Guy Ritchie and Jake Gyllenhaal’s new war movie finds favor as first reviews pour in

The Covenant is receiving rave reviews as critics praise the evolution of filmmaker Guy Ritchie, and an outstanding performance from Jake Gyllenhaal.

Per Rotten Tomatoes, critics are lauding the film as Ritchie’s departure from the entertaining yet grandiose silliness of earlier works such as Snatch and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. While the film channeled the high-octane energy that defined most of his previous efforts , Ritchie received praise for The Covenant’s structure, symmetry, and thoughtfulness.

One critic regards the film as evidence the 54-year-old director has set spectacle aside, and developed into an undeniably sophisticated storyteller.

 The Covenant held fast to Ritchie’s creative ethos and is as visually captivating as his earlier works. 

Though Ritchie is an artist, his father was a British army officer, and a casual acceptance of violence as a way of life influences many of his films. One critic found it odd that the film did not take a stance on the war, as it gave no context to the story. Still, they found the film impressive and rated The Covenant high.

However, some were less than impressed. They deemed it slightly above average, and discerned broad strokes of Imperialism in Ritchie’s rendering of the story, which they think harks back to an ugly colonialist stereotype.

It may seem a harsh criticism, but it speaks to the risk of taking a shallow approach to complex social issues. There is no escaping the glaring power imbalance in The Covenant as it tells the story of U.S. Sergeant John Kinley (Gyllenhaal) and his translator Ahmed (Dar Salim.)

Kinley’s status as an American officer puts his life in grave danger during a surprise attack on his platoon by the Taliban. However, Ahmed nobly endangers himself to save Kinley’s life. Later, when Kinley is recovering in the United States, he is informed that the tables have turned. The Taliban want to kill Ahmed as revenge for protecting Kinley. When the government refuses to get involved, Kinley returns to Afghanistan as a civilian to rescue Ahmeds.

The Covenant premieres in theaters on April 21.