A Great Movie, but read the book!

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2014)

This is a fantastic movie and is as honest to the true-life accounts in the book as you can expect from Hollywood. The protracted battle sequences were as accurate as any you will see on screen and recreated the events almost exactly as described by Luttrell. The movie was able to only barely touch on the relationship that Luttrell developed with his protectors in the village of Sabray – especially with the children. The book provided an eye-opening description of lokhay warkawal and how that steadfast philosophy saved the life of the grievously wounded SEAL.
It would be entirely too much to ask Berg to consolidate a six-day event into a two-hour movie without considerable artistic license. My only criticism is with the ending. The very dramatic, highly explosive rescue of Luttrell from his sanctuary was completely different from the events described in great detail in the book. And, frankly, I think this Hollywood ending is a disservice to Luttrell and his exceptionally brave saviors. The nearly superhuman strength and endurance displayed by Luttrell and the fierce bravery and loyalty on the part of the humble villagers is a much better (and more accurate) end to the story than was portrayed in the film.
My final critique gets me accused of nit-picking by my wife. The depiction of Marcus Luttrell on the very verge of death was not accurate. He was beat to heck and seriously ill, but in reality Luttrell summoned his final reserve of strength and walked down the ramp of the aircraft when it landed at the base. He did not suffer cardiac arrest and require the standard overly-dramatic Hollywood defibrillation sequence. And in a movie that went to great lengths to get the smallest detail right I was troubled to see a standard Hollywood blunder. They had a non-rebreather oxygen mask on the face of Mark Wahlberg with the reservoir bag completely sucked dry. That bag needs to be full of life-giving oxygen otherwise it does nothing more than suffocate the patient on his own carbon dioxide. Lots and lots of medical types shake their heads in disappointment at this distraction from the authenticity of a film.
This movie did an excellent job of consolidating a very complex real-life story into a two-hour flick. And while some may accuse the Producers of jingoism, I for one am pleased and proud to see this depiction of American exceptionalism in an era when we need a national morale boost. The movie was great, the book is amazing!