It’s safe to say thatGerard Butlerhas easily established himself as one of the greatactionstars of this generation. FromOlympus Has Fallenand its many sequels, toPlaneand theDen of Thievesfranchise, Butler is everywhere these days, much to the chagrin of critics who haven’t been very kind to the actor’s efforts. Case in point: Butler’s 2023 action thrillerKandahar, which, despite being called things like “mindless” and “predictable,” continues to be a streaming hit onTubi.
Debuting on the free streaming service last month,Kandaharquickly became a smash, storming its way to the top of the charts. Now, a month later, it remains in the Top 10, sitting comfortably at #8 at the time of this writing, sandwiched between Jean-Claude Van Damme’s 1994 sci-fi thrillerTimecop, and Noah Wyle’s 2004 action adventure rompThe Librarian: Quest for the Spear.
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Hitting theaters on August 17, 2025,Kandaharwas inspired by true events and stars Butleras undercover CIA operative Tom Harris, who, after his mission gets exposed, gets stuck in hostile territory in Afghanistan. Accompanied by his translator, he must fight enemy combatants as he tries to reach an extraction point in Kandahar. Released in 2,105 theaters, the action thriller made just $9 million at the box office during its limited run, but it faced some stiff competition during its Memorial Day release, going up against such heavyweights as Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
‘Kandahar’ Severely Divided Fans and Critics
Also starring Travis Fimmel, Tom Rhys Harries, Ali Fazal, and Navid Negahban,Kandaharearned just a 45% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, which, compared to movies likeGods of Egypt(15%),The Bounty Hunter(13%), andGeostorm(18%), isn’t that bad in the grand scheme of things. Still, the scathing reviews didn’t exactly help the film during its three-week theatrical run, like the one from critic Mel Valentin from ScreenAnarchy, who called it “a superficial gloss at best, a confusing, muddled mess at worst.” Carla Hay from Culture Mix also didn’t think very highly of the film, writing:
“Kandahar gets awfully convoluted and takes too long to get to the main mission in the story. The film editing is sloppy, while the action scenes are unremarkable. The movie’s worst idea is the secret CIA surveillance room that gets unrealistic footage.”
Elsewhere, Lachmi Deb Roy from Firstpost calledKandahar"a typical Gerald Butler mindless, obscenely violent action film without a soul." James Croot from The New Zealand Post added that it’s “blighted by predictable action, one-dimensional characters and a political sensibility that’s best described as jingoistic, jaundiced and xenophobic.” Talk about a harsh review, right?
Still, despite the film’s poor showing with critics, the majority of fans had nothing but praise forKandahar, and that’s what really matters. With an audience score of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, many called it “fast-paced” with lots of action, and one viewer even deemed it a “masterpiece.” We don’t know if we’d go that far, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as critics said it was.
you may judge for yourself ifKandaharis a worthy entryin Butler’s filmographythis weekend, as it’s now streaming for free on Tubi.
Source:Tubi
