‘Bennett’s War’ Fails to Capture Audience

Photo Courtesy of Forrest Films (bennettswar. com).

Photo Courtesy of Forrest Films (bennettswar. com).

Marshall Bennett is a U.S. army sergeant in an Afghanistan war where he and his partner Riley suffered major injuries due to an explosion made by their enemies. He returns home with an immobilized leg, where his wife and newborn son are waiting for him. Bennett discovers that his dad has been controlling his family money, so he decides to go back to his old job, moto cross, despite his leg still being in pain, in order to try to save his family farm. 

This story, Bennett’s War, directed by Alex Ranarivelo, a French-Malagasy filmmaker and starring Michael Roark as Bennett, was filmed in San Bernardino, California, and was premiered on August 30. It shows the love of a man for motocrossing and his dream to keep his dad’s farm. The story itself doesn’t have enough action or interesting things happening. It is the typical kind of movie where a guy follows his dream and it is really repetitive. The best part was at the beginning when they were in the war, because it showed a lot of movement and action going on. 

The movie has a lot of great motocrossing footage in which Bennett is running and jumping over hills with his motorcycle. The cinematography is mostly the same: with Marshall’s farm and the motocross circuit. However, it was really cool when he was doing motocross and all the pirouettes they were performing. 

The actors are not bad, I feel that Trace Adkins does a really good job being Bennett’s dad and Ali Ashfar who plays his coach manager does too. They are really authentic, and the way they act help the viewers understand the personality of the characters. I think the actress Allison Page that interprets Marshall’s wife, Sophie Bennett acts really simple and her character is overvalued. The rest of the cast is average; they were in the movie, doing what they were supposed to do, but didn’t stand out. 

I would give Bennett’s War two stars out of five because it is very simple and cliche. The one thing I liked the most was that it gave a really important message to everyone: no matter whatever gets in your way, you have to follow your dreams.