“I died with a full heart, with my brothers.”
Swift shot: Peter Berg has clearly become one of the better action movie directors out of Hollywood, as Lone Survivor demonstrates in a visceral way, as you feel each and every wound and fracture as you learn the fate of the seemingly cursed Operation Red Wings. While this film is BOATS, (Based On A True Story) and the sheer amount of will to survive defies belief, at no time did I think to myself, oh, come on, that’s bullshit. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the events are all too believable. You feel every death, and because this isn’t some fiction, it really hits hard. The impact is real.
Mark Wahlberg is Marcus Luttrell, a Texas born Frog-man, assigned with his SEAL team to take out Ahmad Shah (Yousuf Azami). Early on in the film we are given a glimpse of the Taliban chief’s evil nature, and the case is made as to why he needs to be terminated. The mission is complex, with a lot of moving parts, perhaps too many, as the title of the film hints – they are doomed.
On the High-Value-Target mission, Ben Foster as Axe, Emile Hirsch as Dietz, and Taylor Kitsch as their commander, Lt. Mike Murphy, insert themselves outside the perimeter of a village swarming with Taliban. High on a mountain ridge, something comes their way that will seal the fate of all but one of them, and leads to the most intense fire-fight sequence ever filmed. Evading RPG attacks, rifle rounds, and even a machine gun trained on them, the SEALs quickly determine that survival is the new mission. Several times they are left with one lethal option over another lethal option. Both options suck.
This film serves as a reminder that we are still engaged in Afghanistan, and we are still losing people, great people, in a region seemingly ruled by chaos. Yet, within the chaos, there is compassion. I like to think that those pockets of civility are worth fighting for, and I hope this film also inspires others to stay in the fight.
[Swift aside – After you see this film, I ask you, honestly, which of the three options would you have chosen?]
