Counterattack has the basis for a tense survival thriller: soldiers, a ruthless cartel and a pursuit through the wilderness. The execution gives us a predictable chain of shootings and explosions instead.
Five elite fighters intervene in a kidnapping during an ordinary outing. Their rescue angers cartel leader Josefo, who sends men after them. An ambush forces the group into the wild, where the hunt should become increasingly dangerous.
The characters remain interchangeable. Luis Alberti's Captain Guerrero gets standard heroic moments instead of meaningful development. His comrades scarcely acquire individual identities. Noé Hernández tries to make Josefo threatening, but conventional dialogue weakens him.
Action scenes suffer from restless camerawork and frantic editing, making the movement difficult to follow. The score could fit almost any action production. Mexico's landscapes are also underused, missing a chance to make nature part of the tension.
The deeper problem is that the film never made me fear for these people. One confrontation follows another without an emotional peak. Familiar elements seem assembled without enough care to make them feel like one gripping story.
Viewers wanting undemanding gunfire may find a little entertainment. For me, Counterattack wastes a promising setup on generic noise. A survival thriller needs more than weapons to create a sense of danger.