A Trademark Wahlberg Movie

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2015)

Last year , while watching "Shooter" on HBO , I realized something quite remarkable about Mark Wahlberg and the movies he stars in- they have a uncanny knack of bearing a striking resemblance to the uni-dimension unapologetic action movies of the 1990's or in short very entertaining.
"Lone Survivor" exhibits all the symptoms which make it a typical Wahlberg fare. To begin with the storyline is quite simple, linear and straightforward. The screenplay is trite and cleanly composed. There is no sub planar text here, nor any sub planar political undertones. It is in all aspects a very conventional war movie with clearly demarcated "good guy" bad guy" "patriot" " enemy" themes. In this respect it is unlike most contemporary cinema.
Much like "Shooter" the movie doesn't beat around the bush a lot no inordinate delays blot the plot. There is a conspicuous absence of subtlety and each character wear his emotions on the sleeve, which would have have been run of the mill in the 90's or 80's but seems refreshingly nostalgic in the emotionally devoid action flicks of the first decade of the new millennium .
Moving on, the action scenes are downright impressive. The camera-work is superb and the sound effects impeccable. The cinematography and action choreography are totally in sync . The scenes do not look dragged out or repetitive, partly due to the plot progression and partly due to the smart usage of the shooting locations by the director.
The cast too does well playing out their respective roles to the best of their abilities. Their task is made easier by the predominance of combat scenes where finesse is not required and also the melodramatic tone of the movie.
There are times when you feel that that movie is duplicating scenes from older movies in the genre with stereotypical themes and ricocheted scenes appearing , but they don't hurt the overall experience.
I am giving the movie 7 , but this is the kind of 7 which signifies a decent , entertaining Mark Wahlberg Action Thriller.