The Objective Review
By David Kempler
Objective Partly Met
In 1999, Director Daniel Myrick brought us The "
Blair Witch Project", a film that some people loved and others hated. I was in the love camp. It created a palpable tension, the central ingredient necessary in any film designed to scare the pants off of you. Myrick this time is bringing us "The Objective", a more ambitious undertaking that while flawed, still manages to keep you interested enough and confused enough to make it worthwhile.
This time the setting is in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan. A squad of elite U.S. soldiers is under the command of Benjamin Keynes (Jonas Ball), a CIA agent on a top-secret mission. Keynes narrates and one can't help but be reminded of Martin Sheen in "Apocalypse Now". Both have been sent to do the bidding of the big shots and in essence are errand boys, as Brando famously referred to Sheen. Keynes doesn't have the acting chops of Sheen and Myrick ain't Coppola, so at times you just have to shake your head while watching. But, and this is a large but, "The Objective" still works, at least part of the time.
The acting is far from stellar. No character stands out, not even in the slightest. What keeps the party moving is the audience being clueless as to what is really going on. I found this to be particularly refreshing. Most directors can't wait to reveal the mystery. Myrick at least has the good sense to hold his cards close to his vest. He's not holding a great hand but he has better than a pair of deuces, so when the payoff comes it's actually pretty rewarding. And despite an obvious underwhelming budget, Myrick manages to extract every dollar spent and make it at least partially pay off.
If you're a sci-fi starved aficionado, "The Objective" will slake your thirst and achieve its objective. If you're not a sci-fi freak, consider this an un-met objective.
