The Objective DVD Review
The Objective DVD Review
E.T. in Iraq
|
The Objective would have been a pretty cool 1/2 hour Twilight Zone redux or something fun and freaky for the short-lived primetime series Masters of Science Fiction. The story follows an earnest American CIA operative (a sincere, believable Jonas Ball) who's flown behind enemy lines into Afghanistan shortly after the events of 9/11. He's there to track down a baffling heat-blip on the radar in the desert. The satellite images are unexplainable, and so the government wants to make sure the flare isn't part of a Taliban-related one-two punch.
Once in the Middle East, Agent Keyes wastes no time in gathering an elite team of soldiers each with their own specialties, and a native guide named Chester (just kidding. His name's Abdul… shocker! He's well-played by Zindune Chems Eddine). Off the men go into the not-so-great unknown. Maybe not quite so unknown to all, however. Keyes later reveals that on his own tour of duty as a soldier some ten years before, he learned about Afghanistan's Hill of Bones — a sacred site that's said to be imbued with magical and evil forces and just happens to be in the vicinity of the mysterious heat-source.
I liked the idea for The Objective and there were some definite eerie overtones, but "Apocalypse Now meets Alien" it ain't. Director and co-writer Daniel Myrick (The Blair Witch Project, The Strand, Believers, and Solstice) just doesn't quite take things far enough — the military men are milquetoast (not a Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore among'em), while the evil E.T. is so tame I half-expected it to be eating Reece's Pieces (you wouldn't call it a "bitch", maybe more of a brat).
And it's frustrating, because there are some really good moments in The Objective. Just when I was about to wave my white flag of surrender, something super-intense would spark my interest. But then it'd be back to long shots of the guys walking across the desert, sitting around talking, and planning and arguing. I understand the film is low-budget and there isn't a lot of cash lying around for dazzling effects and stunts, but the editing could have been a bit brisker.
While I found the movie pretty boring overall, I do believe that viewers predisposed to liking military and war settings will get more out of it. The science fiction elements are fairly feeble, but the moments of horror — few and far between though they may be — are effective.
= = =
Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson