‘The Wall’ Ending Explained: Does Isaac Die in ‘The Wall’?

The 2017 movie The Wall, which is available to stream free with a subscription on Amazon Prime, has resurfaced in the cultural zeitgeist in the last few months. That’s thanks in large part to TikTok, and specifically one TikTok user, who systematically uploaded over half of the film via two-minute clips last month. Those clips have been making the rounds on “For You” pages. And some folks have been curious enough to watch the full 89-minute film on Amazon.

Directed by Doug Liman and written by Dwain Worrell, The Wall stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as an American soldier who takes cover behind—you guessed it—a wall, while the Iraqi soldier shooting at him taunts him on the radio. The film was met with mixed reviews by critics and didn’t make a huge splash at the box office. But now, thanks to TikTok, The Wall is getting a second life on streaming.

If you watched the movie, then you know The Wall comes with a surprise, not-so-happy ending. Let’s get into it.

The Wall movie plot summary:

The premise of The Wall is simple. Two U.S. soldiers, Sergeant Shane Matthews (John Cena) and Sergeant Allen Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) are stationed in Iraq in 2007, at the end of the Iraq War. They have been sent to investigate a construction site where American contractors/soldiers were killed by an Iraqi sniper. After staking out the site for over 20 hours, Matthews determines there is no enemy present. Despite Isaac’s warning that there may be “super soldiers” lying in wait, Matthews decides to approach the site to retrieve the fallen soldiers’ radio.

Unfortunately, Isaac was right: Matthews is shot upon approaching the site. He goes down and is in bad shape. Isaac rushes to help him and is also shot. The bullets hit his radio, his water canteen, and his leg. He takes cover behind a crumbling wall and attempts to use his damaged radio to call for help. He quickly realizes the American channel has been intercepted by the Iraqi soldier who shot him. As Isaac slowly fades from dehydration, he speaks to the Iraqi soldier, who seems bizarrely interested in his personal life.

Who is Juba from The Wall?

At a certain point, Isaac guesses the Iraqi man speaking to him is “Juba.” This is a real-world mythical Iraqi sniper who supposedly killed over 700 Americans during the Iraq War. According to a Reuters article, there was video evidence of a highly skilled sniper who used precise kill shots to the head. However, as the Iraqi soldier in the movie says, many people claimed the pseudonym “Juba” during the war.

The Wall ending explained:

Isaac overhears the Iraqi soldier on the radio communicating with the U.S. Army, claiming to be Isaac himself. Isaac realizes he has been used. The Iraqi man learned how to mimic his voice and mannerism in order to lure rescue helicopters to the scene. But Isaac has also learned a few things, like the location of the Iraqi sniper. Based on background noise he overheard on the radio, Isaac deduces the sniper is in the trash heap.

Isaac hears the helicopter approaching and decides to put his body on the line in an attempt to save the copter from being shot down. He pushes down the wall protecting him and watches the trash pile. When he sees gunfire from the trash, he fires on that exact spot. He’s not sure if he hit the sniper or not. But when Isaac stands up, no one shoots him. The helicopter lands, and soldiers load Isaac onto a stretcher. Hooray! He must have gotten the sniper, and now he is saved.

Not so fast. As the copter flies away, they are suddenly shot at. Isaac screams that the sniper is in the trash, but it’s too late. The copter crashes to the ground.

Does Isaac die in The Wall?

We can assume that Isaac dies at the end of The Wall, even though he is not explicitly shown to be dead. The final shot of the film is from the sniper’s POV, looking at the crashed helicopter through his rifle scope. It does not look like anyone is alive in there. An American woman on the radio asks if anyone from the rescue operation copies. The Iraqi sniper answers in a flawless Texas accent, saying “Reading you Lima-Charlie. Over.”

With that, the movie ends. The implication is that the Iraqi sniper pulled off exactly what he hoped to do, which is take down as many American soldiers as possible by imitating them on the radio. The movie implies the sniper will continue to do this ad nauseam. In other words: The bad guy wins! Not every story has a happy ending, especially when it comes to war.