GUY RITCHIE’S THE COVENANT

Here is the decision in full. Guy Ritchie has made a genuinely powerful war drama — a riveting, realistic look at America's fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan, built around a bond between a soldier and his interpreter that costs both men everything. It honors much of what Scripture honors: moral duty, self-sacrifice, standing up for what is right no matter the price, and the sacredness of a promise kept.

It also earns its R rating. The war violence is intense and realistic throughout — though notably restrained on blood and gore. And the dialogue carries more than 25 strong obscenities and profanities, including three that take the Lord's name in vain. That language is why this review isn't cleaner than it is.

So: if you are an adult, or a parent making the call for an older teen, who can handle hard combat and rough language without harm to your conscience, this one rewards you. If you are choosing for children or young teens, choose something else — this film was never for them.

U.S. Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) leads a small unit hunting Taliban weapons caches and bomb-building sites across Afghanistan. When his interpreter dies, Kinley is assigned a new one: Ahmed (Dar Salim), a man he doesn't yet trust.

The tension between them is real — until a routine check turns into an ambush, and Kinley and Ahmed are left running for their lives into the brutal Afghan wilderness with the Taliban on their heels. What one man will risk to get the other home is the heart of the story, and that is where we'll stop.

Four stars, and here is what they mean. This is Ritchie working at full strength — a compelling military drama that balances a unique, human story against the weight of real events. He resists the easy temptation toward shock and gore, leaning instead on themes of sacrifice and resilience to keep you gripped and thinking.

The film is carried by two great performances. Gyllenhaal and Salim both embody the fight for good over evil, each man sacrificing everything for the other. Ritchie's commentary on the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan lands with empathy rather than lecture, honoring the interpreters left behind without flattening the situation's nuance. It celebrates service over war, sacrifice over violence. This is craft in full command of its material.

The Covenant is built on a very strong moral spine, and it is worth naming plainly what the film exalts. Patriotism. Good conquering evil. Self-sacrifice. Moral duty. And, as the title promises, the keeping of a promise no matter what it costs — the debt Kinley owes Ahmed, and Ahmed's willingness to lay down his own family's safety to save Kinley.

These are not small things. Ritchie uses them to honor the lives of veterans and to shine a light on the hundreds of Afghan interpreters and their families who were left to fend for themselves against the Taliban after the disorganized American withdrawal in August 2021. The movie treats their plight with compassion, and it calls the viewer toward action rather than mere sympathy — to stand up against evil and honor those who still face it.

The film carries some redemptive elements alongside its moral vision, and its world is populated by real faiths at war; a Taliban character makes an Islamic reference to a false god. But the covenant at the film's core — a bond sealed by a debt and honored at great cost — echoes the covenant faithfulness Scripture prizes. "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). That is nearly a plot summary here.

Ritchie has made something rare: an intense, honest war film with a genuine moral heart, a story about two men who keep faith with each other when it costs everything. It's also a hard R, with combat and more than two dozen profanities that will keep it out of most homes. So here is our answer, the same one we opened with: worth the trip — adults only. Planning family movie night instead? Start with our latest family-friendly picks.