‘Lucky Strike’ (2026)

Nearing the end of WWII, wounded American soldier Captain John Castle (Scott Eastwood) is trapped behind enemy lines during the Ardennes Offensive. Injured and stranded, Castle has lost his team in an attempted operation to block off a vital road to stop the advancing German forces. Desperate to return to Elsenborn where he will be safe, Castle must make a dangerous 30 km trek on foot and avoid the SS soldiers.

Rife with action, the one-man survival story as he trudges through the unforgiving terrain as winter sets in should sound exciting, and it does, on paper. With director Rod Lurie at the helm, the film should have been in good hands, as the director has a number of reputable action thrillers under his belt.

What transpires before our eyes amounts to a lacklustre dredge through the Ardennes where Eastwood's Castle wanders from one set-piece to another. With the story unfolding languidly, the main character never quite feels like he'll come across an insurmountable task or challenge, always limping forward, never quite surprised or taken by oncoming fire, enemies or the elements. His encounters with friendly civilians play out just as predictably as the confrontations with his enemies, never quite leaving us on edge about what will come next.

With the story revolving around Eastwood's Castle, one would anticipate the main character to deliver and do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to moving the action along. Sadly the 'everyman' approach Eastwood has opted for provides a benign and largely ineffective conduit for any sense of fear or worry we're to have for our protagonist.

Not to say that watching an ordinary man wade through the horrors of war wouldn't be effective, but rather that Castle is too bland to evoke any sustainable sense of dread, sympathy or anguish for the character. We know precious little about him and the limited interactions he does have with those around him, be they other soldiers or civilians, Castle never quite manages to convey the unimaginable damage the war is inflicting upon him. Lacking in any intimate knowledge of the man and his character, the unassuming presence Eastwood has may annoy some as he fails to land any emotional punches and just travels forth.

Drab and dreary, the soldier's story suffers one unfortunate setback after another, not unlike the film itself. The humdrum narrative coupled with poor editing choices leave all the excitement at home and ventures ever onward at what ends up feeling like a never-ending trek. One particularly egregious scene involving Castle commandeering a German tank sees our main character swerving off the road to avoid hitting a dog.

Shoddy editing paired with poor CGI makes the scene appear comedic rather than suspenseful, providing for an awkward transition where Castle then has to make his way out of the tank as he’s trapped in the vehicle at the bottom of a cliff. Clumsy and cheap looking, the scene makes one wonder what made the creators opt for leaving this in the film as it detracts from the already stilted and clunky journey.

Skirting potentially more interesting stories, the narrative revolves around Castle rather than those histories his journey uses as bookends. Giving us only a glimpse of Evans’ (Reomy D. Mpeho) story as a soldier or Mrs. Caldwell’s (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) story as a factory worker, the two other more prominent characters are misused, as glimpsing their fragments make us wonder what we're missing out on as we are instead forced to watch Eastwood shuffling along.

Not quite offensive in any particular sense, rather just venturing ahead, ‘Lucky Strike’ seems to take all the wrong turns as its main character suffers through a taxing and arduous challenge, much like sitting through the film may prove to be. Emotionless and always keeping the viewers at a distance, ‘Lucky Strike’ does nothing to remind us of the gruesomeness and misery of war, rather skirting along the border of where the flight is, never quite throwing us into the action.

Score: 1/4