If you are a fan of no-nonsense shoot-’em-up outdoor survival flicks like The Losers and Triple Frontier, then director Chava Cartas’ Mexican thriller, Counterstrike, might be right up your alley. This bare-bones, adrenaline-pumping, lean, mean action spectacle, which pits a team of Mexican special forces agents against the dreaded cartel sicarios in the Mexican wilderness, might lack narrative complexity, but doesn’t pull a single punch when it comes to offering delectable, fast-paced, beautifully choreographed action sequences. There is just enough character dynamics and emotional connections sprinkled through the movie to balance out the streamlined, action-heavy plotline. Overall, Counterstrike is aware of its limitations, plays to its strengths, and delivers precisely what action fans seek from their poison.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Captain Guerrera Become A Target Of El Enjambre Cartel?
Josefo Urias, the dreaded drug lord of the El Enjambre cartel, has been in the crosshairs of the Mexican military for quite a long time. Josefo’s father, who was presumably involved in the drug trade as well, was taken down by Mexican elite special force agents famously known as Murcielagos, aka the Bats. After the Piedra Negras unit of soldiers, who were deployed to take down Josefo’s operations, goes missing, Murcielagos Captain Guerrero is summoned to bring his elite squad to take care of the situation.
Guerrero doesn’t have to wait too long to get into action either; while being stationed in one of the unnamed border towns, he comes across a tense situation. Carla and her daughter, Lucia, who were passing through Valle Hermoso highway, came across the mass grave of the Piedra Negras unit soldiers who were tortured and killed by one of Josefo’s lackeys, El Marrano. As the mother-daughter duo decides to report the sighting to the police, Josefo’s brother, Roman, shows up with cartel members to abduct them right in front of the police station in broad daylight—which is emblematic of the pathetic state of affairs. Guerrero handles the situation on his own, despite his friend asking him not to meddle, and kills a few of the lackeys—holding Roman at gunpoint with relative ease. The police, who are in cahoots with the cartel, can’t help Roman this time, as a Murcielagos captain has taken control of the situation.
Thanks to Carla and Lucia’s intel, the mass grave is discovered, and the possibility of a larger conspiracy is suspected. Guerrero leads his elite squad to set an ambush in one of the restaurants El Marrano frequents, and with surgical precision, gets the crook detained along with his lackeys with minimum collateral damage. Josefo learns about Captain Guerrero and Murcielagos’ involvement and prepares to avenge his father’s death by exterminating the unit.
Who Was the Mole in the System?
Colonel Marcelo Diaz, who is overseeing Guerrero’s op, questions the defense secretary about possible intel leaks that led to the former unit’s cover getting blown. The secretary denies any possibility of such leaks and meets with Captain Guerrero. In reality, it was the defense secretary himself who had leaked the intel the first time, and once again he goes on to provide Josefo the means to track Guerrero and his squad in exchange for a huge sum of money. The secretary also reveals that Guerrero will be on leave the next day as he and some of his comrades will be celebrating the birthday of the youngest member of their team, Pollo. Needless to say, it will provide Josefo’s lackeys the perfect opportunity to catch them off guard. On the other hand, Josefo has his brother, Roman, record the exchange in secret to use it as leverage against the politician in the future.
Did Captain Guerrero Find Carla and Lucia?
Meanwhile, for exposing the cartel’s heinous secret, Carla and Lucia are abducted from their home by Josefo’s men—who subject them to unspeakable torture by holding them captive in one of the cartel warehouses. On Pollo’s birthday, Captain Guerrero and his trusted, close comrades/friends—Tanque, Toro, and Combo—decide to take the birthday boy to one of the food joints in the bordering area, when they get ambushed by Josefo’s men. After the initial shock, the Murcielagos quickly take control of the situation by eliminating the assailants. Not long after, Roman—ignoring his elder brother’s warnings about not engaging with the special forces head-on—launches another assault. Guerrero and his team once again dispatch their adversaries with efficiency, and the captain learns about the defense secretary’s betrayal by checking on Roman’s phone.
Knowing full well that Josefo will relentlessly send his cavalry to take down the squad, Guerrero decides to trek through the wilderness to reach the nearest army outpost in Brownsville instead of waiting for extraction or a support team. Aggrieved by his brother’s demise, Josefo sends a hit squad of his own led by female mercenary La Cobra to track down the Murcielagos. However, La Cobra turns out to be the only survivor, who returns to Josefo with the tracking device. By now, Captain Guerrero has figured out that they are being tracked and commanded his comrades to ditch their phones. Josefo, now accompanied by a large troop of ex-army sicarios, still manages to follow their trail as La Cobra uses her navigational skills to stay on their trail.
Guerrero and co. spot a cartel warehouse and decide to raid it to restock their supplies for the time being. Also, Pollo has been injured as a bullet has grazed his arm, and Tanque has lost one of his ears during the battle with La Cobra’s squad—which is why it is imperative to take a break for the team to regroup. Taking down the skeleton crew of cartel members who were guarding the warehouse, Guerrero and his team rescue Carla and Lucia, who were being held captive at the place. The team commander/medic combo tends to them, and they are set up with bulletproof vests as Guerrero prepares to move at night. Given the fact that the unit now has to keep the civilians secure as well, their mission just got much more challenging.
Which Member of the Murcielagos Squad Died?
However, Guerrero’s plan to sneak out gets foiled as Josefo and his sicarios surround the warehouse and set up a machine gun, slugging out some heavy metal. Pollo gets injured but remains high-spirited as always, and the mother-daughter duo takes up arms to assist the outnumbered special force. Josefo sends the majority of his lackeys to infiltrate inside the warehouse through a secret backdoor passage. To protect the rest of the team, a grievously injured Tanque sacrifices his life by detonating a grenade, killing everyone coming through the passage.
As the majority of Josefo’s thugs perish, the squad decides to move outside the warehouse to apprehend the drug lord at last. Unfortunately, one of the still-surviving sicarios fatally shoots Pollo—before getting shot to death himself. The poor kid breathes his last on his birthday, and his tragic demise affects Carla and Lucia as well.
Did Captain Guerrero Capture Josefo at the end?
Losing their comrades, the Murcielagos almost pull the trigger on Josefo, who tries to goad them to give in to their baser instincts. However, Captain Guerrero refrains from letting his emotions get the better of him and decides to detain Josefo by the book. Guerrero challenges Josefo to a mano a mano unarmed duel, and even though the dishonorable Josefo tries to attack him using a dagger, Guerrero incapacitates the crook with ease. As the light of a new day shines, the extraction team arrives to rescue the team and the civilians.
In Counterstrike’s ending, Josefo is taken into custody, and in the final moments of the movie, the team mournfully remembers their fallen comrades. Josefo might use his political connections to free himself and might take his revenge on the Murcielagos for the death of his father and brother, but that’s a story for another life. For now, Guerrero has successfully completed his mission by surviving great odds, although at a heavy cost.
