---
title: "The Outpost"
year: 2020
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-outpost"
fi1m_id: "the-outpost"
imdb_id: "tt3833480"
tmdb_id: 531876
wikidata_id: "Q63927168"
fi1m_score: 71
critics_score: 70
critics_reviews: 7
published: "2026-10-06T04:29:34.684148+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-06T04:29:47.738619+00:00"
region: "TH"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# The Outpost (2020)

Directed by Rod Lurie · 2h 03m · War, Drama, History, Action

## Identity

The Outpost

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-outpost
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-outpost
- **IMDb ID:** tt3833480
- **TMDB ID:** 531876
- **Wikidata ID:** Q63927168
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3833480/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/531876, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q63927168

**Fi1m score: 71** · Critics 70 from 7 reviews

*In a sentence:* Someone built the fort at the bottom of the valley, and for an hour the film mostly waits for that to matter

> Rod Lurie’s account of the men defending an indefensible outpost is thinly written for an hour and then, once the attack comes, as frightening and as clearly staged as recent war films get. Caleb Landry Jones is the reason to care about anyone in it.

## Synopsis

Afghanistan, 2009. Combat Outpost Keating sits at the bottom of a valley in the east of the country, with mountains rising on three sides and anyone on the ridges able to look straight down into it. Captain Benjamin D. Keating (Orlando Bloom) commands a few dozen soldiers who take fire from the slopes most days, hold meetings with the village elders, and have been told the outpost will soon be closed. Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood) arrives with a new rotation and sets about learning the ground. Specialist Ty Michael Carter (Caleb Landry Jones), an awkward latecomer the others treat as a nuisance, keeps to himself and does his jobs slowly. The men wait for the closure order and bet on how long the quiet will last.

## Review

Rod Lurie’s film is about Combat Outpost Keating, an American base built at the bottom of a valley in eastern Afghanistan with mountains on three sides, and about what happened to it in October 2009. The screenplay, by Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, is taken from Jake Tapper’s book of the same name. The film has one great subject, the attack, and it takes an hour to reach it. That hour is ordinary. The attack is not, and it is why we recommend the film, with a reservation we will come to.

The waiting is handled in routines. Lurie shows us the mortar pit, the latrines, the meetings with elders at which promises are made and translated and half believed, and the daily potshots from the ridge that the men have learned to treat as weather. Orlando Bloom’s Keating runs the place with care and a weariness he keeps from his men, and he tells them the outpost will be closed soon, which is the line the whole film turns on. Scott Eastwood’s Romesha arrives, looks at the mountains and says what we have been thinking. Tamasy and Johnson introduce the rest of the unit by the surnames on their helmets, give each man a joke or a wife on a video call, and move on. When the shooting starts we could not have told you much about Gallegos (Jacob Scipio) or Kirk (Jack Kesy) beyond their names, and that costs the film later.

The exception is Carter. Caleb Landry Jones plays him as a man the others do not like and who does not blame them for it: twitchy, literal, slow to take an order and quick to notice something nobody asked him to notice. He is the only person the first hour builds, and when the film needs a face to hold in the second it has his. Eastwood is steady and square and sounds, in the quieter lines, very like his father, which is not a complaint; the part asks for a sergeant who will do the sensible thing under fire and he does it. It asks for nothing more.

Lorenzo Senatore shoots the camp in long handheld takes, following a man from the barracks to the mortar pit and back, so that by the time the geography matters we have walked it with him. When the attack comes the camera stays at shoulder height and inside the wire. We barely see the enemy; we see the hillsides spitting and the dust kicking off the sandbags, and we learn where the fire is coming from by watching which way the men flinch. Michael J. Duthie cuts very little within these takes, so minutes pass as minutes. P. Erik Carlson has built the outpost out of plywood, sandbags and earth-filled wire baskets, and every flimsy thing about it reads on screen. Larry Groupé’s score mostly stays out of the way and lets the gunfire do the work.

We were frightened. Not tense, not impressed, but frightened in the way war films rarely manage, because the camera never gave us a vantage the men did not have and the film had already taught us how far it is from the barracks to the ammunition and how open the ground between them is. A run of forty yards became unbearable. Then a second feeling arrived, anger at whoever put these men at the bottom of a bowl, and the film declined to share it.

That is the reservation. The outpost’s purpose is dealt with in a line or two and the decision to leave it open until it could be closed is nobody’s in particular. Lurie has chosen to stay with the men and to leave the men in offices out of frame, and we understand the choice; it is their film, and it keeps faith with them. It also leaves the film smaller than its subject. [*Black Hawk Down*](https://film.one/film/black-hawk-down) (2001) is the obvious comparison, and this is cheaper and narrower and, in the battle, far better at telling you where everyone is and why it matters.

See it, and see it with the sound up, because the sound is where half the staging lives. It runs 123 minutes and carries a 15 certificate, and the second hour earns every minute of both.

*Fi1m score 71, published 6 October 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics come away impressed, and the praise clusters in one place: the long battle that takes up much of the second half. Review after review singles out the staging of that sequence, the point-of-view camerawork and the clear mapping of the outpost, for making the terror of the fight legible without losing the viewer. Several also credit the film with keeping the soldiers’ sacrifice, rather than any sense of victory, at the centre.

The reservations gather around everything before the shooting starts. More than one critic finds the screenplay thin on character, and some note a modest, straight-to-video look in the quieter stretches. The spread is wide at the bottom: the Los Angeles Times is the clear outlier, calling the film hollow and monotonous and faulting it for sidestepping the larger questions around the battle, while still admiring the combat photography. HeyUGuys stands slightly apart the other way, praising the performances as much as the action.

