Movie Review: Mine

credit: Mine

Pick any genre, and it’s very likely that there are hundreds of movies that people can think of within a short period of time. It’s not too difficult to realize that only the most popular will be listed initially since the rise of streaming and the popularity of straight-to-DVD movies has made it possible for many filmmakers to pump out one movie after another without slowing down. Unfortunately, that usually means that the quality of the movies might take a serious dip since it does take time to produce a quality feature. But with Mine, the middle-of-the-road approach is kind of interesting, even if it produces a movie that’s likely to turn a lot of people off and keep others in their seats wondering what will happen next. One thing that’s guaranteed, this movie is not one of those that stands out as being a nailbiter or even an edge-of-your-seat type that might keep a person interested the whole way through. Instead, it’s an introspective look at a man who’s faced with a difficult decision and way too much time to reflect on his life. 

credit: Mine

The pace never really picks up that much. 

A lot of people are going to be able to say, “I’ve seen this scene before,” since the image of a Marine sniper and his spotter is something that has been showcased in quite a few movies over the years, and it’s been done and overdone more than a few times. Mine isn’t a blockbuster movie, nor is it something that will make a lot of people think. It’s a movie about a sniper and his spotter making their way across the desert after a failed mission, or rather, an aborted mission, that forces them to be on the run from enemy forces after they’re spotted. There are a couple of moments in the movie that make a person wonder just how good of a sniper Armie Hammer’s character really is, but this is easy enough to forgive simply because it is a movie, and, well, things happen. 

The idea of stepping into a minefield has never been quite this moderate. 

Granted, unless one has ever been in the military and taken on the role of an EOD, then it’s easy to talk and know next to nothing. But the fact is that a piece of sheet metal floating in the wind that bears the warning of a minefield is something that would get some people thinking about where they’re standing. While the spotter is nonchalant about this all the way up to the point where his feet are blown off by a buried mine, Hammer’s character is quickly incapacitated as he hears a distinctive click beneath his left foot. Stuck in place, the sniper has to watch his friend die from blood loss as he is incapable of reaching the other man’s radio to call for help. Not only that, he has to endure a sandstorm, a local that tries to help by telling him to take a step forward, and a pack of hungry jackals that see an easy meal, at least until he starts to fight back. 

credit: Mine

This movie could have used just about any situation as a reason for the main character to focus on his life. 

That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how one looks at it, especially since the few added characters that take part in this movie are additions that could have been left or kept as they were. Some might want to say that Armie Hammer put in a tremendous effort to detail the life of a person who feels that he can’t take the next step, while others might simply call this movie a little too boring for their taste. The truth is that it’s both since this movie doesn’t really move that quickly, and it’s prone to lose a person while the sniper continues to relive moments in his past that come to him as the heat and exhaustion start to build. Some viewers might enjoy this movie since it does offer up a lot of interesting points about one’s humanity and what a person will do to survive. But on the whole, it’s kind of an odd feature that could have been better. 

The twist near the end was easy to guess. 

For the majority of the time in the desert, the sniper believes that he’s standing on a live mine, much like the one that kills his spotter. But after suffering for so many hours and trying to survive without taking his foot off the mine, he finally steps off. And as many might have guessed, nothing happens. The revelation that he was standing on an old tin can containing a couple of toy army men the entire time is one that might anger some people or turn others off completely. But you never know; some folks might find it touching.