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A film about a global superpower sending young troops to tackle Afghan forces, Russia's 9th Company is nothing if not topical. On the other hand, this could be any war movie from the last 20 years, echoing hits like Platoon, Full Metal Jacket and Black Hawk Down. Rooted in real events from the back-end of the Soviets' 80s conflict with Afghanistan, it goes through the motions with a certain technical gusto. But you're still likely to end up with battle-flick fatigue.

In time-honoured tradition, the story starts with the rigours of basic training: "You're not even people here... you're s**t!" barks Mikhail Porechenkov's hard-ass warrant officer. Suitably dehumanised, our raw recruits are shipped off to Afghanistan, where the locals welcome them with the fiery destruction of a plane heading home. Forget any attempt to empathise with the enemy: the movie's nationalist bent ensures that they remain a faceless mob throughout.

"INESCAPABLY RELEVANT"

Mind you, there aren't many individuals that stand out on the Russian side either, in spite of a varied mix: artist, cynic, new dad, etc. Army veteran Khokhol is played by director Fyodor Bondarchuk, who makes his $9 million budget (pocket change by Hollywood standards) go a long way, not least in a final firefight whose tragic ironies would cut much deeper if story and characters didn't feel so stock. Still, the movie's relevance to current events is inescapable - especially when underlined in dialogue like, "In all of history, no one has ever managed to conquer Afghanistan."

The 9th Company is released in UK cinemas on Friday 16th February 2007.