When I found the Korean film Escape (2024), I noticed another set in the Korean peninsula, today’s selection, Valiant One (2025).  The two stories take place in roughly the same location and feature soldiers as their main characters, but the stories are quite different in tone.  The incongruity is likely the result of Valiant One being an American production with concomitant values.  This means more heroism in the form of self-sacrifice, which is a Chirstian value, but there is less of an emotional investment in this one.  Granted, each involve life-or-death situations, but Escape is about a person not only trying to stay alive, but improve his overall life.  Hence, the stakes are higher.  In Valiant One, the action-packed sequences are exciting, but I was a little less emotionally invested.

The only emotion United States Army Sergeant Edward Brockman (Chase Stokes) is feeling at the start of Valiant One is annoyance over having to get out of bed.  Sure, he is in the armed forces, stationed in South Korea near the demilitarized zone (DMZ), but he is looking forward to getting out of the services and starting a career in Silicon Valley.  His work with computers means that he has spent most of his time in the military behind a desk.  As such, he is surprised when his commanding officer gives him a field mission.  He is told to accompany a group of soldiers, led by Delta Force operator Chris Lebold (Callan Mulvey) to a position close to the border to repair a malfunctioning ground-penetrating radar (GPR).  As Sergeant Brockman is gearing up for the trip with his temporary comrades, he downplays their eagerness.  He is also not pleased by the presence of Josh Weaver (Desmin Borges), a civilian technical contractor, who is accompanying them.  The reason for Sergeant Brockman’s disdain with Josh in particular is because the civilian tells the soldier that the service member does not have what it takes to make it in Silicon Valley.  Their feud carries with them when they get to their destination as Josh is dismissive of Sergeant Brockman’s diagnosis of the equipment.  However, they have a bigger problem.  Bad weather is forcing them to abandon the job before it is finished, and Josh’s hesitation means their helicopter is caught in a storm.  The weather proves too much for the pilot and they crash.  There are a few casualties, and two of their number are mortally wounded.  One is mobile for the moment, but the one who is not is Chris.  Putting Sergeant Brockman in charge, Chris orders the rest to get to a location where he says other Delta Force members will be waiting for them.  At first, everyone is unsure of Sergeant Brockman’s leadership, but they are swayed when the team’s combat medic, Stephanie Selby (Lana Condor), voices her support.  Still, when North Korean soldiers land in the area to investigate, Josh remains convinced that their best decision is to surrender.  He is attempting to do that when Chris tosses a grenade, causing Josh to drop to the ground before he is spotted.  On the run again, the rest argue that Josh’s reasoning about them being negotiated for by the United States is faulty, and ignores the inevitable torture they would have to endure.  This quiets Josh for the moment, and they soon come across a farm where they seek shelter.  It is a fortunate find, too, as their dying compatriot is doing poorly.  Setting up in the barn, they are discovered by the tenants, the father (Michael Cha) coming out with a gun.  Sergeant Brockman is able to calm the situation and they soon move inside where they learn that the family are hiding a daughter, Binna (Diana Tsoy).  Everyone manages to get along through the night, with the soldiers using the age-old move of providing chocolate to get the little girl on their side.  In the morning, though, a truck full of soldiers comes to the farm, causing Sergeant Brockman to order a hasty retreat.  However, Stephanie goes back for her medical bag and ends up having to conceal herself with Binna.  Once Sergeant Brockman notices that Stephanie is not among them, he realizes they have a fight on their hands.  They are able to affect a rescue, and Binna is given to them to bring her back to South Korea.  Using the farmers’ truck, they get closer to their destination, but are once more found by a North Korean patrol.  This encounter costs Josh his life, who is shot and killed.  All the same, Sergeant Brockman navigates them to where they are supposed to be, but there is no sign of the Delta Force.  It takes him doing some work on his computer for him to realize that they are standing on top of a tunnel that runs underneath the DMZ, secretly connecting North and South.  That is the good news.  The bad news is that their compass does not work underground, and they choose the wrong direction.  In the resulting firefight, almost everyone runs out of ammunition, except for Sergeant Brockman, who orders the rest to go while he covers them.  He does the best he can until he takes a bullet in the shoulder.  Yet, before he is overtaken by the North Koreans, the Delta Force contingent finally appears and he is pulled to safety.  The last scene sees Sergeant Brockman on the helicopter with the rest of the survivors, thankful to be going home.

What I am thankful for with Valiant One is that it is short, being a little over eighty minutes in its runtime.  This is not to suggest that it is a bad movie, but it not a terribly inspiring one.  Another way of saying this is that it is predictable.  Because I have seen this kind of film so many times before, I look for things that might give me an angle with which to insert a Catholic analysis.  Here again, I do not have much to go on, unless I want to rehash the hero discussion I briefly touched on in the introduction.  The only thing to add there is the opening quote, which says that heroes are born, not made.  It is a cliché line, but no less true in that God creates us all with the ability to rise to such occasions.  Other than that, the only verifiably Christian moment is when Chris is praying the “Our Father” before he is overrun by North Korean troops.  Before this moment, he has a talk with Sergeant Brockman to steady the anxious soldier’s nerves.  As discussed above, Sergeant Brockman is thrust into a situation for which he feels ill-prepared.  Chris’ advice is for Sergeant Brockman to trust his instincts.  This can be a tricky thing for a Catholic to quantify, but one way of looking at it is in thinking of it as listening for God’s voice.  This is no easy task, and it seems strange to discuss this in connection with people trying to kill one another.  Still, I appreciate the fact that they are willing to risk themeselves in order to give Binna a better life.  If there is nothing else to say about these soldiers in a Catholic context, they can be praised for their selflessness.

We have come to expect selflessness from our soldiers like we see in Valiant One, and it is a well-earned reputation.  I am also thankful that it is them doing what they are doing and not me.  I have to add that this makes for predictable cinema, but it is okay either way, except for the swearing.