Dave B Plot: Set in 2006, a small British Army squadron is deployed to Helmand Province to protect an Afghan town from the Taliban.Review: To start off, The Patrol was intended to be a war / action film, and from the get go, really does not deliver in the Action department. Showing very little and the parts it does show are very uninspiring.Set in Helmand Province, which was renowned for being the most deadly area of Afghanistan, especially at the height of the Afghan War, viewers would not be ridiculed for expecting a bit more action and a lot less whining from the soldiers. This film is trying to portray a side of War that we, as the general public, do not generally see. However, the script combined with the obvious lack of acting talent on show makes this a hard to believe portrayal of military life. Low ranking soldiers being rude and insubordinate to Commanding Officers, and just Basic Army rules and general common sense aspects of Military life are not followed. The film lacks any sort of real, believable plot, intended to be a reference to the unpredictability of war or not, it's hard to excuse. It's just overall hard to believe, that The Patrol intended to be a serious military movie, Made with a low budget could be an excuse for the overall, poor, final product. An increased budget combined with an improved script and better actors could have made this directorial debut for Tom Petch a more enjoyable experience, alas this was not the case and it fails to deliver.British version of "The Hurt Locker"? No.Rating: 4/10

actionfilm-2 Well made and fairly watchable film, despite the absence of any combat action or visible enemy. What is surprising is the great accolade the film has received among IMDb reviewers for it's insight and statement, I think it's undeserved. A anti-war film? And so what, when the last time you saw a serious pro-war film? If that's one's criteria for declaring a film great then this is the non-action war film to watch. The writer/director has said he was unhappy with the way the war was being portrayed by the mainstream media. If the U.K. media is anything like the U.S. mainstream media, which has taken a non supportive view of the war in the middle east for the longest time (thou they are less vocal about it since the current President took office) then I'm not sure why the filmmaker is concerned. Though if radical Islamic groups ever decide to look for a jihadist propaganda film they need look no further than The Patrol, with it's "this is not your war" message written all over it. Again, from an American perspective, soldiers fighting this war experience fear and frustration among many other things, but generally speaking they recognize the enemy for what it is, and continue to fight because Islamic terror against the U.S began long before 9/11 and will not end until it is defeated. The characters in The Patrol stop fighting and abandon the war, but to be true to reality the film should acknowledge how Al Queda, the Taliban, and others would gladly follow them home and continue their slaughter. Though politicians try to hobble the military, it does not prevent soldiers from conducting themselves like the professionals that they are.

service-provider Given this is a low-budget film, I wasn't expecting much. Perhaps it was going to have something to say about the war in the Middle East, about politics, interpersonal relationships, maybe even an action scene, but it really doesn't do any of that for me. Even with this initially low expectation, I was still disappointed.During a patrol we follow an incredibly unprofessional main character who complains persistently about anything/everything and is constantly putting everyone else down (just a terrible personality to have in a team; paranoid, easily stressed, quick to anger and takes it out on everyone else). I'm not entirely sure, but I think that through this character's annoyance at everything, there were some brief attempts to raise the question about whether soldiers are adequately equipped, or whether they were doing any good by being out there. The movie then ends, leaving me somewhat regretful. I don't mean to be that harsh on a low-budget film, but this really is one that I wouldn't recommend.

chicagopoetry The Patrol is one of the most realistic war films ever made. It's about a small team of British soldiers with "a job to do" in Afghanistan. The only problem is, like the war itself, the job (Operation Icarus) makes no sense. They are sent in to protect a small, all but abandoned village for the "Afghan National Army" (that is nowhere to be found), with obsolete weapons and faulty equipment. What starts out as a three day mission gets extended day in and day out until the soldier's moral becomes at an all time low because they know "this isn't their war" to begin with. They have no stake in it. There is no purpose to it because they know when they leave the Taliban will simply move right back into the town. They are there for one reason and one reason only, because someone somewhere gave them the order to be there despite all logic. The combat scenes are very realistic in that they aren't glamorized but depicted as they happen, just sporadic fighting during which they kill people for no reason whatsoever and they get killed for no reason whatsoever. I can see how this film upsets those who want to cling to the notion that being a soldier and following orders is somehow heroic, but when the war makes no sense and you are asked to die for no logical reason whatsoever, what else can one do but begin to disobey orders. Standing down from an unjust war is the only patriotic thing to do. Everyone should see this film. It is truly realistic and truly a gem.