Guns, grenades and gavels will shred your nerves in this riveting courtroom drama set in the Afghan war.

An army commander is looking down the barrel of a long prison sentence for killing civilians in the act of saving his men.

A smart script gives meaning to the intense battle scenes and the film is always sympathetic to the soldiers.

We fear for the soldiers, worry for the dirt-poor locals and agonise for the families back home.

Danish duo Tobias Lindholm and Pilou Asbaek team up for the second time as director and star respectively.

They previously collaborated on the gripping A Hijacking (2013) where Asbaek played a ship’s captain held hostage by Somali pirates.

A Hijacking was followed into cinemas by Paul Greengrass’ similar though not superior Captain Philips (2013) which starred Tom Hanks.

As well as directing, Lindholm also writes his own scripts and was responsible for writing the Mads Mikkelson drama The Hunt (2012).

All three scripts feature men under intense pressure stemming from decisions made under stress at work.

Asbaek plays Company Commander Claus Pedersen. He is brave and devoted leader of his team, accompanying them on patrol to restore moral after the loss of one of his men to an IED.

Gallows humour peppers the dialogue and there is an absolute lack of gung ho jingoism.

The tumult of a firefight is created with great sound editing, dust clouds and frantic camerawork.

Having the cast scream at each other in their native Danish adds to the turmoil.

The Taliban are a mostly unseen if ferocious enemy, portrayed by the chaos and death they cause. Their victims are all too easily identifiable.

There are no overt political points being made but the mere presence of Danish nationals patrolling the plains of Afghanistan is a defiantly curious phenomenon.

I spent a lot of time urging them to keep their bloody heads down – while I crouched behind the back of the chair in front.

Being in court is more stressful than the battleground for the heroic Claus. His fight on either front will keep you gripped.

★★★★☆