DVDs in Review

The Veteran (Matthew Hope, 2011)

Title: The Veteran (2011)

Release date: 29 August 2011

Certificate: 15

Format: Blu-ray

RRP: £24.99

Rating: 4/5

Reviewed by Hayley Merrick

The Veteran is the gritty, hard-hitting tale of Robert Miller, a young soldier returning from Afghanistan and unable to fit back into society.

With his 'unique skill set', Miller, played by the excellent Toby Kebbell of Dead Man's Shoes and RocknRolla-fame, is soon headhunted by the government and begins work monitoring suspected terrorists in Britain.

Charged with tracking a group of assumed fanatics, he finds yet another cause to fight for, becoming obsessed with saving young Anglo-Asian woman, Alayna, (Adi Bielski) from an uncertain fate.

Before long, Miller also finds himself dragged into another underground war, this time on drugs, and starts to spiral out of control.

The film itself is slow in parts, but it's enjoyable, eye-opening and will have you glued from start to finish. 

It's Kebbell, however, that steals the show with his down-to-earth, believable performance as an ex-soldier who becomes exposed to a dangerous world of gang culture, counter-intelligence and corruption.

A Harry Brown meets 4 Lions thriller, it's worth watching the film for the end scene alone, which, like a 2011-version of Taxi Driver, sees Miller deal out his own form of justice on the streets.

A story of corruption, betrayal and a man who just won't back down, The Veteran is a powerful yet cautionary tale of a war closer to home than we thought.