Ghost Soldier

Admit it… conservative crowds and “religious” folks have a soft spot for Jim Caviezel in a big way. Not only did he play Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ” but he made Angel Studios a ton of money with “Sound Of Freedom” in 2023. And now, just in time for Veterans Day, Mr. Caviezel comes out with “Ghost Soldier” which has all the trappings of an Angel film but surprisingly isn’t. Instead of fighting human trafficking, screenwriter Chris Papasedero and director William Eubank set their crosshairs on a very topical and possible enemy of many modern day citizens.

Movies are made for certain types of audiences. If you are looking for funding to make a studio movie you better tell the execs you have a type of paying audience you’re targeting to make a profit. (That’s why sequels are so frequent now-a-days, because every sequel comes with a built in audience willing to spend the money for admission.) And trust me, “Ghost Soldier” has a certain audience in mind… one that values the three G’s… God, guns, and ground (property).

“Ghost Soldier” covers all these values in a fast paced 90 minutes. If you are okay with all of these values you will love this movie. If you are okay with a couple of them you will like it well enough. If you are not into these values then it will be a long haul in the theater for you. This is a film where the good guys are really good, the bad guys are outrageously bad, and escalation is the name of the game.

We find ourselves in the beautiful outdoors of Wyoming in a small, spread out community with our cast of protagonists. We meet loner and ex-green beret Fitz (Caviezel) who lives in a futuristic, brutalist-style home/weapons lab given to him by his past secret government handlers (including always solid Shea Whigham). Fitz passes the time by making cool new prototype weapons with apparently unlimited funds.

Fitz’s neighbors consist of the Hernandez family who morn the veteran head of the house who was killed in action. Son Jack (Cameron Gayden) is looked after by his mother, grandfather (Carlos Gómez), and Fitz himself as he teaches the boy how to hunt, shoot, and the joys of owning his own gun that Fitz gives him as a gift. There is also an elderly couple in another house close by as well that Fitz looks after from afar.

What do all these households (including Fitz’s safe house) have in common? They are all impeding progress for an incoming AI data center being built by an investment firm called Brownstone which is financially backed by a power-hungry corporation based in the Middle East.

The community doesn’t want to sell their land to Brownstone who needs the river rights to cool down all that AI goodness. The neighbors deny participation of the land deal after brief negotiations from Brownstone underlings. And let’s just say that things accelerate… rapidly.

Does the Brownstone corporation threaten the families with imminent domain? Yes. Does the Brownstone corporation call in the hired goons to intimidate the families? Yes. Do they set fire to the Hernandez’s barn and almost kill the grandfather? Yes. Does Fitz put on some of his cool tech and dispatch these jerks? Yes. And does Brownstone take it up a notch by hiring eastern-bloc thugs (led by an effective Beau Knapp) who look as out of place in Wyoming as a Pride Parade on Main Street? Yes.

Granted there are allies for Fitz such as the loyal local sheriff (Olivia Thirlby) and responsible gun shop owner (Michael Ironside) but this is Caviezel’s film and all butt-kicking will be done by him personally.

He plays Fitz as a stoic warrior with a Catholic heart (Caviezel is a strong Roman Catholic in real life). This is proven as he wears a pendant of St. Michael the Archangel and randomly will reference Michael as his aid in this fight against injustice. He hands the pendant to young Jack in a shootout at the local hospital telling him that Michael will protect him at all times.

Indeed Fitz’s strategy is to be equipped with the best tech possible (including a Predator-styled invisibility cloak) all the while looking to the Archangel to go before him in battle. Caviezel is a good actor with small facial expressions that make his stern-faced hero somewhat multi-dimensional in his struggle. The other actors are okay, but compared to a movie veteran like Caviezel you can see big differences in acting ability (not including Ironside who does a great job with his role).

What makes this very well-worn type of story different? We know we have the ex-dangerous man becoming dangerous again to save innocents from bullies and criminals. “Ghost Soldier,” however, makes a difference with it’s cool weaponry that gives that gee-whiz factor. Everything from smart missile bullets to hole-forming electromagnets, Fitz has a series of amazing gadgets. So much so that it’s easy to see this becoming another series of sequels with so much tech that James Bond would be jealous.

Does “Ghost Soldier” lean into gunsploitation like a John Wick type of film? Kinda… but the difference is John Wick is basically a chaotic gun-toting video game with boss-levels to achieve while “Ghost Soldier” has the cool guns but at least there is an emotional framework to explain why the shooting is happening.

Speaking of shooting, at a PG-13 rating there isn’t much bloodshed. The killings are done full screen, but blood is rarely seen (even when the knives come out). Yet there is a lot of killing happening at a frequent rate. Stabbings, shootings, holes being blown in people, drownings, and blunt force trauma appear on screen consistently.

There is some language as well: S*** (4), D*** (1), A** (1), P*ss (1), and (1) H*ll (2), B*stard (1), OMG, G*d d*mn (1), J*sus (1). There is an instance of smoking but no drugs taken. There is no hint of sexuality or nudity.

In the beginning of “Ghost Soldier” there is a quote by Mark Twain: “There is not an acre of ground on the globe that is in possession of its rightful owner, or that has not been taken away from owner after owner, cycle after cycle, by force and bloodshed.” Of course this quote is to foreshadow the fight between corrupt corporations and land owners hanging on to what is rightfully theirs. But we see this also in Scripture as well.

There has been constant fighting for the land that Israel occupies. So much so that there has been no less than 15 major occupations of empires, governments, and settlers in that land. Israel is no bigger than New Jersey yet has been one of the crown jewels of history for major power players. Israel sits at a strategic land bridge connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe, sharing a direct southwestern border with Egypt (which spans into North Africa).

God has made this small piece of land a promised possession for His people ever since the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12, and it’s the landing space of the returning Son of God during the Second Coming (Zechariah 14:3–4, Acts 1:9-12). Israel remains important in God’s Kingdom economy.

Some believers may not agree with the political positions of the Israeli government or with the modern political leadership, and that’s fine. We are not called to be on Israel’s side because of it’s government, but we are called to pray for Israel because God desires the land to live in peace (Psalm 122:6–9) and Israel is the “apple of God’s eye” because He cares for what happens there (Zechariah 2:8). May we keep praying for Israel’s shalom, Christ’s expedited return, and for a future time when swords will be beaten into plowshares and weapons will no longer be needed (no matter how cool they may be).

• Violence: Heavy
• Profane language: Moderately Heavy
• Vulgar/Crude language: Moderate
• Drugs/Alcohol: Minor
• Nudity: Man’s back in shower
• Sex: None
• Occult: None
• Wokeism: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.