‘Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant’ review: Afghanistan War film is muddled

nypost.com:

Matthew McConaughey smoking a joint in Guy Ritchie’s new movie “The Covenant.” The prolific British director has, for the moment, left behind quirky crime and comedy for his Afghanistan War film — and it’s not hard to understand why.

The story the movie is based on is a harrowing and special one. A US Army sergeant and an Afghan interpreter are on the run from the Taliban, when the American is knocked unconscious and his companion must go to extraordinary lengths to save him.Running time: 125 minutes.

Rated R (violence, language throughout and brief drug content). In theaters.What hampers “The Covenant” — also weirdly titled “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant,” which is something Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese would not do — is the director’s clashing sensibilities.

Ritchie craves seriousness, but has military guys speak with quick-fire cleverness like wacky gangsters. He wants a war film, but the endless ambushes and shootouts hew closer to the traditional action genre he’s more comfortable with.