87 min | R | January 31, 2025 | Lionsgate
A military helicopter crashes in North Korea. The survivors must escape. You have seen this movie a dozen times and those versions were not good either.
Behind Enemy Lines did this in 2001. Lone Survivor did this in 2013. A dozen direct-to-video thrillers have done this in between. The formula is simple. American military personnel end up in hostile territory. No support. No backup. They must use training and grit to survive. The tension should be automatic. The problem is the formula has been executed so many times that competence is no longer enough.
Chase Stokes from Outer Banks leads a cast that includes Lana Condor, Desmin Borges, and Callan Mulvey. They deliver performances that are professional and entirely forgettable. The script gives them stock characters. The brave leader. The tech specialist who must be protected. The soldier with doubts. The hardened veteran. None of them get a moment that feels specific or human.
The action sequences are staged clearly but without energy. The North Korean pursuers are faceless and generic. The obstacles the team faces are exactly the obstacles you expect. The climax delivers no surprises. The resolution asks you to care about characters the film never bothered to develop.
The cinematography is fine. The sound design does its job. But competence without vision or emotional stakes is just content.