The Veteran [DVD]

Robert Miller, a veteran of the Paras, is returning from the war in Afghanistan to his home in a violent decaying South London council estate, overrun by gangs of feral youths. The gangs are led by a drug lord, who is interested in Miller working for him. His job offer is rejected. Through an ex-army mate, Miller finds work in undercover surveillance. He is soon recruited by a couple of shady government operatives for an undercover operation to keep tabs on a network of suspected Jihadist terrorist cells. Embedded in the terrorist group is a Lebanese-born informant, a woman with whom Miller forms an emotional bond. Miller soon discovers that the security forces and the intelligence services are not quite what they seem. He uncovers a conspiracy. Taking the situation into his own hands, Miller embarks on a brutal quest for justice, with devastating and surprising consequences.Although this isn't based on an Andy McNab book you could be forgiven for thinking it was - the tradecraft Miller uses (radio technique, pushing the top and bottom of doors to check for internal bolts, using a section of plastic drinks bottle to open locks and so on - all things described in the Nick Stone thrillers), the general plot, the MI-Something officers bossing an intelligence operation but being bent as nine bob notes (as per the "Yes Man" in McNabs books) and the patient collecting and piecing together of the clues to build the full picture.I thought this would be straight-to-DVD semi-escapist tosh, relying on a fistful of thesps with some Hollywood big screen time under their belts (Toby Kebbell, Brian Cox and Tony Curran) to hold it together, but it turned out to be quite an involved and taut thriller that starts slowly and then gathers pace continuously until the savage and surprising twist at the end.Good stuff![SPOILERS!]Update 09/04/2012: Having upgraded to the Bluray version I watched this again tonight. The repeat viewing convinced me that this is, above the original review, a more compelling story than my first thoughts may have conveyed, especially if you are a McNab fan. The more I weatch this the more I am convinced the writer read all the Nick Stone thrillers and got damp underwear. Kebbel is "Stone," Brook is "Euan," Curran is "Simmonds" and Cox is "The Yes-Man." A couple of Slavic muscle-men are "Sundance and Trainers." Bielski is "Kelly" - albeit a grown-up cypher. I mean, it's all there; the trade-craft, the double-cross, the planned-action-goes-Pete-Tong, the weapons drills, the not-telling-the-boss-the-whole-story-and-keeping-some-of-the-kit bit, and so on - the only departure from any inspiration taken from the Stone thrillers is the climactic death. The whole movie is splattered with elements you would recognise from those books. It really is all there. Whether or not this [the writer being inspired by McNab] is actually the case is pure speculation on my part - but if you like the theme attended to by McNab in his novels then you will almost certainly like having this movie being a paid up member of your DVD/BD collection. Incidentally, filming of McNab's " Firewall " (under the title "Echelon") is supposed to commence this summer.

Imagine Ken Loach did a spy film - that's pretty much what The Veteran is like. It's so grounded in its own realism that it forgets to be a movie and trundles on with a sense of dread only really matched by other (real) Ken Loach films. The end sequence is very enjoyable but ultimately pointless. It's a fascinating watch though. I'm making it sound bad; it's not. But I was not really sure what the point was when I finished watching it.

Truly masterful movie, great script, great gritty action…

Best reason for the whole movie to be shot in the dark, is it's not worth watching, lame and pointless

Ok, I live in Australia,I have never been to the United Kingdom, but seriously......is London that bloody depressing, run down and dangerous?I know we all take it for granted that there are the mean streets of New York, we grew up watching it nightly on TV cop shows.But in the last 10 years films like Shank The Block and Kidulthood along with the spinoffs have painted such a bleak picture of a near post apocalyptic London run by gangs of coffee coloured kids who all say "innit and Blood" to everything.This movie is more than a gang story but that is always simmering in the background.A burntout "Parra" comes back from Afghanistan to a desolate present and a depressed economy meaning no jobs.As usual old pals engage our hero in para military activities within the UK and soon he is tracking a terror cell.The action is convincing and storyline maintains a fairly even pace, and despite a few negative comments here, I found it all resolved,.. if a little tritely.But it is not a movie to watch for a fun night, you come away feeling very depressed for the future of London and its inhabitants if this is even partially accurate.Maybe that is the real terror they were alluding to in the film ?

I initially only watched this on the recommendation of a friend but I'm glad I did.Toby Kebbell stars in another of my favourite films, Dead Mans Shoes, and this film is similar in many ways. As an ex member of the Parachute Regiment I thought the portrayal of a Para veteran coming home to nothing with no job prospects was well played. The lingo and weapon handling meant the film was well researched and advised. It reflects life for some elements of society well. Gritty, violent and well worth a watch.

Picture quality horrible when its dark you cannot see a thing, overall if your bored watch it

Loved the movie

He went to war and back, but not everyone in a movie with a gun can make it exciting. It was bad acting by the actor Toby Kebbell he didn't bring any vim, vigor or vitality to this movie. War in the street, everyone down no injury for him!!

この映画の評判を聞いて。YouTubeで戦闘シーンを観て（見てはいけないトコロまで見てしまったが）。どうしても観たくなった映画がコレ！英語力中学生レベルの当方でも（英語音声のみ/日本語字幕なしだが）大体ストーリーは理解できた。そして、噂の戦闘シーンは圧巻。特典映像で、監督さんも口にしていたようだが、何となくあのTAXI DRIVERに通ずる世界観と話の展開だった。日本正規版で、字幕と吹き替えとで観たいもんだ。凄く気に入ってしまった。銃器はM4が中心で、後はP226（アーリー？）とM1991A1が、主人公の使う銃。分解メンテシーンがマニアには嬉しいかもね。

A couple other reviews describe this movie well. Its a "War Vet with an attitude" movie I expected to be a 'C' and was easily an 'A-' just because its done so well. The underappriciated Brian Cox plays the Gov't official 'bad guy' here who recruits our parartrooper war vet 'hero' to eliminate underground terrorists hiding in the UK. Of course with Brian Cox in the role you know dbl-cross and lies will certainly surface and that's what happens to our hero 'the Veteran'. The scenes involving 'urban combat' with a drug dealers 'soldiers' are really well done and the ending while brutal, and not easy to watch, 'concludes' the film in a depressing, but satisfying way.

film d action pur,avec un toby keddel très sobre ,plongé dans les cauchemars d une citè et dans les manipulations d agent secret britannique (fait penser à harry brown avec m.caine ) et une fin à la hauteur du désenchantement du personnage.livraison parfaite .

日本語字幕がないのだけれど、戦闘シーンがかっこいいです。バッドエンドですが、楽しめます。