‘Valliant One’ is a Compelling Thriller Behind Enemy Lines

Valiant One

★ ★ ★ ½

‘Valiant One’ is a military thriller in which an aborted mission leads to a helicopter crash in North Korea. From start to finish, the movie is packed with tense action and thrilling sequences as a group of soldiers try to make their way to safety.

A tech repair mission is aborted near the North and South Korean border when bad weather threatens the team’s helicopter’s flight path. They abort the mission too late, and the bad weather causes the pilot to lose control of the helicopter, crashing behind enemy lines.

At the center of the story is Edward Brockman (Chase Stokes) who is thrust into leading his squad when their captain is killed and the second-in-command is traumatically wounded. The clock is ticking for Edward to get his team out as the North Korean army is most assuredly aware of the crash and en route to intercept them.

Edward relies on the wits of the rest of his crew, including fellow soldier Stepahanie Selby (Lana Condor) and civilian technician Josh Weaver (Desmin Borges) to evade the North Korean army.

Chase Stokes as Edward Brockman and Lana Condor as Stephanie Selby
© 2025 Briarcliff Entertainment

There is no way to rescue them unless they can safely reach certain coordinates. Once there, they can be safely extracted. Getting there, as it happens, is only part of the battle.

This film is loosely based on a story that happened to a friend of writer/director Steve Barnett whose friend was a Navy SEAL. A similar situation happened to the SEAL’s crew when their helicopter nearly crashed in the DMZ. This led Barnett to ask what would have happened if they crashed in enemy territory, inspiring him to write the script.

‘Valiant One’ is an effective thriller, letting the story tell itself as the action unfolds. We experience what the soldiers do as events happen to them. That serves the film well. The plot is simple: Edward must get his squad to safety while avoiding an international incident.

Perhaps it’s the plot’s simplicity that works best in a film like this. The filmmakers don’t overthink the plot and give us well conceived, tensioned-filled action sequences.

It’s a good military thriller that packs in the tension and surrounds it with characters we care about enough to root for. You might even find yourself wanting to see it again.