Slow to start, and slow to end. Not very deep or meaningful in any way, but nonetheless fairly enjoyable to watch once and never care about this movie ever again. Slava Ukraini!

A slow movie, both at the beginning and at the end. The first half is a little drawn out, there are no details that would explain content of the events for those who are far from the situation in Ukraine. If a sniper is calm and slow, a movie shouldn't be, not in this case. There is also no action in the second half of the film, everything is just as smooth, quiet, sometimes boring. The finale is similar for films with such hero - we have already seen this in "The Enemy at the Gates"

The opening act begins a little slow, focusing primarily on setting up our main character, who, while somewhat intriguing, is nowhere near as interesting as the setting itself, which the movie fails to explain in its entirety outside of Ukraine = good & Russia = bad. In terms of action, things progress well, with tensions building up appropriately. There's a distinct lack of big explosions & loud guns, replaced by a more nuanced, chess-style pacing that perfectly encapsulates the intensity in a way that feels ultimately more 'thriller' than 'action'. It focuses more on the human side of war, which is far from original but not what I had expected from this film initially. It's a decent war film that struggles to cement itself as anything other than pure propaganda, holding itself back from being a great film in the process. Perhaps taking the time to explain the Donbas region, the reason for the conflicts, and why Crimea is relevant would make it a much more accessible and exciting film to those who are only familiar with the most recent conflicts in this region.

Raven was a teacher. Then some Russian soldiers that entered the Ukrainian territory found his remote shelter and killed his pregnant wife, who was suspected to be a local spy because of her appearance. Shortly after the incident, a pair of local soldiers found him at that place and helped him burry his wife. As time passed, he became a soldier, then a first-class sniper, all guided by his will to get revenge for his wife's death and evict the enemies from his nation's land. He finally got to fulfill his revenge mission before coming back to visit his wife's grave and his house, which had been burned before. The movie closed with him on a mission during the winter season.