Simplicity in films can be hard to entertain, especially in movies surrounding war and its violent and emotional connotation, but Doug Liman’s new film, “The Wall,” which landed in theaters May 12, takes its simplistic tone and runs with it, making for a enjoyable, yet gut wrenching film that gives anxiety a whole other meaning. 

If sitting in an entire movie theater alone late at night wasn’t scary enough while reviewing “The Wall,” take the idea of being alone in the middle of the war torn desert of Iraq in 2007. Allen Isaac, played by Aaron Taylor Johnson (“Kick-Ass”) and Staff Sergeant Matthews, played by John Cena (“12 Rounds”), find themselves in the middle of the Iraqi desert after investing a supposed terrorist sniper. Within minutes, Issac soon finds himself running to save Matthews, who starts slowly succumbing to a sniper wound. After the sound of another gunshot, Isaac finds himself with his leg squirting blood and his radio broken, and he hides behind a wall as his only source of cover from the sniper. Isaac has to face the reality of his friend’s impending death, all while trying to deal with a psychotic terrorist named Juba (Laith Nakli, “24: Legacy”) who is communicating through his local radio while trying to take aim; the only thing stopping the terrorist’s trigger finger is the stone wall that Issac safely hides behind. 

One factor that “The Wall” struggles with is its length and pacing. The simplistic tone of the film works in almost every matter except for a few scenes that can drag on but are very bleak. For example, we see a good eight or nine minutes worth of looking through binoculars, with only the slightest hint of movement to be found.

The film shines at the times where bullets whiz through the air, only to hit a wall or object seconds later. However, the most amazing part of the film is the performances of Johnson and Cena. Johnson brings a seemingly impeccable realism to his character, with every slur of his voice and stride of his walk, making him feel like a real soldier. He gives the audience a heavy and emotional performance that shows a man’s inner mind and the insanity that deals with the impending doom of one’s life. While Cena has a short screen time, the time that he is on screen is unlike anything Cena has done; he brings a type of complexity that a former WWE star like Cena would not usually portray.

At the film’s climax, the film forces you to ask yourself how it was possible to be so simplistic in scale and in story, all while being so engaging and detailed in character. The movie doesn’t hold your hand and really asks for you to be invested, which is hard at times, though the end result is Liman’s great film. “The Wall” is full of suspense, blood, explicit language and an amazing cast of actors. Cena and Johnson do a fabulous job of showing an experience of wartime and its unknownness of survival, which builds up to be a truly but sturdily built “wall.”