Movie Review: ‘Man Of War’

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Review by James Lindorf

William Kaufman has built a steady career directing low- to mid-budget action films. “Man of War” is another competent entry in that filmography, without elevating him to a new tier. Well Go USA Entertainment, a distributor that knows how to find the right audience for exactly this kind of film, brings it to streaming on July 3rd.

Riley (Rosmary Yaneva), an aid worker, is taken in the opening hours of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Her captor is a vicious Russian mercenary named Konlev (Daniel Bernhardt). The man attempting to save her is a former Navy SEAL, CIA operative, and unofficial uncle, Connor (LaMonica Garrett). Witnessing the abduction via video chat, the self-medicating Connor calls in every favor he can from his ex-CIA handler Charlie (Jason Patric) to get armed and into the country. He will have to cross the shattered country to bring her home, facing mercenaries, shifting battle lines, and ghosts he thought he left behind.

“Man of War” comfortably fits into the tradition of films like “Rambo III” and “Uncommon Valor,” where someone ventures into a warzone to rescue a person who is, or is essentially, family. Those films benefited from franchise momentum or a magnetic star to paper over their weaker moments. “Man of War” has neither, which means the rescue mission has to earn your investment on its own terms, and it only partially succeeds. Garrett is a capable lead for this level of film and handles the action sequences well. However, Connor’s character is underdeveloped, making him unable to carry the film’s quieter moments. Only the best actors in the business would have a real chance at elevating material this thinly written. The rest of the cast functions largely as placeholders, people designed to move Connor from one action sequence to the next rather than characters with their own weight.

The Ukrainian setting gives the film a contemporary feel that draws on the audience’s recent memories as shorthand for the danger Riley is in. The film acknowledges the human cost of the conflict beyond its story, touching on how the ability to escape a war zone often comes down to whether you have enough money. But there is nothing here that feels specifically or memorably Ukrainian. 25 years ago, the setting would have been Bosnia; 10 years ago, Afghanistan. It could have been any number of conflicts over the last 50 years, with minimal changes. It is a “Law and Order” approach to a real and ongoing tragedy, using the headline without engaging deeply enough with what is underneath it.

Kaufman stages the action well, and the urban combat sequences show genuine technical competence. The problem is the runtime. At 111 minutes, the film is padded, and the action scenes go on long enough to become exhausting. There is a significant difference between a sequence that takes ten minutes to reach its predictable destination and one that takes twenty-five, and “Man of War” too often chooses the longer route. With a surface-level script, the journey needs to be either surprising or efficient, and this is neither.

“Man of War” is best suited for viewers who want something between the mindless absurdity of over-the-top action films like the Fast franchise and the intense realism of films like 2024’s “Civil War” or last year’s “Warfare.” Well Go USA is a studio with the right background to take this small film and find its widest audience. For everyone else, it is a passable July 4th weekend streaming option, earning a 2.5 out of 5.

Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): July 3rd, 2026
Runtime: 1h 51m
Director: William Kaufman
Producer: Andrew Lewis, Isaac Lewis, Stanimir Stamatov, Yanko Ushatov
Screenwriter: William Kaufman, Paul Reichelt
Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment
Production Co: Denton Film, Irish Channel Studios