"Combat" is a 7.5-minute short film from over 15 years ago written and directed by Englishman Neil Marshall. Marshall (and thus also the film) recently rose to popularity after he was nominated for an Emmy Award for directing "Game of Thrones". This short film here combines the world of going out at night to have a drink with military sound (and some visual) effects. All in all, I must say I was not really overwhelmed or impressed by this short film. It's really more worth a watch for how odd and strange it is than for the contents. I never really cared for any of the characters and the story did not leave a lasting impact either. I guess Marshall must have improved considerably since the turn of the millennium. That's fine however, as "Combat" was his first directorial effort. Not recommended.
3 Reviews
An interesting experiment. Good job its short though.
bmwhtly2 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This is a short, written and directed by Neil 'Dog Soldiers' Marshall. It appears on the Region2 DVD of Dog soldiers. It's an almost experimental look at relationships.
The entire thing (can you call 8minutes a film?) is played without Dialogue, instead the only sounds you hear are those of War.
The piece (Thats what I'll call it) starts with a group of lads on a bus to a pub. Its shot and Sounded to be extremely reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan's Landing Craft sequence, and this theme continues as the men hit the ground and run into the pub. then there are the strafing run ogles at women, the one-shot one-kill glances and the guided missile charisma. the only times of almost silence are Les SImpson getting his heart broken.
This is a Very Good idea, done with startling effect. However, I wouldn't want to watch more than 8 minutes of it.
The entire thing (can you call 8minutes a film?) is played without Dialogue, instead the only sounds you hear are those of War.
The piece (Thats what I'll call it) starts with a group of lads on a bus to a pub. Its shot and Sounded to be extremely reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan's Landing Craft sequence, and this theme continues as the men hit the ground and run into the pub. then there are the strafing run ogles at women, the one-shot one-kill glances and the guided missile charisma. the only times of almost silence are Les SImpson getting his heart broken.
This is a Very Good idea, done with startling effect. However, I wouldn't want to watch more than 8 minutes of it.
Decent For What It Is
Michael_Elliott5 August 2017
Combat (1999)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A group of friends get off a bus and walk into a bar.
That's pretty much the only "story" that you're going to find in this early short from director Neil Marshall who would follow this up with DOG SOLDIERS. For the most part it's good enough to hold your attention for eight-minutes and you can respect the way that it was made but there's certainly nothing great or overly good here. The entire gimmick is that there's no dialogue and instead we've got a soundtrack full of noises that you'd hear in a war. There's some creative editing and cinematography but there's nothing anyone but fans of Marshall will want to see here.
** 1/2 (out of 4)
A group of friends get off a bus and walk into a bar.
That's pretty much the only "story" that you're going to find in this early short from director Neil Marshall who would follow this up with DOG SOLDIERS. For the most part it's good enough to hold your attention for eight-minutes and you can respect the way that it was made but there's certainly nothing great or overly good here. The entire gimmick is that there's no dialogue and instead we've got a soundtrack full of noises that you'd hear in a war. There's some creative editing and cinematography but there's nothing anyone but fans of Marshall will want to see here.
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