Review 420: Lone Survivor

Lone Survivor is a brutal, visceral, non-stop, pulsepounding, emotionally heart-wrenching war film and a work of excellent craftsman from director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg.

Based on the non-fiction book, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell & Patrick Robinson, During the War in Afghanistan, a four-man SEAL Reconnaissance and Surveillance team, led by Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg) lead the unsuccessful Operation Red Wings to track down and kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah.

The plot is one of the most tragic, gut-wrenching, intense & concise plots for a war movie put on film, the film starts and it almost never stops. These soldier are dispatched on this mission and we as an audience are there with them, we're almost experiencing the operation with them and how it all went horribly wrong. It's a testement to Berg's writing that he's able to immerse us as an audince into this hard hitting experience.
But Berg isn't just concerned with showcasing the horrors of war; The Hospitality of Humanity as well as the Close Bond of Brothers in arms are also strong prevelent themes that are put on display in this film.

The Hospitality of Humanity: Without giving too much away, towards the end of the film, where Luttrell ends up shows that even in the darkest, most dangerous corners of the world, there is kindness and hospitality.

Close Bond of Brothers: In spite of minimal characterisation, from the very opening scene, Peter Berg wastes no time in establishing the bonds between Marcus Luttrell and his comrades.
Well into the mission, they are faced with an extremely difficult moral dilemia when it threatens to get compromised
No matter how bad their predicament got, they kept fighting just to protect each other. 

Writer/Director Peter Berg's direction is stylish & hard-hitting, capturing both the intensity of the mission these SEALs were sent on as well as the suspense of the environment they are sent to, he makes it very clear that Marcus Luttrell and his brothers are out in the open with no outside the American government or military, they're very much on there own, one false move and they're virtually done for. He also makes excellent use of close ups on the actors faces to help covey the emotional toll they're going through.
The cinematography is splendid and captures the beauty and the danger of Afghanistan, the action scenes are astonishing; Peter Berg pulls no punches in showing us the brutality and trauma of what these SEALs went through to get out of Afghanistan alive and get home. The production design is terrific, the costumes are excellent ranging from the soldiers gritty uniforms the Afghans tribal robes and add to the films atmosphere. The sound effects are striking - the lack of music in certain scenes adds to the suspense, the score by Steve Jablonsky & Explosions in the Sky is superb, the make is gritty and beautifully detailed, the stunts are jaw-dropping.

The acting is mostly terrific, with this film, Berg avoids characterisation which itself is minimal and focuses on the experience at hand and uses the soldiers as our way into this Operation, there's no front or backstory to any of these soldiers, they are just SEALs, brothers in arms, soldiers sent to serve there country and carry out their mission. However Berg more than makes up for that in the opening by showing us their comradery and offering a glimpse into their lived-in relationships, these scenes are poignant & relatable.
Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster & Emile Hirsch truly sell the comradely and brotherly nature of this dynamic quartet as well as the horrifying circumstances of their situation with each & every glance between them carrying the weight of their life-or-death struggle. Regardless of being severely outnumbered, these soldiers maintain their composure and determination to survive.
As does Eric Bana as the SEAL teams quick reaction force (QRF) commander, Erik S. Kristensen. 

However, Mark Wahlberg steals the show as Marcus Luttrell, giving as a protagonist we can all get behind and want to see make out alive, giving us the same kind of scene stealing presence that Tom Hanks gave us in Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. Marcus Luttrell was a brave man, a man who cared about his brothers and wanted to make it of Afghanistan alive a hero, a "Lone Survivor" with nothing to loose. He kept fighting against seemingly impossible odds to protect his brothers in arms

Lone Survivor is a grueling exercise in War filmmaking, 4.5/5

The Anonymous Critic.