Routine Patriotic rabble Rouser

Rating: 4/10 (13 July 2014)

This is a formula Hollywood shoot-em-up, more commonly told in the past as a Western or in Vietnam. As a piece of film making it is fine, but well short of classic status. Its popularity is due to its simplicity- the good guys triumph over the bad guys against overwhelming odds with heroic sacrifices and, ostensibly, having occupied the moral high ground.
The film-makers had the assistance of the American military, and it shows. The hardware, uniforms and operations are authentic, unfortunately the New Mexico location does not double well for Afghanistan, because of the differences in vegetation.
The opening training and team building sequence is pretty much a recruitment advertisement for the American military. There is nothing wrong with that, but it sets a tone which ultimately condemns the final result as routine. The Taleban ( with black turbans) are shown as bad, beheading an informer. The SEALS are shown as good, declining to execute an unarmed goat herding party that stumble upon them with mortal consequences for the group. At the end, villagers sympathetic to the Americans save the day ( wearing white turbans) and the Taleban are ritually routed with some USA shock and awe Apache and fixed wing gunships.
As in any good western, the bad guys die with every shot and are tactically inept, the good guys sustain multiple gunshot and other injuries but fight on. Patriotism, valour and rugged determination are the order of the day, with three good guys dead, but dozens of bad guys wasted to sweeten the pill.
First and foremost this is a piece of patriotic entertainment, and it scores highly as such. But beyond that the American public are cheated of the bigger picture. The Afghan people did nothing to warrant having their country invaded and occupied again ( Saudi Arabia post 9/11 would have been a bit awkward). Locals collaborating with invading forces have never been popular, the Americans themselves were not that impressed having the British on their soil. Are Afghans, unimpressed by having foreign execution squads on their soil, really the bad guys? Furthermore, do local militia, battle hardened by fighting the Russians, on home turf, really make such easy targets?
I have much time for America as a country, and its people. But they do occasionally deserve some war films a little more thought provoking than this.
Director Peter Berg has a distinguished film making record behind him and acquits himself well with the story and action. Although Mark Wahlberg is the eponymous Lone Survivor, he is by no means the star in a well- cast team effort. The action sequences are dynamic and riveting, but the crudely set context lets it down both in terms of the enemy, and the ineffective rescue response. This film is perfect for the "Call of Duty" crowd, but unsatisfying for those hoping for something a little more cerebral.