Jake Gyllenhaal Fights Amnesia on the Battlefield in 'The Covenant' Trailer

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If you’re a fan of war movies, you know that a good number of the best titles aren’t about the war itself, but rather about what goes through a soldier’s mind when they're inserted in the middle of chaotic, life-or-death scenarios. In the upcoming action-thriller The Covenant, it looks like we’ll get a lot of that mixed with the high-stakes action sequences to elevate it. Today, cast member Antony Starr (The Boys) took to Instagram to share the first trailer for the movie, and MGM shared it a few hours later.

Of course, pyrotechnics, car chases, and high tension are brought front and center, and it looks like The Covenant will feature top-quality action content to make it a must-watch war movie. At the same time, we’ll get to know the story of John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal), a sergeant who is on his last tour in Afghanistan. He gets hit in the head in a way that makes him completely vulnerable, and his life is saved by Ahmed (Dal Salim), a local interpreter who risks his life to take John to safety.

The Covenant Makes The Case That It Can't Be "Every Man For Himself"

The trailer for The Covenant also makes it clear that John’s concussion leads to memory loss, and he only remembers his savior. He is then forced to think about his tour through Ahmed’s eyes, and he realizes that, despite being side by side with him, the interpreter has a whole different experience in the foreign land. And then it gets harder: Ahmed and his family are put in danger and, John realizes that, since the American government won’t do anything about it, he’ll have to gear up and save the family if he wants to pay his debt to the interpreter — and that means taking on the Taliban.

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Jake Gyllenhaal Goes on Another Tour

The Covenant marks a welcome return of Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal to the war genre. Throughout his career, the actor has starred in movies that deeply explore the psychological effects of being a soldier or veteran. In Brothers, PTSD is explored to its full extent, while Sam Mendes’ Jarhead commented on how, for some soldiers, the Gulf War was a whole different—and boring—experience.

Guy Ritchie, who has helmed plenty of action-packed stories across his career, directed the upcoming war movie, but this one takes a rare turn into the war genre. Ritchie is also known for injecting a dose of humor into his stories, but the trailer for The Covenant doesn’t suggest any comic relief, meaning that this is a title that will probably stand out in his filmography. Ritchie co-writes the script with Mark Davies (Wrath of Man) and Ivan Atkinson (Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre), two frequent collaborators of his. The cast of The Covenant also features Alexander Ludwig, Emily Beecham, and Jason Wong.

The Covenant premieres in theaters on April 21. You can watch the trailer below: