‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ review: Come for the action, stay for Dar Salim

The Jake Gyllenhaal thriller has a soulful edge to it.

Everybody carries a weight of regret through life; for some, it could feel like a paperweight. For Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal), it feels like a boulder. He owes his life to the interpreter, Ahmed (Dar Salim) that already saved him and his unit’s life once before a brutal ambush could have left him dead.

What Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant does well is strike a fine balance between patience and supreme suspense. The patience to show us the extended build up of friendship between Kinley and Ahmed before the attack that makes their bond much stronger by the time they’re on the run from the Taliban-which then kicks into action the writer/director’s genuine knack for thrilling action.

Ritchie may have started out in Hollywood as a Tarantino-inspired rhythmic dialogue dispenser-he can still produce Snatch-type gems like The Gentlemen-but lately he’s taken action to the next level with cold-blooded exhilarating rushes like Wrath of Man. The Covenant’s blood may be a bit warmer, but it knows how to startle with its gun battles.

It’s Gyllenhaal and Salim that make the movie leave a dent in the viewer long after the credits conclude. As two men cut from a more similar cloth than either would like to admit-they’re both family men serving in a war-they make the quieter moments count. Gyllenhaal could play this role in his sleep, but he sits still in Kinley’s clothes long enough to make the performance gather weight before the nonstop third act. A particular moment that includes zero dialogue and 100% seething rage shows how talented of an actor and leading man he has become.

When Ahmed finds his life in danger, that weight of regret leans on Kinley to return the favor. Salim holds his own in a soulful role that gets better with each scene. If there’s a sole takeaway from Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, it’s that we need to keep an eye on him. The actor rides the “less is more” route of performance, which offsets the film’s pace and his co-star’s louder role. If we don’t believe in these two guys, the movie never leaves the runway of “satisfying but ultimately underwhelming rental.”

Fans of The Boys will love a small yet vital role for Antony Starr. Fans of Banshee will find it easy to imagine Starr’s character here, Parker, as an extension of his lead character from the Cinemax series lead, Lucas Hood. Alexander Ludwig and Emily Beecham make do with smaller roles that could have gathered unwanted attention but still mix into the crowd nicely.

The poignant icing on the cake here is the timely reminder of interpreters’ impact on the U.S. military, as in how many were put to heroic use in the war that followed 9/11 and are still employed today. A thankless role when many of Ahmeds in real life are denied visas after their service. How many of them didn’t have a John Kinley looking out for them? The answer would startle you, which is provided before the credits.

Along with stellar work from the leads and Ritchie’s knack for action scene construction, it’s that soulful real life inspiration that lends the film a compelling backbone. At the end of the day, this is a tribute to the human beings who allowed for diplomacy to take place on the ground.

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant opens in theaters this Friday, April 21.