Bravo Two Zero | | Cast : | Sean Bean | | Director : | Tom Clegg | | Studio : | Dimension Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | January 01, 1999 | | DVD Released Date : | July 06, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 17, 2005 | | Summary | Excellent, little known war movie | Content
 | This is a little known film which deserves to be widely seen. Sean Bean (my favorite Lord of the Rings actor) is terrific and the acting on the whole is excellent. The directors aren't afraid to have moments where nothing interesting seems to be happening--and then moments where you really get a feel for how SAS would act in combat. At times I almost thought I might be watching a documentary. Most refreshing, the director tries to realistically convey his scenes--not tie everything into some profound metaphysical truism. There is a message here, but you aren't hit over the head w/ it so many times that it sucks the life out of the actors/scenes/dialog.
It's true the budget for the film wasn't huge and there are a few scenes were an editor might have been a little more liberal w/ the cutting knife. However the acting and realism of many of the action scenes/dialog more than make up for the lack of expensive design sets.
and btw, the packaging of the DVD/video is pretty silly--but don't be put off. The film is marketed for teens wanting more Schwarznegger, but the best audience is one more seriously interested in history.
Four stars because there are a couple of over the top scenes that do a disservice to the rest of the movie. The lack of budget however is made up for by some of the most realistic military scenes I've ever seen. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 07, 2005 | | Summary | maybe a good film but not a true story - warning, spoilers! | Content
| There are so many reviews saying this is a true story I have to point out that while the war and the deployment were real (obviously), about everything else is dramatized (including the mission objectives: SCUD hunting on foot, which is a joke to anyone who knows how wars are fought today). McNab has essentially written Tom Clancy genre fiction. The book Bravo Two Zero differs in details with another book written by a second member of the patrol, Chris Ryan, called The One That Got Away. However, both are convincingly debunked by a third SAS memeber in a book called The Real Bravo Two Zero, also available on Amazon, though only the UK Amazon site (which you can still order from in the US). In it, an SAS member who can actually speak Arabic retraces the patrol using both books as guides and talks to all the people McNab and Ryan supposedly killed and gets their side of the story. Most importantly, he manages to restore, without a doubt, the reputation of Vince Phillips, blamed by Ryan for getting the patrol discovered by the Iraqis and a couple members eventually killed. Contrary to what you may expect, I would recommend seeing this, in fact I recommend getting and comparing all three books: B20, The One That Got Away, and The Real B20. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 26, 2004 | | Summary | Modest recreation of true tale of Gulf War SAS patrol. | Content
| British SAS soldier Andy McNab's gripping book "BRAVO TWO ZERO" was one of the biggest selling autobiographical books to come out of the 1991 Gulf War. McNab's book ( and if you haven't read it yet, then get it ! ) tells how his eight man SAS patrol was dropped into Northern Iraq to hunt out mobile Scud launchers, however from the point of insertion onwards, virtually everything went wrong, through a mixture of both ill luck and being poorly equipped. ( Also check out fellow patrol member Chris Ryan's book "The One That Got Away", and Michael Asher's controversial book "The Real Bravo Two Zero )
This 1999 telemovie by the BBC, does a fairly accurate job of illustrating life in the field for a special forces patrol, and wiry Sean Bean makes a great Andy McNab. The dour faced Bean comes across how many people would probably imagine a special forces soldier would look and act.....tall, lean, unconventionally handsome, courageous against the odds, resilient, resourceful and cold blooded. The other cast members, of whom I'm not familiar, do a solid job of their roles of recreating the other members of the ill fated patrol, however you have to pay keen attention to the English vernacular and slang expressions, otherwise you may miss a few of their humorous moments.
My only criticisms against the film are in two parts : Firstly, the film was obviously made on a modest budget and that is glaringly obvious throughout many stages of the recreation ( cheap special effects, the laughable insertion sequence aboard the helicopter, the freshly laundered look of the Iraqi soldiers in the desert, etc. etc ) Secondly, and I won't ruin it for those that haven't yet read McNab's book, the tale of what happened to McNab and his patrol has been shoe horned into a compressed story, and for those who have read the book, it all seems to rush by very swiftly and to be missing great chunks of McNab's story.
Granted it's always very difficult to shoot autobiographies page for page, however I was a bit disappointed with the end result, but it was still an enjoyable film for fans of the war genre. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 01, 2004 | | Summary | You may hide your eyes but........ | Content
| Many scenes in this pell-mell war adventure are brutal and may be too realistic for some. This film really shows us that "war is hell", not only in its battles but also in the personal sacrifices made in the name of patriotism and duty.
The cast is superb, convincing and several roles are standouts, especially Sean Bean as Andy McNabb. The battle skirmish scenes are the best I have ever watched. One facet of the story that grabbed me was the fate met by the squad - most of which was realistically out of their control. The scenes in the beginning set up a stark contrast to what happened only hours after the men started their mission. All the preparations, all the advice, all the attention to military procedures were swished away in a single chilling (and so human) scene.
I read the book upon which this movie is based and, although Andy McNabb is his own best biographer, it still made a great read and a great movie. This DVD has a special place in my little movie library and I have watched it many times, each viewing revealing more understanding of the "veddy English" dialogue and mores. Go get it!
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| Rating | | | Date | July 08, 2004 | | Summary | See this movie!! | Content
| If you want an argument against the Michael Moore types who are holwing about the Abu Garaib fiasco, this is it. It is a good military adventure to boot!! Check it out. |
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