12 Strong | Rotten Tomatoes

12 Strong

R

Released Jan 19, 2018

2 hr. 10 min.

War

Drama

TRAILER

for 12 Strong: Trailer 2

List

50%

173 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In the wake of Sept. 11, Capt. Mitch Nelson leads a U.S. Special Forces team into Afghanistan for an extremely dangerous mission. Once there, the soldiers develop an uneasy partnership with the Northern Alliance to take down the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies. Outgunned and outnumbered, Nelson and his forces face overwhelming odds in a fight against a ruthless enemy that takes no prisoners.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jan 02

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent 12 Strong on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

12 Strong has a solid cast, honorable intentions, and a thrilling, fact-based story - all of which are occasionally enough to balance a disappointing lack of depth or nuance.

Read Critics Reviews

Dachtor S

This movie is outstanding! It doesn't drag and needs no "nuance".

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/25/23

Full Review

Brian D

Outstanding movie telling a story of the heroism of American Special Forces against overwhelming odds, trying to unite a rag-tag collection of battling tribes and warlords to form a "Northern Alliance" to combat the Taliban and take out AQ terrorists in the Afghan mountains in the days immediately following 9/11. It portrayed the commitment, dedication and sacrifice of those soldiers and the incredible odds a handful of men accepted to strike back at those that slaughtered so many Americans. The relationship between the American and Afghan leader was powerful and moving, as was the suffering of Afghan civilians under Taliban rule. What was perhaps underplayed was the hopeless situation for our people due to Afghani culture. The fractured, tribal nature and divisiveness of that culture was touched on but understated. One of the most powerful lines was when the Afghan leader pledged to fight his rival tribal leader rather than the Taliban and the American leader told him "If you do that, you're no general, your just a warlord". That "tribalism" is what enabled the Taliban in the first place. Also underplayed was the primitiveness and brutality of Taliban rule. It was touched on briefly when their leader executed a woman for the crime of educating her children (or perhaps she was a teacher and not the mother-wasn't clear in the film). But this was just one of so many cases of the barbarism that took place under the brutality of Islamic fundamentalists. What was never touched on (and couldn't be since it was after the timeline of the movie) was the tremendous sacrifice of American lives and tax dollars to fight the Taliban and give the Afghan people an opportunity to advance into the 21st century....only to have them fail and again empower the Taliban to lead their nation. Such a sad situation.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/26/23

Full Review

Son N

First thing first let give this movie some praises: movie have great pictures shot, awesome colours, dusty and smoke make it feel more real. Beside it, the moive can't give an impressive last battle, the challenges that our soldiers have to face aren't so difficult and the most important is they cannot show how powerful is Dostum and his army

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/02/23

Full Review

Andres Fabian J

Una de esas películas entretenidas, no es la mejor pero cumple su objetivo qué es mantenernos pegados a la pantalla.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/21/23

Full Review

Araceli C

Loved it must watch.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/01/23

Full Review

frederick c

Wasn't a super strong film, no pun intended, but Chris Hemsworth and other cast members made the film better.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/24/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Nicolai Fuglsig

Director

Chris Hemsworth

Captain Mitch Nelson

Michael Shannon

Hal Spencer

Michael Peña

Sam Diller

Navid Negahban

General Dostum

Trevante Rhodes

Ben Milo

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

%

%

Fern Brady: Autistic Bikini Queen

%

%

Tiger

%

%

Hip-Hop and The White House

%

%

Tigers on the Rise

88%

84%

Monkey Man

TRAILER

for Monkey Man

93%

%

Something You Said Last Night

%

%

Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two

%

92%

La Cha Cha

%

%

The Moon and Back

%

%

Max Beyond

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New on Netflix in July 2022

People’s Choice Awards 2018 Winners: Your Full List for Movies, TV, Music, and More

People’s Choice 2018: Vote Now for Your Favorite Movies, TV Shows, and More

12 Strong: Trailer 2

2:19

12 Strong: Trailer 1

2:26

View more videos

View more photos

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

Unfortunately the movie's central philosophical conflict, between the captain and an Afghan warlord, features dialogue like "Your mission will fail because you fear death."

Mar 10, 2020

Full Review

Stephen Romei

The Australian

This is an intense, serious war film.

Rated: 3.5/5

Mar 9, 2018

Full Review

Paul Byrnes

Sydney Morning Herald

The action is frequent and gripping, the heroism present but understated, and the sense of tactical complexity has survived the script-writing process, so there is more geo-political subtlety than one expects from a post-9/11 American war movie.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 8, 2018

Full Review

Kip Mooney

College Movie Review

Has a memorable story to tell but does it in an unmemorable way.

Rated: C+

Aug 24, 2021

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

For every war cliché there is another scene that offers insight into the difficult and confounding task the men have ahead of them.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 28, 2021

Full Review

Matt Cipolla

Film Monthly

It's more of a series of set pieces tenuously strung together . . . the political blinders it has on regarding its events' consequences speak to the movie's lack of intention.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 23, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

In the wake of Sept. 11, Capt. Mitch Nelson leads a U.S. Special Forces team into Afghanistan for an extremely dangerous mission. Once there, the soldiers develop an uneasy partnership with the Northern Alliance to take down the Taliban and its al-Qaida allies. Outgunned and outnumbered, Nelson and his forces face overwhelming odds in a fight against a ruthless enemy that takes no prisoners.

Director: Nicolai Fuglsig
Executive Producer: Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Ellen H. Schwartz, Garrett Grant, Yale Badik, Val Hill, Doug Stanton
Screenwriter: Ted Tally, Peter Craig
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Alcon Entertainment, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Black Label Media
Rating: R (War Violence|Language Throughout)
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 19, 2018, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 3, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $44.3M
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Most Popular at Home Now