Remember the first First Blood movie? You know, the one in which America was shown to be rotten for how it treated its returning vets, but hot damn, America sure did produce some badass military heroes like John Rambo. This is a bit like that: America signed up a whole bunch of Afghani interpreters over its 20-year mission there, promising them visas to the States when the job was done — and then somehow forgot a bunch of them after it pulled out. But Jake Gyllenhaal's John Kinley is "a man with a hook in him" — bound to his unit's interpreter by something stronger than a governmental promise. The superior first half of the movie patiently covers the hook's insertion, as Kinley learns to work with, trust, and even rely on the spiky but not quite surly Ahmed (Dar Salim). The two have a winning chemistry: commanding officer Gyllenhaal understands the point, and therefore the limit, of his authority, and Ahmed evinces a believable loyalty born of equal parts honor, self-interest, and rage against his enemies. Director Guy Ritchie exercises considerable restraint in his depiction of action: again and again, he is content to pull back, hold the shot, and let what happens be enough to engage the viewer. And again and again, it's more than enough, as the religiously relentless Taliban goes about its deadly work. There are touches of smirky-cool slickness here and there, but fewer than might be expected. Instead, there is a welcome surfeit of sincere emotion and idealism — which is not, of course, the same thing as patriotism, but still leaves room for American heroes. (2023) — Matthew Lickona