Soooooooooo let's talk about this movie... I think like many of viewers I got catfished by the 9/10 rating. Let's be clear on that, it does not deserve it.
SCENARIO : 5/10 - Zero risks.
First of all, the scenario. Dag 2 applies the same rhythm than most of the war movies. It starts with a simple mission justifying the presence of the characters in the area (first part of the movie), then an event occurs that will make us wonder how the characters are going to react (second part of the movie), finally the characters made a decision and there comes the big battle we have been waiting for (last part of the movie) where we wonder if the characters will survive. This is the common "cliché" on how to build a war movie but that does not imply that every movie following this structure will be a bad movie. For instance, "Black Hawk down" follows the exact same structure and still have been rated 7,7/10.
MESSAGES: 6/10 - Not original but at least it isn't just a "Boom, Boom" movie.
We have been talking about the 3 parts of the movie in the scenario but there is actually a fourth part. Indeed, scattered across the whole movie, this part deals with the story of the three main characters (the commander and two soldiers). What is their shared history? Why did they join the special forces? How did they join those special forces? We also have the usual thoughts of every war movies (sacrifice, fallen comrades, follow the mission or follow your heart?). Again, those subjects are pretty common in a war movie. However, a good point about this movie is that it doesn't make the mistake of forgetting about the main characters suffering in a war: the civilians. The issue in my opinion is that bringing the civilian issue into a "one sided" movie automatically brings a kind of propaganda feeling simplifying a war conflict into a fight between good and evil. It might be naïve from me to think that it is possible to avoid that however I always keep in mind the example of "Kingdom of Heaven" which is as far as I know the movie proving that it is possible in a way.
ESTHETIC (camera and soundtrack): 7/10
Not gonna fully develop this part. Let's just say it is simple and effective even if you see that the flash of the rifles has been added post filming. For the soundtrack, it is the usual orchestral ones coupled with more recent ones.
GENERAL OPINION: 6/10
"Dag 2" is not a great movie. Everything is pretty common in that movie which did not manage to surprise me. Also, and that is purely subjective, this movie does not give any explanations on the conflict which is bothering me a lot. Indeed, this movie could have been a great opportunity to explain to the world the Turkish view on that war. After the movie, I had the feeling you could just replace the Turkish insignias by American insignias, it would not impact the movie at all. Also, by applying the usual "cliché" to the characters, it is difficult to really care about them since you saw a lot of those personalities die in other movies.
Therefore, does that mean "Dag 2" is a bad movie? NO! I have seen a lot of comments giving a 1/10 rate for that movie just because it was overrated (and it was). In my opinion, those comments are mistaking. If you look just at the movie, you will see a pretty decent war movie following the common standards. Therefore when you rate that movie you are rating the whole war movie genre. "Dag 2" is a decent movie, do not reschedule anything in your agenda to watch it because it will not surprise you however, if you just want to spend some time in front of your TV, watch it.
Finally, I must conclude on two positive points about that movie. The first one was the ability of the movie to manage the silence. This is in my opinion the most difficult challenge. Without silence, you just have a succession of actions, you don't have time to really develop the characters' personality (even if "Dag 2" took the time for that, it still failed me on that part XD) and at the end you just have a "Boom, boom" movie. The second good point is that, to be completely honest, I never saw a Turkish movie it its entirety. "Dag 2" was the first one and I think that is a good achievement that will make me keep an eye on future productions.
There we go guys, I hope this review has been usefull!
SCENARIO : 5/10 - Zero risks.
First of all, the scenario. Dag 2 applies the same rhythm than most of the war movies. It starts with a simple mission justifying the presence of the characters in the area (first part of the movie), then an event occurs that will make us wonder how the characters are going to react (second part of the movie), finally the characters made a decision and there comes the big battle we have been waiting for (last part of the movie) where we wonder if the characters will survive. This is the common "cliché" on how to build a war movie but that does not imply that every movie following this structure will be a bad movie. For instance, "Black Hawk down" follows the exact same structure and still have been rated 7,7/10.
MESSAGES: 6/10 - Not original but at least it isn't just a "Boom, Boom" movie.
We have been talking about the 3 parts of the movie in the scenario but there is actually a fourth part. Indeed, scattered across the whole movie, this part deals with the story of the three main characters (the commander and two soldiers). What is their shared history? Why did they join the special forces? How did they join those special forces? We also have the usual thoughts of every war movies (sacrifice, fallen comrades, follow the mission or follow your heart?). Again, those subjects are pretty common in a war movie. However, a good point about this movie is that it doesn't make the mistake of forgetting about the main characters suffering in a war: the civilians. The issue in my opinion is that bringing the civilian issue into a "one sided" movie automatically brings a kind of propaganda feeling simplifying a war conflict into a fight between good and evil. It might be naïve from me to think that it is possible to avoid that however I always keep in mind the example of "Kingdom of Heaven" which is as far as I know the movie proving that it is possible in a way.
ESTHETIC (camera and soundtrack): 7/10
Not gonna fully develop this part. Let's just say it is simple and effective even if you see that the flash of the rifles has been added post filming. For the soundtrack, it is the usual orchestral ones coupled with more recent ones.
GENERAL OPINION: 6/10
"Dag 2" is not a great movie. Everything is pretty common in that movie which did not manage to surprise me. Also, and that is purely subjective, this movie does not give any explanations on the conflict which is bothering me a lot. Indeed, this movie could have been a great opportunity to explain to the world the Turkish view on that war. After the movie, I had the feeling you could just replace the Turkish insignias by American insignias, it would not impact the movie at all. Also, by applying the usual "cliché" to the characters, it is difficult to really care about them since you saw a lot of those personalities die in other movies.
Therefore, does that mean "Dag 2" is a bad movie? NO! I have seen a lot of comments giving a 1/10 rate for that movie just because it was overrated (and it was). In my opinion, those comments are mistaking. If you look just at the movie, you will see a pretty decent war movie following the common standards. Therefore when you rate that movie you are rating the whole war movie genre. "Dag 2" is a decent movie, do not reschedule anything in your agenda to watch it because it will not surprise you however, if you just want to spend some time in front of your TV, watch it.
Finally, I must conclude on two positive points about that movie. The first one was the ability of the movie to manage the silence. This is in my opinion the most difficult challenge. Without silence, you just have a succession of actions, you don't have time to really develop the characters' personality (even if "Dag 2" took the time for that, it still failed me on that part XD) and at the end you just have a "Boom, boom" movie. The second good point is that, to be completely honest, I never saw a Turkish movie it its entirety. "Dag 2" was the first one and I think that is a good achievement that will make me keep an eye on future productions.
There we go guys, I hope this review has been usefull!