WFG RATING: B

Vision Films presents a DBM production. Produced and directed by Douglas B. Maddox. Written by Darrell Rackley. Cinematography by Stephen M. Lyons. Edited by Justin Moe.

Stars Izaak Bellis, James Arnold Taylor, Libby Smallbone, Vincent Dantone, Grayson Stalcup, Kera O’Bryon, Gabriella Dillenbeck, Raphael Sommer, Bexar Lange, and Tobias Alibi.

A young boy goes to war with his bully in this family friendly film that offers an old school approach to fighting bullies without getting physical.

Chaz Smith is a young kid who is happy when it comes to his visiting grandfather. A former WWII soldier for the Ghost Unit, Chaz revels in hearing stories about his time in the war at the same time he is learning about it in school. However, when it comes to school, he does have a little problem and his name is Jimmy Roland. Jimmy is the school bully who comes from an affluent family, but that’s not the half of it.

When Chaz learns Jimmy holds “army men wars” every Saturday against random kids and considers himself the best when he wins and steals his opponents’ army men as the prize, he has enough. He challenges Jimmy to a “war” and convinced he can beat him, Jimmy accepts. Jimmy gives Chaz a week to prepare and even offers him to form a team of his friends. Chaz attempts to gather his friends, but may have found an ace in the form of his grandfather, who may have a strategy that could help win the war. 

This family friendly film from Douglas B. Maddox is lighthearted and offers an age old moral that more people could learn in today’s society. Maddox gives the film an old school approach when it comes to kids handling bullies without resorting to either physical violence or cyberbullying. Instead, he gives it a moral compass through the use of a game, in this case, a “war” where two kids become the commanders of their “army men” and those who still have the most at the end of a few rounds, win the war. 

Chaz, played by Izaak Bellis, seems to find solace from his school days when he sees his grandfather, Vincent Dantone, who tells Chaz his stories of his days as a WWII Ghost Unit operative. The grandfather is quite the character and even goes to offer his grandson some help when it comes to the war without being directly involved in it. There are times when Chaz feels a bit conflicted because one of his friends at first, refuses to help out of fear. 

The bully in question, Jimmy, comes from a rich family. His father, the richest man in town, likes to go overboard. When it comes to the day of the war, it soon becomes a community event and Mr. Roland orders food trucks. It seems like at times, it feels like because he has money, he seems to want to make a spectacle of things. Of course, by the film’s end, it’s clear how this will end up, especially for a family film of this nature. 

Operation Friendship is heartwarming at times, fun in a family friendly way at times, and has an old school approach to things. This feels like a film that should be for nostalgic fans of the family genre but also give today’s generation an idea of how things should be done. 

The film will be released on VOD on August 12.