Synopsis
An American journalist and his cameraman are caught in the combat zone during the first Russian airstrikes against Georgia. Rescuing Tatia, a young Georgian schoolteacher separated from her family during the attack, the two reporters agree to help reunite her with her family in exchange for serving as their interpreter. As the three attempt to escape to safety, they witness--and document--the devastation from the full-scale crossfire and cold-blooded murder of innocent civilians.
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Cast
- Rupert FriendThomas Anders
- Val KilmerDutchman
- Andy GarcíaPresident of Georgia
- Dean CainChris Bailot
- Emmanuelle ChriquiTatia Meddevi
- Heather GrahamMiriam
- Mikko NousiainenDaniil
- Richard CoyleSebastian Ganz
- Antje TraueZoe
- Rade ŠerbedžijaCol. Demidov
Recommendations
- 65
NPR
Neither innovative nor profound, but it is kinetic, visceral and sometimes moving. - 50
The New York Times
The movie is a continuous barrage of explosions, sneak attacks, chases, life-and-death face-offs, and amazing rescues that are as far-fetched as they are exhilarating. The cheap thrills are compounded by Mikko Alanne and David Battle's screenplay, a wallow in old-time Hollywood boilerplate, some of which you can't believe is being recycled yet again. - 50
Variety
Set during the brief, brutal 2008 flare-up between Russia and Georgia, the drama has some exhilarating moments, but they're dampened by concessions to conventionally bloviating music, overly theatrical dialogue and inadvertently comic slo-mo. - 40
Time Out
The hard fact, though, is that Harlin's instincts - always toward the massive and slo-mo - make him a fairly dunderheaded political analyst. - 40
Village Voice
Taking the vantage point of civilians rather than combatants allows 5 Days of War to show the toll of the terror and of the relentless, exhausting pursuit of war with unexpected force. Had it rejected the genre's romantic trappings and false heroics more consistently, the movie might've been worth the ride. - 38
New York Post
Should appeal more to those who like to watch stuff blow up than understand exactly why the carnage is transpiring. - 30
The Hollywood Reporter
Fails both as historical re-enactment and as action-flick thrill ride. - 25
Washington Post
A tired old quote about truth being the first casualty of war is a strange way to start 5 Days of War, an overwrought drama that, whatever its good intentions, could hardly be said to aim for objectivity in its account of the 2008 conflict between Russia and Georgia.
