The Patrol

Finally, a British answer to The Hurt Locker, in this Raindance-winning drama about a troubled tour of Helmand Area.

Writer/director Tom Petch is ex-army and the film feels authentic in action – or, rather, inaction, as disgruntled grunts question their kit, their tactics and the entire Afghanistan war amid endless waiting.

As a combat pic, it’s delectably sober and politically engaged, a broadsheet among tabloids, although the narrative is fleeting on dramatic firepower.

Still, it’s a solid debut, with Petch’s evocative location filming (in Morocco) and pyrotechnic flourishes belying his low budget.