Intense, brutal and emotional.

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 2014)

I saw the trailer for this film and got excited, knowing finally that there would be a film adaptation for the true story of Operation Red Wings. When I saw that Peter Berg was directing this movie, I had mixed emotions. His directing was great in The Kingdom and Friday Night Lights, but Battleship was a train wreck of a movie. I had read the book of the same name and liked it, and I was really hoping that the movie would be good. It exceeded my expectations. From the start I could tell that it wouldn't be 100% true to the real story, but I don't want to spoil anything more than what the title tells us. There is a somewhat cheesy portrayal of the daily life of the SEALs, but it works. Soon the mission is explained and the four men that the film follows are deployed in Afghanistan on a mission to neutralize an important Taliban leader. Of course things go wrong, and the four men are faced with tough moral and consequential decisions. This is where we start to see the actors in their characters. Mark Wahlberg plays the medic Marcus Luttrell, and he plays this role well. This is easily one of his best performances. Taylor Kitsch plays the team leader Michael P. "Mikey" Murphy. His acting job is not superb but it is good and believable. Ben Foster plays sniper Matthew G. "Axe" Axelson. He stole the show as Charlie Prince in 3:10 To Yuma. He is stern and does a brilliant job as Axelson. Emile Hirsch plays communications expert Danny Dietz. He is good in this role, and although he probably had the least screen time of the four, he is up to par with the rest. They find themselves surrounded by a large number of Taliban fighters. (Estimates vary the force from 10-200.) Any number in that range, these four SEALs are heavily outnumbered. This is where the action begins, and it is gripping. The editing in this 35 minute fight is amazing, every gunshot and explosion is made to be realistic. The fight is very brutal and intense and the audience can feel the sensation of being pinned down by gunfire. When the fight comes to its climax and the bullets start hitting their marks, the film gets emotional. The score, editing, and acting fit well together to make this film an emotional powerhouse. Later we meet Afghan villagers who are "good guys". This element is both true to history and good for the film, showing the viewers that turbans don't always make Taliban. At the end there is a very emotional tribute to the fallen. Overall this film did well to tell us a true story of courage and hit us hard emotionally. 9.5/10.