Bennett’s War (2019) Forrest Films/Drama RT: 95 minutes Rated PG-13 (some language, brief violence) Director: Alex Ranarivelo Screenplay: Alex Ranarivelo Music: Jamie Christopherson Cinematography: Reuben Steinberg Release date: August 30, 2019 (US) Cast: Michael Roark, Ali Afshar, Allison Paige, Trace Adkins, Hunter Clowdus, Brando Eaton, Tony Panterra, Michael King, Taylor Kalupa, Anton Fair. Box Office: $1.1M (US)
Rating: ** ½
I literally never heard of Bennett’s War until three days before its unceremonious release this past Friday when the only other major release was the dull thriller Don’t Let Go. I guess the lack of competition at the box office prompted the studio to drop it into the dreaded Labor Day weekend slot, the final weekend of the summer movie season. Had Bennett’s War not opened at my multiplex of choice (the AMC Marple 10 in Springfield, PA), I probably wouldn’t have bothered with it. With the sheer number of non-theatrically released movies that show up weekly on streaming services and OnDemand, I have to be choosy. I can’t watch everything. When Bennett’s War showed up on the Marple 10 schedule (a last-minute booking from what I understand), I decided to take a chance on it.
As it turns out, Bennett’s War isn’t all that bad. It’s not all that great either. It’s a heavily cliched drama that combines sports movies tropes with a bit of flag-waving patriotism. The story centers on Marshall Bennett (Roark, Dolphin Tale), a motocross champ who set aside his career to serve as a motorcycle-riding Ranger in Afghanistan. He and his best bud Riley (King, The Dog Lover) become casualties after they hit an IED while escaping enemy fire. He sustains injuries to his leg that not only end his military career but also his riding days.
Marshall comes home to the family farm where his wife Sophie (Paige, The Dog Lover) has just given birth to their first child. He goes to work for his friend Cyrus (Afshar, Running Wild) as a motorcycle mechanic at his shop. Obviously, he’s unhappy about where life has taken him. His desire to ride competitively again can be attributed to a couple of factors. The main one would have to be saving the farm from foreclosure. Marshall’s dad (county singer Adkins) has the place mortgaged to the eyeballs. With the price of feed going up and not being able to afford hired help, losing his home is a very real possibility. There’s also a question of pride. Sophie has become overprotective to the point where she won’t allow Marshall to do anything that could possibly result in further injury. She refuses to even entertain the thought of him getting back in the saddle (so to speak). He needs to feel like a man again; he needs to be useful.
One day, Marshall sneaks off to the track with Cyrus and enters a race. The prize money is almost enough to cover what’s owed to the bank. He’ll be going up against a rival team managed by Cyrus’ cousin, real life motocross racer Tony Panterra (as himself). They may as well be wearing Cobra Kai gis for the subtlety with which they’re presented. The two stars, brothers Chris (Clowdus, TV’s All American) and Kurt Walker (Eaton, Woodlawn), are accurately described by somebody as “entitled pricks”. Like their Karate Kid brethren, they’re not above playing dirty pool. In any event, this marks Marshall’s first step on the long road to reentering the sport he loves so much.
Written and directed by Alex Ranarivelo (The Dog Lover), Bennett’s War is as formulaic and predictable as sports dramas come. There’s never any question that Sophie will come around and not only support his dream but help make it come true by becoming part of the team. Likewise, it’s a given that Marshall will experience a major setback and temporarily lose hope. And it will come as a surprise to absolutely nobody that Marshall will find an ally in the least likely of persons. Looking at these plot points, I could be describing any of the Rocky movies. Ranarivelo eases up a bit on the patriotism part in that our hero never wraps himself up in the American flag. But if I’m being honest, he could have explored Marshall’s post-Army struggles with greater depth. He briefly mentions issues with the VA (Veteran’s Administration) involving his benefits (it’s been a year and he’s still not receiving them) but the movie never follows up on this. I think there’s more to be said on the subject especially since it was deemed worthy enough to be brought up in the first case.
The VA thing isn’t the only time Ranarivelo drops the narrative ball in Bennett’s War. Saving the family home was Marshall’s main reason for racing again. After that first race, the matter is dropped completely. I don’t know if this is an oversight on the part of the director or we’re supposed to assume all is okay. Either way, it’s something that should have been resolved in a more definite manner. In any event, this is when Bennett’s War collapses into a pile of sports movies tropes. While it brings nothing new to the genre, it’s not ineffective either. It kind of works in that you’re rooting for Marshall to triumph at the end.
None of the performances in Bennett’s War are particularly memorable. They’re neither good nor bad; I guess you can call them serviceable. Roark makes a likable protagonist. Adkins adds equal levels of gruffness and warmth. Afshar, in full Fisher Stevens mode, provides nice comic relief. Eaton is sufficiently hateful as the racer with a professional/personal grudge against Marshall. The racing scenes are competently done. The good thing about low profile films like Bennett’s War is that they don’t feel obligated to overedit certain scenes to the point of confusion and incoherence. Ranarivelo and his team give the viewer a good sense of where the main characters are in relation to each other on the track. We get to see some good riding here. Motocross fans should be especially pleased.
I find it extremely difficult to be hard on Bennett’s War. It’s so well-intentioned and low-key that you can’t help but like it. No, it isn’t fine cinema. Yes, it’s Identikit storytelling. But like I said, I’m unable to come down on Bennett’s War. It’s a nice movie, inspirational even. Aside from some bad language, it makes for decent family viewing. It’s not too bad a way to wrap up the summer movie season.
