Review by Jon Donnis
Run Hide Fight: Infidels is not a film interested in sitting quietly in the middle of a political argument. Written and directed by Kyle Rankin, this 2026 action thriller takes a deliberately provocative subject and builds a violent campus siege around it, with an ISIS cell taking control of a university and attempting to establish a new caliphate while holding students hostage.
The story begins with Captain Clay Saunders (Jonathan Majors) leading a Delta Force mission in Somalia to capture ISIS leader Asad al-Madhi. The mission succeeds, but Saunders loses his friend and colleague Reed Shaw. Seven years later, Reed's son Devlin is a student at Laughton University, where he is trying to navigate the usual complications of college life alongside his friends, roommate P.J., crush Lizzy and campus reporter Avery.
At the same time, a pro-Palestine protest encampment has been established at the university. The situation changes dramatically when Syrian ISIS leader Ibrahim Asad Melod launches a terrorist attack during Saunders' appearance at the university. The attackers kill people, take hostages, jam communications and plant explosives, before revealing that their objective is far more ambitious than simply carrying out a mass shooting.
Ibrahim wants his father released and intends to establish a new caliphate at Laughton. The hostages are forcibly converted, women are ordered to wear niqabs and students are made to deliver anti-American statements on Avery's livestream. Anyone who refuses to comply faces brutal consequences.
It is an extremely direct premise, and Rankin makes no attempt to disguise what the film is saying. Radical Islamic terrorism is the central threat, and the film explores what happens when an extremist ideology is imposed through violence on a group of largely unprepared students.
That will inevitably make Run Hide Fight: Infidels a politically divisive film. Some viewers will concentrate heavily on its political message, while others will simply see an action thriller using an intentionally extreme scenario to explore the consequences of terrorism and ideological extremism. Either way, this is not a film that is going to disappear into the background.
Fortunately, there is considerably more to it than its politics.
The film takes its time before the attack, gradually building the atmosphere and introducing the various characters. Once the terrorists take control, however, the pace changes considerably. What begins as a slow burn develops into a fast-moving and often brutal action thriller, with Devlin, P.J. and campus security guard Terrence attempting to fight back and rescue the hostages.
One of the better aspects is that this is not simply a story about a highly trained action hero arriving to save everyone. Devlin is a student, Terrence is a security guard and P.J. has exaggerated his military experience. Their attempts to fight back therefore have an improvised quality, with the group having to make use of whatever weapons, equipment and opportunities they can find.
That gives the action a certain unpredictability. They are not invincible, and the situation continues to go wrong around them. Saunders is injured, P.J. is eventually shot and the remaining hostages are left in an increasingly desperate situation.
P.J.'s storyline is particularly effective because his admission that he lied about his combat experience adds another dimension to his character. He is not the experienced soldier he initially presents himself as, but he still finds himself having to step up when people around him are in genuine danger.
Jonathan Majors is also a major strength. As Clay Saunders, he brings considerable presence to the film. Saunders has already experienced the consequences of fighting ISIS, having lost Reed during the opening mission, and his later involvement in the university siege gives the character a personal connection to what is happening.
Majors gives Saunders the authority required for the role without making him feel completely detached from the people around him. It is a strong performance and one of the more convincing elements of the film.
The rest of the cast are solid, with David Lucas making Terrence an appealing member of the unlikely group of survivors. JC Kilcoyne gives Devlin enough determination to make his progression from student to fighter believable, while Tyler Aser's Lizzy is given an opportunity to play an active part in the final confrontation rather than simply being someone waiting to be rescued.
There are also a few funny moments scattered throughout the film, which help break up the otherwise relentless violence. The action remains the main attraction, though, and there is plenty of it once the siege gets underway.
The main weakness is the budget. The small production does show at times, particularly when the film attempts to portray the scale of a major terrorist attack on a university. Some sequences lack the polish and scale of a much larger production, and there are moments where the limitations are obvious.
The screenplay can also be very heavy-handed. Characters are sometimes written primarily to represent particular political viewpoints rather than as fully developed individuals, and some dialogue exists to make the film's argument rather than simply move the story forward.
That is probably the biggest question surrounding Run Hide Fight: Infidels. How much you get from it will depend to a considerable degree on how willing you are to engage with a film that has such a clearly defined political perspective.
But it is important to separate that from what works as an action movie. The film is entertaining. The action is frequent, the situation continually escalates and the central group provides enough variety to keep things moving. There is a genuine sense of urgency once Devlin, P.J. and Terrence begin trying to take the university back.
The final act delivers the expected confrontation. Saunders becomes increasingly involved, the remaining terrorists are targeted and Devlin and his allies make their final attempt to rescue Avery, Lizzy, Maya and Kwan. P.J.'s decision to protect Avery despite being badly injured gives his storyline a satisfying conclusion, while Lizzy gets the opportunity to play a crucial role in the final showdown with Ibrahim.
It is not subtle, but again, subtlety is clearly not the objective here.
Run Hide Fight: Infidels is an action thriller with a political argument at its centre, and that argument is likely to be what attracts as much attention as the film itself. Its depiction of radical Islam is deliberately uncompromising, while its portrayal of the university and some of its students is equally blunt.
The small budget shows, and the screenplay occasionally prioritises its message over character development. Nevertheless, the film delivers what it sets out to deliver. It has a slow-burning opening, plenty of action once the attack begins, some entertaining moments and a strong performance from Jonathan Majors.
It is also tackling a subject that is generally not explored in this particular way by mainstream Hollywood action films. Whether viewers agree with its political perspective or not, there is no mistaking what Rankin is trying to say.
For me, the message is ultimately more effective than some of the filmmaking used to deliver it. The film can be heavy-handed, but it is also intense, entertaining and willing to tackle an uncomfortable subject without attempting to soften its position. And often when mainstream critics are either refusing to review a film, or are just giving it blanket bad reviews to appease their own audience and be "woke", that is probably your cue to actually watch the film and make up your own mind.
Run Hide Fight: Infidels is far from perfect, but there is enough here to make it a worthwhile action thriller. The budget limits it, the politics will divide audiences and the writing occasionally lacks subtlety, but the action works, the story keeps moving and Jonathan Majors gives the film a strong central performance.
I score Run Hide Fight: Infidels a solid 8.5 out of 10.
Watch at https://get.dailywire.com/infidels/
