It would be so easy to watch the trailer for Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant and think that it is just another war/action movie. If I am being honest, that is what I thought it was. Being a fan of Guy Ritchie and Jake Gyllenhaal, I had a feeling this would be a movie that I would like, but it ended up being even better than I thought it would.
How to Download Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant
You can expect the film to become available for download and streaming about 45 days after its theatrical release date which happened on April 21, 2023. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and check the current availability. If you’re interested in Guy Ritchie’s films, check out also Sherlock Holmes, Aladdin, The Gentlemen, or Wrath of Man.
The Movie Review
The setting for the movie is the war in Afghanistan, and while I guess it could be classed as a war and action movie. I think that the real “story” in The Covenant is that of brotherhood, friendship, and doing what is right. It is a very powerful movie and it has its message delivered very well thanks to our two leads, Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim.
While in Afghanistan, Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) hires a man called Ahmed (Dar Salim) to be an interpreter for him. The unit ends up ambushed by the Taliban and Kinley is injured, but before he can be captured, Ahmed risks his life and drags him to the mountains. This saves his life and ensures the pair escape the Taliban.
After healing up back in the USA, Kinley learns that Ahmed was abandoned by the US government and that they have no plans to rescue him and his family! Kinley being a man of honor heads back to Afghanistan to make good on a promise so that Ahmed and his family can be safe.
There is a lot of great action in The Covenant, some of the best war stuff I have seen in a couple of years actually. It is a thrilling movie and movie that really does make you care. It does this by getting you very invested in both Kinley and Ahmed, you want to see them both survive and the movie takes you on a rollercoaster the whole time.
What I loved about the movie was the bond that Kinley and Ahmed shared. It does not start off with them being best pals, they grow closer and closer and it was just so well executed. This could have been just an all-guns-blazing kind of war movie and it probably would have been decent, but making it a more “character” centric kind of war movie gives it so much more impact.
I do also have to say that I got a kick out of seeing Anthony Starr appear in the movie as I am a huge fan of The Boys, I just wish he had a bit bigger of a role. It was also cool seeing Johnny Lee Miller on the big screen again as it feels like it has been forever since I saw him in a big-time movie like this.
Overall, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant is a movie that is well worth making the effort to go and see. I do think that the studio could have picked a less busy time as there are a lot of big movies coming out around this and it could end up lost in the shuffle. If you want a good war movie that is more about the characters than just people getting shot, check this out!
