Very Good: 8.0

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2019)

Peter Berg has an unsteady track record, to say the least. Having directed such masterpieces as Hancock and Battleship, I wasn't exactly bursting with confidence when I saw his name on the bottom of the poster. As it turns out, I needn't have worried. Though Lone Survivor is unquestionably heavy-handed in its message and storytelling, it is also an emotional, visceral look into one of the U.S. military's most infamously botched operations. As you could probably tell from the title, only one of the four members of SEAL Team 10 is left standing by the end. But in the time I saw them, it was a bit too difficult to really care about them. Sure, each one had their own charm, but none of them (even Mark Wahlberg's character) really felt like people; just weapons that happened to misfire in the wrong place and at the wrong time. For what it's worth, however, the film is well-written, and the final fifty minutes are nothing short of spectacular. Just don't walk in expecting Saving Private Ryan.