Mine | Film review - Armie Hammer puts his foot in it

Stand Your Ground.

This high-concept survival thriller strands Armie Hammer’s US marine sniper in the most perilous of predicaments. A desert mission has gone awry and he’s just placed his left boot on an unexploded mine. With rescue at least 52 hours away, can he survive sandstorms, raging thirst, wild animals and his own inner demons?

Hammer does a fine job in his largely solo role, so it’s a shame directing duo Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro (aka Fabio & Fabio) unhelpfully saddle him with several hallucinatory/real visitors during his ordeal, from visions of his abusive father (Geoff Bell) to Clint Dyer’s annoyingly droll, philosophically minded local Berber. Without these interventions, this stylishly shot and sometimes suspenseful movie would have been much more successful.

Certificate 15. Runtime 107 mins. Directors Fabio Guaglione, Fabio Resinaro

Mine debuts on Sky Cinema Premiere on 1 December. Available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Universal Pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKLtd8ArmNU

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.