We never seem to tire of seeing stories of courage and determination on the battlefront. It doesn’t matter which conflict or setting, these stories inspire us to rise above in difficult situations. That’s certainly the case with Valiant One, a new film that opens January 31.

In the film, Brockman (Chase Stokes) is a young sergeant who is used to working behind a desk. But he gets assigned to a simple field mission to repair some radar. It’s supposed to be a quick in and out for Brockman and his troops, but it comes near the North Korean border. They are joined by a Civilian Contractor, Josh Weaver (Desmin Borges), as they try to make the repair.

Along the way, a storm pops up quickly. The unit tries to make an escape, but the weather brings them down—on the wrong side of the border. Banged up and in hostile territory, Brockman finds himself suddenly in charge as their unit leader and pilot are killed. He has to take his theoretical training and put it into practice quickly to get his squad back to the safety of South Korea.

He has a team of three other troops—including a feisty, by-the-book corporal (Lana Condor), while Josh Weaver is anything but confident and helpful.

This is a quick film, clocking in at just over 80 minutes. It doesn’t waste much time in the set up and spends most of the run dropping right into the action. Their journey home has a few twists and turns that allow us to get to know some of these soldiers as they try to make it back to safety.

Borges is mostly known for comedic roles, while Stokes and Condor are best known for more teen-centric entertainment on Netflix. All of them stretch into something a bit different and more dramatic here. And all three have some interesting moments, especially as they learn to trust each other, share their stories, and lean on one another as they fight to get home.

The action sequences here are OK, but nothing special. Nor is the opening crash that incites much of the story. The film also isn’t really long enough or interested enough in building up these characters for you to really feel emotionally invested in their journey. There are a few nice character beats, but the story and production feel quite thin.

January is the time of year when we get some different kinds of films. Sometimes you find gems, and sometimes you find films that fall short of greatness. This falls into the latter category. It’s a decent enough watch that moves at a quick pace, but it would have been nice to get a little more. The ending, in particular, feels quite rushed.

Valiant One opens nationwide on Friday, January 23.

Matthew Fox is a graduate of the Radio, Television and Film program at Biola University, and a giant nerd. He spends his free time watching movies, TV, and obsessing about football. He is a member of the FSWA. You can find him @knighthawk7734 on Twitter and as co-host of the Fantasy Football Roundtable Podcast.