Valiant One | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Steve Barnett |
Screenplay by |
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Story by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Daniel Stilling |
Edited by | Andrew Leven |
Music by | Benjamin Backus |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Briarcliff Entertainment |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $800,822 [1] |
Valiant One is a 2025 American action thriller film directed by Steve Barnett and co-written by Eric Tipton.
The film was released in the United States on January 31, 2025, by Briarcliff Entertainment.
The film begins with a routine mission by a U.S. Army helicopter crew near the border between North and South Korea. The mission involves repairing a radar unit in the demilitarized zone. However, due to sudden wind shears from a storm, their helicopter crashes deep within North Korean territory, outside of allied airspace.
Sergeant Edward Brockman, who was initially surprised by his assignment to this mission, becomes the reluctant leader after the death of his superiors in the crash. The survivors include a mix of soldiers, including Selby, who is a tech specialist.
With the helicopter's communications equipment destroyed, Brockman and his team have to navigate through enemy territory to escape back to South Korea, all while protecting a civilian tech specialist. They must work together under extreme pressure, facing the constant threat from North Korean forces. The film emphasizes the tension between North and South Korea, though it doesn't delve deeply into the geopolitical nuances of the conflict but rather focuses on the survival aspect.
The journey across the treacherous Demilitarized Zone tests their courage, teamwork, and leadership skills, highlighting themes of survival, leadership under pressure, and the human spirit's resilience in desperate situations.
In August 2022, it was revealed that a thriller film titled Valiant One was in development, directed by Steve Barnett and co-written by Eric Tipton, with Chase Stokes cast in the lead role. [2] In September, Lana Condor, Desmin Borges, and Callan Mulvey joined the cast. [3] The next month, Jonathan Whitesell and Daniel Jun rounded out the cast. [4]
Principal photography began on September 19, 2022, in Vancouver, Canada. [3] [5]
In April 2024, Briarcliff Entertainment acquired the distribution rights to Valiant One, scheduling it to be released in the United States on January 24, 2025. [6] In November, the film's release date was pushed back one week to January 31, 2025. [7]
In the United States and Canada, Companion was released on January 31, alongside Dog Man and Companion , and made $735,099 from 1,275 theaters in its opening weekend. [8] [9]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 27% of 11 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.7/10. [10]
Lana Therese Condor is an American actress and YouTuber. She made her acting debut starring as Jubilee in the superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and gained international recognition for portraying Lara Jean Covey in the romantic comedy To All the Boys film series (2018–2021). She has also portrayed Saya Kuroki in the television series Deadly Class (2019) and Koyomi in the film Alita: Battle Angel (2019). More recently, Condor voiced the titular character in the animated teen comedy film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken (2023).
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Briarcliff Entertainment is an independent American film production and distribution company founded by former Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg. Launched in 2018, the studio debuted with Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 as their first film. They went on to distribute mainly action films in the ensuing several years, including Honest Thief and Blacklight with Liam Neeson, and Copshop with Gerard Butler.
James Alexander Chase Stokes is an American actor. He is known for starring in the Netflix teen drama series Outer Banks (2020−present).
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Kyle Hausmann-Stokes is an American film director and screenwriter. He directed his feature directorial debut with My Dead Friend Zoe (2024). The feature is based on his short film Merit x Zoe. Hausmann-Stokes also directed the documentary Now, After... (2011).