot multiple times, one guy has taken a round to the head and is still moving. One by one each of the team is ultimately eliminated until the final member is down to fighting with almost nothing more than a stick and a hand grenade when a local villager takes him in and tries to help him.
Not looking to give too much away here but you need to know this ongoing fight lasts for the majority of the movie. Once it starts it does not stop until we get to the village and even then, it does not stop but only slows a bit. Wonderful pacing on this one.
Written and directed by Peter Burg, an underrated film maker in my opinion. You get the grit of this true story mixed with the realism of war. This is not a Rambo movie with thousands of rounds fired and no one but the bad guys get hurt. There is a lot of hurt and very real feel to the action sequences.
Danny Dietz is played by Emile Hirsch. You know him from Speed Racer, once upon a time in Hollywood, and Lords of Dogtown.
Taylor Kitsch plays Michael Murphy. You know Taylor from Friday Night Lights, a season of True Detective, and X-men Origins Wolverine.
I always love when I see Ben Foster on screen. He is excellent in everything I have seen. Loved him on Freaks and Geeks, he was excellent in the remake of the Mechanic, and also was great in Pandarum. If you have not seen it, it is a really good sci-fi mystery.
The main character of Marcus Luttrell is played by Mark Wahlberg who delivers a great performance here. You know Mark Wahlberg from the fighter, The Departed and Boogie Nights. Another underrated talent. I always enjoy him on screen.
Armageddon is really a disaster movie but since we got a small group against the odds, I thought it could fit here. The best way to see this one is on a big screen, in theater or if you have a projector at home. The effects are huge, and the cinematography backs it up. The cast of characters is wonderful and believable. The story has tension to it because you are never sure if they will or won’t succeed. I always forget how much I do enjoy this one.
Just like all those disaster films from the nineteen seventies you have a great cast. No unknowns at all. A whose who of nineties actors.
We got Peter Stormare who you know from Fargo, Constantine, and John Wick Chapter 2. It seems like if you need a Russian this is who we get, and why not he is wonderful at it. here he plays a Russian Cosmonaut on board a space station where our team has to refuel. Things go wrong, I mean it is a disaster film, so we bring him along with us.
For our drilling team the number two guy, the right hand, is played by Will Patton. You will recognize him from No Way Out, The Client, and a couple of episodes of Numbers. Usually, he plays a cop with a grey moral outlook, however here he is essentially the right hand a trusted advisor to the head of the drill team.
I love William Fichtner in almost everything I have seen him in. you will know him as the cop from Go, he was also in Black Hawk Down, and Drive Angry. Here he plays a military pilot flying one of two shuttles that will land on the meteor that is heading towards the earth.
Michael Clark Duncan from the Green Mile, the Whole Nine Yards, and sin City. This giant plays one of our drillers. Another one I love seeing on screen and here is no different.
Next up is Owen Wilson who plays…well Owen Wilson, and I mean that as a total compliment. He is one of our drill team and seems to have sort of light approach to things. He does not want it to be too heavy no matter the odds. I honestly think this is how Owen Wilson might actually be. You will remember Owen Wilson from Wedding Crashers, the Royal Tenenbaums, and Zoolander.
Our grizzled geologist with ties to the mob is played by none other than Steve Buscemi. A great character actor no matter the role. Here is no different. He plays this sort of creepy morally questionable guy, but his loyalty lies with the team. you are going to know Steve Buscemi from just about everything Tarantino has made plus, Fargo, Ghost World, and Hotel Transylvania.
Liv Tyler plays the daughter of the owner of the drill company and love interest for one of the drillers. You know her from the Lord of the Rings movies, 9-1-1 Lone star, and the Strangers. Such a creepy movie.
Head of Mission control at NASA is played by Billy Bob Thornton. One of the few sorts of Normal people I have seen him play. Great actor and does and excellent job here. You know him from Sling Blade, Pushing Tin, and the first season of Fargo the series.
Our hot shot young guy who thinks he knows more than everybody is played by Ben Affleck. He is love with the owner’s daughter, liv Tyler. He is always pushing harder and faster with out thinking trying to impress his boss. You know Ben Affleck from Good Will Hunting, Argo, and the Town.
Head of the drill operation and owner of the company is played by Bruce Willis. You know Bruce Willis from Moonlighting, Die Hard and Twelve Monkeys, the movie. Here is quiet and reserve. A guy that just wants to do his job as good as he can. Now this team is assembled when it is discovered that a meteor is heading towards the earth. It is about the size of Texas and would destroy everything on the planet. The best plan NASA has is to land a shuttle on this meteor, drill into it, and detonate a nuke. This will break the meteor in half and both halves will miss the earth. Now I do not want to give too much away. This is worth the watch. The effects are still pretty good. The serious parts will make you think, maybe even cry a tear or two. The funny parts will make you laugh, and maybe cry a tear or two. A great watch and you should check it out on HBO MAX for streaming.
Inglorious Basterds is an excellent example of against all odds with a bit of alt history thrown in. in any other hands this could have been a comical farce but with Tarantino’s handling of the material it is elevated to another level. The cast gives a top-notch performance as you would expect. Tarantino delivers one of his best films in this one. of course, with Tarantino we are talking degrees of good, am I right?
