The Covenant (2023 Film)

''Guy Ritchie's The Covenant'' (or simply ''The Covenant'') is a 2023 American action thriller film co-written, produced and directed by Guy Ritchie. The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim. Its plot follows John Kinley, a U.S. Army special operations sergeant, and Ahmed, his Afghan interpreter, fighting the Taliban.

''Guy Ritchie's The Covenant'' was theatrically released in the United States on April 21, 2023, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $21 million.

Plot

In March 2018, amidst the War in Afghanistan, United States Army Master Sergeant John Kinley and his unit are ambushed by a truck bomb attack orchestrated by the Taliban during a routine vehicle inspection at Lashkargah, which claims the life of his interpreter. In need of a replacement, he is introduced to Ahmed Abdullah, a steadfast yet disliked interpreter, who claims he pursues the job only for money. During an undercover capture mission, Kinley learns that Ahmed was previously affiliated with the Taliban, but had defected when the organization murdered his son. Ahmed later saves Kinley's team from being ambushed by a Taliban unit aided by a compromised Afghan National Army soldier, earning Kinley's respect.

During another raid to check for a possible insurgent arms cache about 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Bagram Air Base, Kinley's unit is attacked by Taliban reinforcements, who kill everyone except for him and Ahmed. The duo manage to escape on foot, killing several Taliban fighters in the process. Whilst attempting to return to the airbase by navigating through the mountainous Afghan terrain, they are once again ambushed by insurgents, who manage to wound Kinley, before clubbing him with a rifle butt, incapacitating him. Ahmed manages to kill the Taliban and resolves to take Kinley back to the air base. Receiving help from some sympathetic Afghans, Ahmed evades the Taliban hunting them, carrying Kinley over the country's treacherous mountain topography. Several days later Ahmed and Kinley are near Bagram, but are attacked by Taliban fighters; Ahmed kills the fighters, but is shortly thereafter apprehended by U.S. troops.

Seven weeks later, Kinley, having been repatriated to his home in Santa Clarita, California, is completely unaware of how he was saved, but understands Ahmed's role in it. Upon learning that Ahmed and his family were forced to move underground owing to the duo's escapade having become local folklore, Kinley attempts to procure U.S. visas for them for over a month, but in vain. Emotionally tormented and rendered near sleepless by his inability to repay his indebtedness towards Ahmed, Kinley finally resolves to save him himself, enlisting the assistance of his superior, Lieutenant Colonel Vokes, to procure the visas.

Returning to Afghanistan under the alias of Ron Kay, Kinley meets with Parker, a private military contractor, who promises to provide support on the condition that the former locates Ahmed first. Kinley meets Ahmed's brother Ali, who manages to smuggle Kinley across Taliban-controlled territory; in the process, he kills two insurgents after nearly being caught at a road checkpoint, which alerts the Taliban. Vokes informs Kinley that the visas have been processed and are with Parker. Finally arriving at Ahmed's hideout, Kinley persuades him and his family to accompany him to the U.S. Meanwhile, Parker deduces Kinley's true identity; realizing the danger that the duo are in due to their value to the Taliban, he arranges for an AC-130 gunship and an Apache attack helicopter to provide air support. Concurrently, the Taliban mount an attack on Kinley, who manages to escape with Ahmed's family to the nearby Darunta Dam.

Cornered by approaching Taliban units, the duo engage them in a protracted gunfight, which ends when they run out of ammunition. However, the AC-130 and Apache helicopter arrive and wipe out the attackers. Parker arrives with additional reinforcements; he declares that he would have wholeheartedly supported Kinley's mission had he not concealed his identity. Escorted back to Bagram, the group boards an aircraft leaving Afghanistan; while leaving, Kinley and Ahmed nod at each other, signifying that the covenant has been kept.

The film's ending title states that in the aftermath of the Taliban's recapture of Afghanistan, over 300 Afghan interpreters affiliated with the U.S. military were murdered by the organization, with thousands more still in hiding.

Cast

Production

It was announced in October 2021 that Jake Gyllenhaal was cast to star in an untitled film, to be directed by Guy Ritchie, and co-written with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies. In January 2022, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM) bought U.S. distribution rights to the film, which had been titled ''The Interpreter'', planning to distribute it via their United Artists Releasing joint venture (which Amazon folded into MGM itself in 2023), while STXfilms co-financed the film and handled international sales, Amazon Prime Video acquired some international distribution rights, as well as post-theatrical streaming rights in the United States.

Filming began in February 2022 in Alicante, Spain, with Dar Salim, Alexander Ludwig, Antony Starr, Jason Wong, Bobby Schofield, Sean Sagar, Christian Ochoa and Emily Beecham added to the cast. Other filming locations in Spain later included Sax, Alicante, Alt Vinalopó / Alto Vinalopó, Villajoyosa and Zaragoza.

In December 2022, Ritchie revealed that the title had been changed from ''The Interpreter'' to ''The Covenant''. The film was later officially titled ''Guy Ritchie's The Covenant'', reportedly to distinguish it from the 2006 film of the same name.

Release

The film was released in the United States on April 21, 2023, by MGM, and internationally by Amazon Prime Video.

The film was released digitally on May 9, with a Blu-ray and DVD release following on June 20.

On June 16, 2023, Amazon Prime Video began streaming the movie in Canada.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, ''The Covenant'' was released alongside ''Evil Dead Rise'', ''Chevalier'', and the wide expansion of '' Beau is Afraid'', and was projected to gross around $6 million from 2,611 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2.2 million on its first day, and went on to debut to $6.3 million, finishing third behind ''The Super Mario Bros. Movie'' and ''Evil Dead Rise''. In its second weekend the film made $3.6 million (a drop of 43%), finishing in ninth.

Critical response

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 92% positive score, with 77% saying they would recommend it.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Covenant (2023 film), The
2023 action thriller films
2020s American films
2020s chase films
2020s English-language films
2020s war drama films
Amazon Studios films
American action thriller films
American chase films
American war drama films
Films set in Afghanistan
English-language action thriller films
Films about interpreting and translation
Films about the United States Army
Films directed by Guy Ritchie
Films set in 2018
Films set in Los Angeles County, California
Films shot in Alicante
Films with screenplays by Guy Ritchie
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
STX Entertainment films
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) films
Works about the Taliban