A Survivor's Tale

Rating: 8/10 (14 January 2014)

Operation Red Wings is a botched attempt at trying to capture/kill the Taliban leader. After letting a group of goat herders go free, the four men on the mission find themselves between a rock and dozens upon dozens of Taliban.
Lone Survivor right off the bat tells you one thing if you are not familiar with the story. Only one of these men survive. I'm putting my money on Marky Mark.
Peter Berg, who helmed the disastrous Battleship, somewhat redeems himself here with a realistic take on a poorly planned Navy Seals operation. Berg uses restraint in some much needed areas, which builds tension. Little to know music, dead silence is used to escalate the fear and it works to great effect. Then he goes an kind of ruins it with some melodramatic music cues at other areas, but for the most part, this is an excellently directed film.
I point to the sequence in which the characters literally throw themselves off a cliff in order to get away from the gunfire. The stunt coordination for them tumbling down the cliff side is some of the most brutal things put to film. How many times have you seem people jump off a cliff side and tumble down the side in a nice choreographed sequence that has them "hurting" a bit once they hit the ground. These guys are thrown around, break bones, cut skin, bleed, cough blood and worse. Watching them being thrown like rag dolls heightens the realism that was needed in Lone Survivor.
The film begins and ends with real footage of the men in the Navy Seals. Berg's nod to patriotism for the film. The dramatic parts are too concerned telling the story of these four fellas fight for survival to be bothered with the American flag waving propaganda. The film is small, intimate and personal.
All four men give great performances. They all have genuine chemistry with each other, which is what is needed for you to root for their survival. You'd think because they're American and the enemy is the Taliban that it would be automatic, but you'd be surprised. Eric Bana has a small role, anyone could have honestly played that part.
The film takes its time to build up to the action sequences, once it hits that note, it never lets up. These men are in the fight for their lives, a fight most of them lose.