Movie Review: Lone Survivor

I hadn’t planned to see this but happy I did.

Lone Survivor depicts a failed U.S. Navy SEALs mission in Afghanistan. Our four main characters are played by Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch from Battleship, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster. All hold their own in their roles. Foster always gives solid performances. He’s an actor you can count on. Hirsch doesn’t bring anything extravagant to the table but he keeps you interested. I felt Kitsch had some potential in Battleship and he proves me right here. Now to Wahlberg. I’m going to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the guy. He’s a guy who seems to play the same role in everything except that it’s not always cool. Sometimes he comes across as too brazen, although some of the roles he takes call for such acting, and originality is hard to pull out when you play the same role every time. When it comes to stereotypical acting, I’m more likely to pull out a Liam Neeson or Jason Statham movie then I am a Wahlberg movie. However, Wahlberg was made for this role and for this movie. This is the character that Wahlberg was born to play. He gives the audience stuff they’ve seen plenty of times but adds some extra spice to the mix with some serious, engaging dialogue and action scenes. The characters are people in this, not expendable action figures where they blow something up and then die. These are human beings with families back home, fighting for a country that believes in values like freedom and that alone is enough reason to fight for them.

This movie is brutal. When I say brutal, I mean that in the utmost sense of the word. This is a war film and director Peter Berg does no sugar-coating with this material. He shows it to you as it is and as it was, never extinguishing the fires of intensity, horror, or pure adrenaline that this film has to offer. At times, it can be hard to watch, watching characters continue to fight despite bullet holes in their bodies, ears half-blown off, fingers totally blown off. It’s not quite to the plateau that Saving Private Ryan reached, but it is up there. They’re not the best action scenes I’ve seen, but when it comes to hardcore realism, it’s high on the ladder.

Once again, if you’re new to my blog,  I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.

 90-100  It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Just Go With It, Real Steel, Miracle, Scrooge, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty)

80-89   It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (Gangster Squad, Elf, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, Poseidon, Iron Man)

70-79   It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too. (The Usual Suspects, 21 Jump Street, Escape Plan, Captain America: The First Avenger, Dawn of the Dead)

60-69   It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (Pacific Rim, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Disaster Movie)

50-59   This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (Along Came Polly, Aliens, Alien Resurrection, Full Metal Jacket, Thor)

40-49   This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Patriot Games, The Great Gatsby, Pitch Black, Alien, Serendipity)

30-39   Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30’s ironically define the 1930’s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb. (The Contract, Pride and Prejudice, Redemption)

20-29   What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (The Sum of All Fears, Thor: The Dark World)

0-19      Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (Midnight Cowboy, Dark Fury, Alien 3)

My score for Lone Survivor: 85.

It’s grotesque and difficult to view, but Berg’s war story feature is one worth watching, one that commemorates the sacrifices our troops made and continue to make today.