It seems more common than ever before to see the words “based on a true story” in the opening credits of a film. The frequency of use of these words have caused them to lose some impact. With that said, there are still some stories that find ways to make you care that the story your about to watch actually went down. Lone Survivor is one of these films.
Directed and written by Peter Berg, Lone Survivor tells the harrowing true story about the failed Navy SEALs operation “Red Wings” in Afghanistan. The dangerous mission required the capture or killing of high ranking Taliban member Ahmad Shah, with four members of the Navy SEALs assigned to the task. The story, based on the book of the same name, was written by the operations sole survivor, Marcus Luttrell. The title should be enough foreshadowing as to how the mission went.
Before we can begin the film, the opening credits allow us to enter the mindset of a Navy SEAL during initiation and training at boot camp. Berg uses real footage from boot camp to instill this mindset to the audience. We witness soldiers who are drilled about fighting for a cause, but more importantly, about the brotherhood that comes with the uniform. Your fellow soldiers become nothing but family, if not more so.
Soon we are thrown into the film and see Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) bloodied and beaten, trying desperately to be saved by medical doctors after the events that we will eventually get to. It doesn’t spoil anything (as you already know the outcome going into the film). Instead, it actually makes the events that follow that much harrowing, because you are soon introduced to these wonderful set of humans who you know bad things are about to happen to.
We meet the rest of the gang, which includes Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Matt ‘Axe’ Axelson (Ben Foster) and Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch). There’s also their lieutenant commander Erik Kristensen (Eric Bana) and new recruit Shane Patton (Alexander Ludwig). Berg gives us a little snapshot of each characters personality, and what life and love that they have waiting for them at home. Disappointingly, it’s just a snapshot. The development at first seems thin, but it’s not until we get all the guys together on the mission where we see what they are all about.
Their mission is set and all is seemingly well, until they accidentally bump into a group of shepherds, which include an old man and a child. This sends them into a moral dilemma as to what to do: free them and risk a possible gunfight, or kill them and move on. They opt for the more moral route and let them go. Unfortunately their compassionate nature comes back to bite them hard. Soon an army of 100 angry Taliban members sets out to hunt them down after one of the shepherds who is released rats them out. The Taliban fighters know the land, and have our heroes clearly outnumbered. Things get ugly fast, and of course, the SEALs radios aren’t working, so there is no possible escape. When it rains, it pours.
Berg doesn’t relent from showing bullets hitting body parts, or showing these men tumbling down mountain areas and hitting rocks and trees along the way in order to try and avoid getting shot at. It’s tough on the soul to watch these boys slowly get mowed down. We see these men have their homes and dreams stripped away from them all because of one poorly executed mission. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but one that is unavoidable. Seeing this violence all for a simple mission gone wrong makes us question war altogether, but the film thankfully never gets too political or jingoistic on us. It’s made a little easier to see the lengths that the soldiers go to to protect one another, as one unit of brotherhood that is truly something beautiful.
It’s all handled with carefully handled action shots that are some of the best war film footage since The Hurt Locker. Berg adds his own fare share of breathtaking natural footage that pairs up nicely with the score created by the directors favorite go to band, Explosions In The Sky, as well as Steve Jablonsky. Berg gets the best out of his actors, who all deliver strong performances that really capture the heart and soul of these characters core. Once the action begins, it seems to never end.
Mark Wahlberg delivers his strongest performance since The Fighter. He’s great. Taylor Kitsch finally gets a role that fits him, and it’s arguably his best work to date. Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster offer some more of the consistently reliable work that we’ve come to expect from them. When you put all of them together, they’re a very believable core four. Once the fighting begins, you can’t help but wish that their fates would somehow change. But the fact that you know someone survives provides an interesting viewing experience, as there are some surprises to how he manages to survive, some that show the humanity of a world that we Americans are taught to be almost inherently evil.
For the most part Lone Survivor is wildly entertaining and will leave you at the edge of your seat. But still, I felt like something was missing from it that prevented it from being the war film classic that it desired (and deserved) to be. But even so, it’s still a rewarding experience, as it tells the heroic tale of these soldiers, allowing them to live on forever in this film. With that said, it’s hard not to look at this film with a proud smile an enjoy the ride.
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