There has never been a shortage of good, solid war movies that just speak to American patriotism and heart, and the latest hitting theaters this weekend is bound to be a favorite among many across the U.S. Set to hit screens this Labor Day weekend, Bennett’s War starring country star, Trace Adkins, actors Michael Roark and Allison Paige are delivering hearty American heroism in the tear-jerking, family film.
While at the red carpet premiere in Nashville, Tennessee, the cast of Bennett’s War opened up to PopCulture.com about what audiences can expect from the stars and stripes movie.
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“I play Marshall’s dad [Cal Bennett],” Adkins told PopCulture.com. “Supportive but at the same time very cautious and not quite sure if I should be aiding him in this thing he’s trying to do. You know, trying to get back into motocross racing … but [I] end up giving in because I see he’s gonna do it one way or another so I might as well help the kid out.”
Marshall Bennett [Roark] is a young soldier who survives an IED explosion during combat for the Army overseas. The young soldier was part of the Motorcycle Unit but ends up getting medically discharged after sustaining injuries — a broken back and leg. Unfortunately, right after these injuries, he’s unable to walk and is face-to-face with new challenges in life. However, he doesn’t let that stop his will to succeed not only personally, but for his family. When he gets back home, he takes notice that his father Cal [Adkins] is struggling to make ends meet, so he does the unthinkable: he becomes a motocross racer in order to help his family out financially.
“You get, like, a visceral feeling when you read a script,” Roark said when explaining what spoke to him about not only this film but his character in particular. “It’s not always there, but sometimes. When I read this one, I just, just the need for him. I thought the idea with Marshall, he’s a guy trying to get back home, not so much physically, but spiritually.”
“It’s something I just found, it just really really connected with me,” he continued passionately. “I really hooked into it and I liked the opportunity to really try and represent military and motocross. There’s just a lot of heart in the story.”
Paige plays Bennett’s supportive wife, Sophie Bennett who isn’t just willing to sit down and let life pass her by. Instead, she grabs the bull by the horns and is somewhat of a backbone for Bennett in a rather scary time, admitting that her on-screen counterpart’s relationship with Bennett is a “team effort.”
“So, Sophie is Marshall’s badass, strong wife holding it down at home because all military wives and husbands do that! They do, they hold it down at home,” Paige said.
“Anyone who serves this country, I am indebted to them forever, thank you so much. But the families at home, they sacrifice a lot too,” she continued. “You don’t know if your loved one is safe, you have children to take care of most of the time, a family to support, and so their relationship is very much a team effort.”
Bennett’s War hits theaters Aug. 30.
