In 2008, CNN correspondent Mike Boettcher and his son Carlos were based with U.S. forces in Afghanistan, video cameras in hand, capturing award-winning footage of the ongoing operation. Despite some extraordinary subjects and harrowing circumstances, the documentary compiled from some of this footage, ‘The Hornet’s Nest,’ is thoroughly ordinary, forgoing the intensity of verite cinema for something closer to propaganda, save for how dramatically inert it is. Misguidedly trying to be a crowd-pleaser, the film gives little more than lip service to the horrors, and ethical challenges, of modern war.
The biggest failure in crafting this footage into something worthwhile is an apparent lack of faith in it in the first place. Rarely, if ever, is this material allowed to play raw; instead, it’s accompanied by a generic rock soundtrack and superimposed, wholly unnecessary text graphics that suggest the computer-aided point of view in a Halo videogame. This is but one of many questionable decisions that suggest a facile understanding of war. ‘The Hornet’s Nest’ acknowledges the bravery of these soldiers, but in ignoring wholesale the larger context of the conflict, it diminishes the importance of both their role as a group and their individual sacrifices.
The filmmakers seem petrified of the idea of anyone finding their movie boring, but the resulting sensationalism is itself numbing. The film eerily calls attention to the ways in which war has been projected through the American media over the last decade. Interestingly, many of the Blu-ray special features are more interesting and far more insightful than the film itself; others, like a music video collection, are downright tacky. Ultimately, ‘The Hornet’s Nest’ earns neither its title nor its platitudes; ‘Restrepo,’ ‘Operation Homecoming’ and ‘Hell and Back Again’ are just a few takes on the same subject matter that honor their subjects while asking the necessarily hard questions.
‘The Hornet’s Nest’ is available on DVD, Blu-ray, and various online and On Demand outlets.
Robert Humanick is a contributing writer for slantmagazine.com
Follow Rob on Twitter @rhumanick
