12 Strong storms in to theaters this weekend telling the true story of the “horse soldiers” who helped storm a Taliban stronghold days after 9/11.

The film swells with American pride and some of the most intense action sequences in recent memory. It does a fantastic job of conveying the amount of danger and risk that soldiers face in combat.

While all of that is well and good there are some, shall we say, misfires with the film. The forced jokes, while meant to provide some levity pretty much fall flat.

The bigger issue here is how Chris Hemsworth remains a rather spotty lead actor outside his Thor character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Other actors in the ensemble, including Michael Shannon and Michael Pena often outshine him. Heck even Navid Negahban as American ally General Dostum comes off stronger in the film than Hemsworth.

Despite all of that 12 Strong is definitely worth seeking out (especially in a theater with some sort of Dolby sound system hook up) as it particularly comes to life in the second half of the film.