Solid, Doesn't Set its Sights High Enough to be Great

Rating: Null/10 (9 January 2014)

There are some great moments to be found in Lone Survivor, but don't be mistaken: this is not of the same quality as recent war movies such as Zero Dark Thirty or The Hurt Locker. It's a solid action movie that doesn't try to play in the big leagues. Lone Survivor is an ideal candidate for the newly created Critic's Choice Award category "Best Action Movie," a category created to honor finely made films that were not worthy of a shot at Best Picture (Lone Survivor is actually nominated for this award, too). The sound design is crafty and is the aspect that creates the most suspense. I great prefer the scenes of Act 1 and 2 compared to 3, the beginning scenes explained what was happening mark-by-mark and told a simple story. Act 3 relies on Mark Walhberg's attempts at creating a character outside his "The Fighter" comfort zone. A pivotal moment occurs when the four main characters put their morality to the test. Any film that has their characters question morality deserves at least a chance.
Grade: B
Rating: 6.5