Saturday, February 1, 2014

Lone Survivor (2013) SHORT REVIEW


In late June of 2005, in the midst of the war in Afghanistan, the United States Navy SEALs began ‘Operation Red Wings’ in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. Their goal was to capture and kill Ahmad Shah, the leader of a group of fighters in the area who had pledged his allegiance to the Taliban. Four Navy SEALs were sent in to carry out this mission, but by the time the operation had ended only one of them, Marcus Luttrell, came back alive while the other three members of his squad, along with 8 other SEALs and 8 members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment lost their lives. Their story was initially told in a 2007 book, ‘Lone Survivor’, which was written by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robertson. In 2013, that story was translated to film by director Peter Berg under the same name.

The film itself is very intense, right from the moment the SEALs are first attacked by Shah’s men. Two scenes where they fall down hills are especially brutal. But at the same time, the film benefits from the fact that everyone involved in the production clearly had the upmost respect for those who had lost their lives that day. This is easily one of Peter Berg’s best directorial efforts and Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster all do terrific jobs in the four lead roles. Their camaraderie is exceptional and you really see how they are like ‘a brotherhood’. Now, if I do have one complaint, it is that I feel like there could have been a few more scenes between the four men so that their characters could develop more. And for the record, I’m not referring to the actual four men and the performances of the cast. I’m just saying that the action does takes up the bulk of the film and I wish that there could’ve been just a few more moments amongst the characters so we could get to know them more. Again, this is just from a film perspective, not in regards to the actual events that took place during the Operation and the men who did lose their lives during it. Even with that in mind, ‘Lone Survivor’ is a very well-made war film.
Rating: 4.5/5

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