Action scenes that should thrill any war film junkie!

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2014)

'LONE SURVIVOR': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
Peter Berg's new war film, based on the book of the same name by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson. The book is based on Luttrell's real-life experiences as a Navy SEAL during the War in Afghanistan. The movie focuses on a (failed) four-man mission, he was involved in, to capture a Taliban leader named Ahmad Shah. Berg wrote, produced and directed the film (as well as has a cameo in it, like most of his movies) and Mark Wahlberg stars as Luttrell. The film also features Taylor Kitsch (who also worked with Berg in 'BATTLESHIP' and the TV show 'FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS'), Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, Eric Bana and Alexander Ludwig in supporting roles. It's an exciting action movie and a nice tribute to our soldiers; another impressive achievement from Peter Berg (after a slight misstep with 'BATTLESHIP').
The 2007 book 'Lone Survivor' begins with Marcus Luttrell's enlistment (in 1999) and also focuses on his training and deployment to Afghanistan (in 2005). Berg decided the movie should only detail the failed Navy SEAL mission he was involved in, called 'Operation Red Wings', to capture Ahmad Shah (Yousuf Azami), a notorious Taliban leader. In that assignment Luttrell (Wahlberg) was part of a four-man reconnaissance team which also included LT Michael P. Murphy (Kitsch), Danny Dietz (Hirsch) and Matthew Axelson (Foster). In the film the men must take on 50 Taliban soldiers (in reality it was a lot less, some say as little as 8 to 10).
Like most of Berg's movies the film is action-packed for most of it's running time (at least the entire second half) and the war scenes are brutal and violent. They're of course filmed in a very cinematic way but Berg did have multiple war veterans as technical advisors (as he usually does), including Luttrell. The cinematography is beautiful and the acting is all more than adequate. The character development is very minimal and there's not really much of a story but it still drives home it's message of camaraderie and brotherhood. It has a lot of heart and action scenes that should thrill any war film junkie. For fans of Berg or war flicks it shouldn't be missed!
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