Ambush
Directed by Mark Burman
Written by Mark Burman, Johnny Lozano, Michael McClung
Starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Aaron Eckhart, Connor Paolo
Rated R
Runtime: 1 hour, 44 minutes
In select theaters and on demand February 24

by Gary M. Kramer, Staff Writer

War is hell, and so is Ambush, an efficient yet unremarkable action film set in 1966 Vietnam. 

Captain Drummond (Aaron Eckhart) is tasked with securing a binder that contains the names of operatives that must not fall into the enemy’s hands. Sending Captain Mora (Gregory Sims) to retrieve the binder from a camp run by Ackerman (Connor Paolo), an engineer, the safety of the men and the binder are, of course, in jeopardy. As if on cue, the titular ambush happens, several American soldiers are killed, and the binder is stolen. 

Enter Miller (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and his hunting dog to track the enemy. What Miller discovers is that the Vietnamese have built underground tunnels and are engaging in subterranean warfare. Therefore, Ackerman and a team of his men must go underground, map the tunnel system, and try to retrieve the binder. They have no protocols for this work and only two hours to accomplish it.

Ambush spends most of its running time in the tunnels, and the claustrophobic sequences, often lit by flashlights, are well done. But they never build much in the way of excitement or tension. The soldiers, who are barely distinguishable, are, however, extinguishable, falling victim to various traps. One soldier gets attacked by bugs, another falls to his death on spikes, and others face a kill-or-be-killed situation as they encounter Vietnamese in some of the chambers they discover underground. Firepower is used to combat the enemy, with one soldier Crawford (Mac Brandt) packing a shit-ton of C4 and grenades.

The action does pause briefly so that the soldiers can fight among themselves as they consider the morality of killing the wounded enemy and leaving a wounded American soldier behind.

Meanwhile, topside, Miller and his dog sniff things out, and Drummond barks commands into a radio unit. Eckhart literally phones in his performance. Also wasted is Rhys Meyers, who gets top billing despite having very little screen time. When he does appear, the Irish actor sports what sounds like an American Southern accent as he projects attitude and tries to encourage Ackerman. Connor Paolo is the real star in Ambush as his performance conveys the anxiety and despair of a soldier who is lost in what he has to do and yet discouraged by the increasing loss of his men. 

Ambush does feature a handful of action scenes—although almost an hour passes between two shootouts—that show the horrors of war, but the gunfire, explosions, and other violent acts mostly serve to remind viewers of the brutality of the war. The politics are never really addressed, even if the futility of war is.

This film, which was shot in Colombia and Los Angeles, is perfectly serviceable, but for anyone wanting more action—or more Jonathan Rhys Meyers—Ambush is disappointing.