CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

JohnAU1965 Considering the low budget of the film, the Patrol does a sterling job of showing the various emotions, conflicts and actions that can occur during war.For those decrying the film as garbage, I wonder if that 'knowledge' is based on how many hours you've clocked up on COD or how many times you've seen 13 Hours.One reviewer attempts to suggest the SA80 is a wonderful rifle as one Private routinely bitches about it during the course of the film.Apparently, said reviewer knows more about the quality of the firearm than Ian V Hogg, one of the foremost experts in the field of small arms."Soon after being adopted for service, problems began to surface:…the first five years of this rifle's service have been disastrous. A number of manufacturing defects showed up in service conditions, and it was not until the closure of the RSAF at Enfield and the setting up of an entirely new production line, with new computer- controlled machine tools, at the new RSAF Nottingham, that the quality of the production weapons began to improve. It will take some time for the poor reputation gained by the initial issue weapons to be overcome; the only consolation is that the same sort of thing has happened to other military rifles in the past, and they have managed to live down their early reputation and prove their innate reliability. It is to be hoped that the L85A1 will do so as well."A quote from the reviewer: "So if the SAS don't use a certain weapon it must be rubbish ? Not sure if that's good yardstick to judge something with". The SAS weren't alone. The Pathfinder company of the Parachute Regiment and Brigade Patrol Group of the Royal Marines also ditched the firearm in preference to M16 based platforms.As for the SAS being a 'good yardstick'. The answer to that one is quite firmly "yes, actually". Britain's premier counter-terrorist, long range patrol & other special operations tasked unit might actually know a little of what they're talking about.As mentioned by the unit's Lieutenant, the later A2 modification saw a quantum leap in reliability, although the weapons this unit are using are quite obviously earlier versions complete with their reliability issues.The same reviewer feels the action is reminiscent of Vietnam rather than Afghanistan. Really? What a surprise. An unpopular counter- insurgency conflict where the lines of battle blur more often than sunsets.As for the fractured cohesion of the unit. Is there any real wonder? Paratroopers, Royal Marines & Territorial Army soldiers mixed in within one patrol? A recipe for problems in anyone's book.I suspect if you're after a 'ooh rah' war movie, watch something starring John Wayne or Michael Dudikoff, not something that might actually be based in some sort of reality.

danielrjt If you want to watch a war film with action in it, this isn't for you. Storyline was quite boring, and a lack of actual military knowledge made this film worseThis film is too political for me, i want to see gunfights, attack strategies, ambushes, exiting parts of army life, not people walking, and moaningIts hard to describe a film that doesn't have much going on in itDespite what the cover says, the hurt locker is a lot different to this filmIn my opinion, this film just makes the British army look rubbishWouldn't recommend this film to anyone

tm-wood1995 As someone who is fed up with watching countless American films about their involvement in their wars, I was fairly excited to watch this British take on the Afghanistan conflict. Unlike the American versions however, this film had an incredibly small budget. Having said that, the kit is good, the sound effects and the explosions etc are incredibly good. It's not perfect however, the storyline could be better and at times some voices seem dull. But all in all, with such a tight budget, this is an excellent film, I hope that this production team will get together once more and produce another film with a slightly bigger budget.

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.