The main through story of this film is about a propaganda film being made. This is to focus on the exploits of Fredrick Zoller, played by Daniel Bruhl. You will know him from Captain America: Civil War, the Falcon and the Winter Solider, and Rush.
As is always true in a Tarantino film the cast is excellent. We start with Michael Fassbender who you will know from Prometheus, Steve Jobs, and X-men First Class. A member of the resistance he helps the Basterds make contact with their movie actress / informant. A short yet memorable role.
Col. Hans Landa is adept at hunting down Jewish people who are hiding from the NAZIS. He is meticulous in his search and relentless when he knows he is right. This performance should be on a list all on its own. Expertly delivered by Christoph Waltz who you know as Blofeld from the recent bond movies as well as Django Unchained, and Zero Theorem.
Eli Roth plays Donnie Donowitz, the Bear Jew. This guy takes real pleasure in beating NAZIS to death with a base ball bat. I think we all watch this and live vicariously through him a little bit. Most of us would not do what he does but the men he beats are so evil we understand. You know Eli Roth from behind the camera with movies like Cabin Fever, Hostel, and the Docu-series Eli Roth’s History of Horror.
Melanie Laurent plays a theater owner where the Third Reich has decided to show their propaganda film. It is a small theater, but the idea is to make it an exclusive event to high ranking NAZIs and their families. You will know her from Now You See Me, Beginners, and Oxygen.
If you got a group like the Basterds attempting to infiltrate behind enemy lines, they will need a contact they can count on. Diane Kruger plays a film actress who is working with the resistance and going to help our team infiltrate the theater the night of the premiere. You know her from the National treasure movies, Unknown, and the 355.
Brad Pitt turns in a wonderful performance as about the most unapologetic American. He is here to do a job . He attempts to speak Italian at one point, and it is the worst accent ever heard, and it is wonderful for the character. Now you know Brad Pitt from a ton of stuff. He did an episode of Growing Pains back in the eighties, as well as an episode of 21 jump street, and an episode of head of the class. Yes, we know he did 12 monkeys, a river runs through it, money ball, Thelma and Louise and so on and so on. I just thought the single episodes would be more fun.
The Inglorious Basterds is about a group of warriors who dropped behind enemy lines and conduct essentially guerilla warfare. They ambush Nazis and kill them. Violently and graphically as you would only expect from Tarantino. I am not opposed to violence in film, and he does this wonderfully. It so over the top in places that it could almost be comical, like in Ash v. The Evil Dead series, but here Tarantino keeps it short of farce and maintains the heavier darker tone. Our group learn of a movie premiere that the highest ranking NAZIs will be attending, and this becomes the target. All they are focused on is getting everyone in this theater. Of course, unknown to them the owner of the theater had the same plan. I do not want to give too much away but I will say this is alternate history of WWII; so, the end is a little different than you’d expect, and it is definitely satisfying.
When you say impossible odds this is one that is on everybody’s list. I am talking about the Dirty Dozen. Another stellar cast. I wonder was this cast as well known at the time of the film or is it that most are household names now? A little long but hardly noticeable at two and half hours. Well written and structured this movie has an even pacing. A must see for any war film fan.
What we have here are a bunch of prisoners, not war prisoners but criminals in the military for various infractions. They are all in for long terms and some to be executed. The plan is to use these guys to pull off an impossible mission, since they are seen as expendable the military has no problem using them for this mission. The mission is a French Chalet that has been commandeered by NAZIs to be used for rest and relaxation as well as conferences. The idea is to destroy the retreat and all who are in it. heavily guarded, in enemy territory and a group of naire-do wells to execute the mission. The odds are against our team.
I have to say I really enjoyed this one. especially the spectacular cast. Donald Sutherland is here. He plays a bit of a screw up. You will know him as the lit professor in Animal House, the hunger games movies and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That is the seventies remake that was so creepy. That ending, check that one out too.
We have Archer Maggot who is this sort of strict moral code and has no problem killing those who violagte it. played wonderfully by Telly Savalas. That is Televisions Kojak, as well as Pretty Maids All in a Row, and Cannon Ball Run II.
Major Armbruster aids in putting together this bunch. He is not sure if this is going to work but he is definitely in. George Kennedy never disappoints. You will know him as Dragline form Cool Hand Luke. One of my favorites of all time. I probably saw that a ton of times with my dad. He was also in Airport, and of course the Naked Gun movies. I loved the show Police Squad when it was on, which is where those movies come from.
Jim Brown is the big tough guy ready to run into harms way. You know him form Running Man, Mars Attacks, and Ice Station Zebra.
The quiet tough guy, which is really on brand for this actor, Charles Bronson does it well here and always. You know him from the Death Wish Series, Assassination and Ten to Midnight. I really liked that one great crime thriller.
The man who is overseeing this mission is General Worden. He honestly does not think this will work. he is sure these guys will fail. Ernest Borgnine is one of my favorite character actors and I always forget him as an actor and just remember the role. You know him from Convoy as the corrupt sheriff, Escape from New York as the cabbie, and the series Airwolf. Leading our men into battle and advocating for those who survive to have their records cleared is Lee Marvin. When you need a hard edged tough as nails leader look no further. You will know Lee Marvin from Delta Force, Gorky Park, Paint your Wagon and Cat Ballou.
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