## Straight answers

**Is The Outpost worth watching?**

*The Outpost* is worth watching for the attack that fills its second hour, which is as frightening and as clearly staged as recent war films get, and we scored it 71. The first hour is thinly written and introduces most of the unit by the names on their helmets, so be patient; Caleb Landry Jones is the one performance that carries you across it.

**How long is The Outpost, and what is it rated?**

*The Outpost* runs 2h 03m. It is a war and drama film.

**Where can I watch The Outpost in Thailand?**

*The Outpost* is not on any streaming or rental service in Thailand at the moment. It is available in 31 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily.

**How violent or frightening is The Outpost, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Outpost* carries a 15 certificate and is not suitable for children. The second hour is a sustained firefight shot from inside the wire, with the enemy barely seen and the fear coming from how open the ground is between the men and their ammunition. We were frightened rather than impressed, and anyone who finds prolonged gunfire hard to sit through should know that half the staging lives in the sound.

**How does The Outpost compare to Kajaki?**

*The Outpost* and [*Kajaki*](https://film.one/film/kajaki) are both small, exact films about soldiers trapped by terrain in Afghanistan, and both keep the wider war out of frame. *Kajaki* is the tighter and more sustained ordeal, though it grows repetitive; *The Outpost* has a slacker first hour and then a battle that is better at telling you where everyone is and why it matters. Choose *Kajaki* for unbroken tension and *The Outpost* for the clearest staging.

**What should I watch after The Outpost?**

After *The Outpost*, try [*Kajaki*](https://film.one/film/kajaki) (2014, Fi1m 77): British soldiers in an Afghan minefield; small, exact and nearly unwatchable in the right way. Then [*Black Hawk Down*](https://film.one/film/black-hawk-down) (2001, Fi1m 73): Bigger, louder and messier about geography, but the standard this one is measured against.

### Reviews we read (7)

- **Variety**, Peter Debruge (85/100, inferred): Debruge finds the film an exhilarating, immersive account of the battle that honors the soldiers’ sacrifice. He especially praises its nearly hourlong finale and point-of-view camerawork for conveying the terror of combat. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/the-outpost-review-1234690122/)
- **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (B): Ehrlich finds the film a steely, moving memorial and cautionary tale, despite its limited depth and occasional VOD feel. He praises the long, clearly staged combat sequence for conveying the battle’s terror while emphasizing the soldiers’ valor over victory. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-outpost-review-afghanistan-jake-tapper-1234571026/)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Frank Scheck (75/100, inferred): Scheck finds the film a visceral, admirably crafted war drama, though its screenplay does not fully engage with its central characters. He especially praises the immersive, disorienting staging of the lengthy battle sequence. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/outpost-1300911/)
- **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page is blocked, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No specific praise or complaint can be verified. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-outpost-movie-review-2020)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Mark Olsen (30/100, inferred): Olsen finds the film a hollow, monotonous war movie that avoids the larger questions surrounding the battle. He praises its immersive, intimate combat cinematography and clear visual mapping of the outpost. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-07-02/outpost-rod-lurie-scott-eastwood-orlando-bloom-review)
- **The Wrap** (85/100, inferred): The critic finds the film gripping and ultimately triumphant, while emphasizing the terrible cost of its victory. The immersive, sustained combat sequence and the soldiers’ acts of sacrifice stand out for praise. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-outpost-film-review-war-is-hell-in-immersive-combat-movie/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Jack Hawkins (80/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a strong, defining entry in the post-9/11 war genre. They especially praise its performances and commitment to historical realism. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-outpost-review/)

## Details

- **Director:** Rod Lurie
- **Director:** Rod Lurie
- **Screenplay:** Eric Johnson, Paul Tamasy
- **Cinematography:** Lorenzo Senatore
- **Editor:** Michael J. Duthie
- **Music:** Larry Groupé
- **Production design:** P. Erik Carlson
- **Costume design:** Anna Gelinova
- **Producer:** Paul Michael Merryman, Les Weldon, Marc Frydman
- **Cast:** Scott Eastwood as Staff Sergeant Clint Romesha; Caleb Landry Jones as Specialist Ty Michael Carter; Orlando Bloom as CPT. Benjamin D. Keating; Ernest Cavazos as Sgt. Armando Avalos; Taylor John Smith as Lt. Andrew Bundermann; Cory Hardrict as Sergeant Vernon Martin; Milo Gibson as CPT. Robert Yllescas; Bobby Lockwood as Kevin Thomson
- **Runtime:** 2h 03m
- **Release (Thailand):** 5 November 2020
- **Genres:** War, Drama, History, Action
- **Budget:** $18 million
- **Box office:** $2 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4LM9a02q9Q

## Where to watch in Thailand

Not streaming, renting or buying in Thailand at the last check.

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, JP, KR, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, SE, UA, US, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *Restrepo* (2010): The same war and the same kind of valley, filmed as it happened, without actors.
- *Kajaki* (2014), Fi1m 77: British soldiers in an Afghan minefield; small, exact and nearly unwatchable in the right way. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/kajaki.md)
- *Zulu* (1964): The grandfather of outnumbered-garrison films, and still the clearest about where the walls are.
- *Beaufort* (2007): Israeli soldiers waiting to abandon a fort they know is pointless; the waiting is the film.
- *Black Hawk Down* (2001), Fi1m 73: Bigger, louder and messier about geography, but the standard this one is measured against. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/black-hawk-down.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-outpost