A Brutal and Modern Take on Warfare!

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2015)

Lone Survivor is an excellent movie and is one of the better war movies to be released this century. The movie has themes of survival and heroism as well as the Navy SEALS protecting their brother-in-arms at all costs, down to the final death. I liked the opening of the film where it shows a montage on just how tough training is and if you can complete training, you can do anything. The film also made me angry in regards to this failed mission. Communication was the key here and the movie made note that the army's communication systems may be faulty thus resulting in a failed mission.
Peter Berg's film is about a mission, where four Navy SEALS led by Marcus Lutterel are tasked to capture or kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. However they are led into an ambush where the four men are pitted in the ultimate battle, on the precarious mountain ranges in Afghanistan, against the better-armed Taliban army.
The film was well-acted as everyone got a piece of the puzzle. Mark Wahlberg was outstanding as the one of the leaders of the four men and he actually had a few tear-worthy scenes. Ben Foster had another standout performance as Axelson. Taylor Kitsch does a great job as Mike Murphy and under the bulk, Emile Hirsch likewise did a great job as Danny Dietz. Finally, Eric Bana is forever reliable as Commander Kristensen.
Overall, Lone Survivor is a great war film and a powerful one at that. The movie focused mainly on the character development between the SEALS, so don't expect to get to really know any of the Taliban that well. The film has lots of action and because of the odds stacked against the SEALS, it made for a very tense watch. The movie is an unflinching, brutal take on warfare and is also very realistic. A sad, but an ultimately powerful film. I rate this film 9.5/10.