Sent to quell rioting in Belfast, a British soldier (Jack O'Connell) is mistakenly left behind by his unit, forcing him to stay out the night in a hostile urban terrain. '71 feels somewhat muddled and incomplete, with characters and a plot that should have been fleshed out to a greater degree, and also falls flat when trying to make subtle points pertaining to nationalism, shifting alliances and the like.
However the action sequences, filmed in a handheld Paul Greengrass vein, are highly effective.
*** out of ****
