Directed by:
Peter BergScreenplay:
Peter BergCinematography:
Tobias A. SchliesslerCast:
Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana, Ali Suliman, Alexander Ludwig, Sammy Sheik, Scott Elrod, Rohan Chand, Marcus Luttrell (more)VOD (1)
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LONE SURVIVOR tells the incredible tale of four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative who are ambushed by the enemy in the mountains of Afghanistan. Faced with an impossible moral decision, the small band is isolated from help and surrounded by a much larger force of Taliban ready for war. As they confront unthinkable odds together, the four men find reserves of strength and resilience as they stay in the fight to the finish. (official distributor synopsis)
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An absolutely captivating war movie about how a group of four Terminators disguised as SEALs go on a high-altitude trek through Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and how the awfully evil Taliban (hereafter AET) really don’t like it, so they try to persuade the awfully nice Americans (hereafter ANA) to go to the happy hunting ground using their ample arsenal. The film opens with scenes of a peaceful life at the American military base where the Marines are planning weddings, making a shopping list for IKEA, and conferring with their fellow soldiers about interior design. This friendly scene is soon followed by the aforementioned trekking, which, after an action-packed encounter with a herd of goats, turns into the AET's repeated attempts to take out all four Terminators. They survive insane falls, being hit by projectiles from various firearms (mainly AK 47s and RPGs), and, since the AET don't have Linda Hamilton or Michael Biehn in their ranks, they take an awfully long time. Plus, they get betrayed by the residents of a nearby village, so their plan turns to dust. When the helicopters arrived, I wished I were an American so I could proudly stand at attention and shed tears with my hand on my heart.
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Berg serves us with cool action in another bungled Navy Seals raid in Afghanistan. Because it’s based on real events makes the movie that more powerful. Especially the number of hits the heroes take before they really expire. The fairly realistic treatment then slips into Bay-isms, but that doesn’t bother me so much, it’s just that Lone Survivor doesn’t turn out so naturalistic. The cast is excellent, especially Kitsch and Foster are outstanding.
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The introduction is OK. The middle – and longest – survival part of the film is stunning, visually well-arranged and efficiently conveyed, with several chillingly brutal scenes. The climax is ridiculously simplistic political propaganda for the average US viewer. Overall, Lone Survivor is good film for relaxation, but it will sink into oblivion as fast as all of Peter Berg’s action flicks.
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A not very sophisticated war movie that disgusted me in the first half with the awful black and white view of the world by the Americans, for whom anyone wearing a turban is a dangerous enemy. Fortunately, things get better in the third act, which gets its feet back on the ground in this regard. Even with all the whistling, the survival-combat part was pretty good fun.
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Following Gravity and All Is Lost (and, to some extent, Captain Phillips), Lone Survivor is another high-contact fight for survival, placing vicarious experience over a complicated plot. Instead of examining the film’s content, it suffices to read the title. With the exception of the introductory panoramas of the picturesque Afghan landscape (which can be understood as part of an effort to not demonise the whole country, but only the Taliban…though the film was shot in New Mexico), Berg relies predominantly on point-of-view shots and close-ups. The camera’s close proximity to the characters occasionally results in a lack of clarity, though it also adds an unpleasant veracity. The impression of rawness is aided by the film’s R rating, thanks to which we can “enjoy” every shot-off finger and every bone-breaking impact on a rock. The film’s long, superbly intensified action core with minimum pathos is unfortunately put in a context that is not very sophisticated. After a broad introduction, the members of the team blend together, the Taliban are evil because they cut off heads, and any indication of the current American military’s inadequacies is quickly suppressed (the unpleasant hazing of a new recruit rapidly transmutes into an inspiring rhyme). In contrast to what we have witnessed (a fatally botched mission) and what in places had a refreshing tinge of ambivalence (the argument about what to do with a captured enemy combatant), the film ends with the cheap pre-credits glorification of the soldiers involved. – SPOILER: With most of them, it’s impossible to avoid the not-insignificant feeling that we are supposed to consider them heroes simply because they didn’t die. END SPOILER – After All is Lost, where I was bothered by the lack of value added, I wouldn’t have expected that I would write this, but this time I would have preferred a pure survival flick without any information aimed at bringing depth to the story. 65%
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