“The Wall” is one of those films that’s far more compelling conceptually than it is in the actual execution.

Though it has its moments, and it features a riveting performance by actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the film has trouble maintaining the intensity it strives for throughout its 81-minute running time.

What’s it about?

Taylor-Johnson plays Isaac, a U.S. Army Ranger deployed in Iraq in 2007. Isaac functions as a spotter for his sniper partner, Matthews, played by WWE star John Cena.

When Isaac and Matthews are sent to investigate why a pipeline construction site has gone silent, they find the crew of civilian contractors and their guards all dead. They soon discover that the casualties were all victims of an apparent sniper … right before they come under fire themselves.

Wounded, pinned down and with little hope of extraction, the two soldiers find themselves in a deadly battle of will and wits. They don’t know who their assailant is or even where he is, and with every shot he takes at them they learn just how efficient a killer he can be.

Then the sniper starts talking to them over the radio, and the mind games begin.

Harrowing scenario

One thing “The Wall” has going for it is its sense of authenticity.

From the dialogue, the jargon the soldiers use, to the situation itself the film feels well researched. First-time screenwriter Dwain Worrell depicts a nightmare scenario, the kind of harrowing scene that might leave real-life survivors struggling to cope afterward, and it’s utterly convincing.

Director Doug Liman (“The Bourne Identity”, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”) brings Worrell’s vision to life with intensity and grit. There’s nothing overblown, nothing sensationalized in Liman’s cinematic vision of the personal battles at the heart of this story.

As such, outside of the film’s meticulous costume design, “The Wall” appears on screen as a very stark, minimalist production. Scenes are desolate and eerie quiet outside of the exchanges between the characters and the dreaded sound of a sniper round hitting its target.

One-man show

Though Cena plays a key role in “The Wall”, the film truly relies on the acting skills of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and he delivers a superb performance. Reminiscent of other primarily solo performances like James Franco’s in “127 Hours” and Ryan Reynolds’s in “Buried”, Taylor-Johnson shows he’s as capable as any actor working today of carrying a character-driven narrative almost entirely on his own.

What makes Taylor-Johnson’s performance so riveting is the interiority he provides to the audience as he tries to think his way out of an impossible situation. Isaac’s emotions, his fear, his training, and his efforts to figure out where the enemy is and how to survive the encounter are all palpable and genuine.

But for as strong as Taylor-Johnson’s performance is, “The Wall” just can’t maintain the heightened intensity it aims for. At 81 minutes, it still feels long; at about an hour in the film starts to feel labored, as though it doesn’t know where it’s going beyond the next few lines of dialogue.

Worth seeing?

There’s no question that “The Wall” would be best experienced in a theater. At the very least, it should be seen in a setting where there are speakers all around, to properly capture the terrifying aesthetic of a sniper’s bullets whizzing by from different directions.

If you do choose to check it out, don’t wait. If it does come to a theater near you, chances are it won’t be there long -- a smaller film like this, opening in a limited number of theaters across the country (at least at first) can easily get lost amidst in the glut of big-budget summer movies.

The Wall

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena. Directed by Doug Liman.
Running time: 81 minutes
Rated R for language throughout and some war violence.