LONE SURVIVOR REVIEW

LONE SURVIVOR REVIEW

'Lone Survivor' tells the true tale of Operation Red Wing and the Navy Seals sent on the mission in 2005. Four Navy Seals were sent into Afghanistan in hostile enemy territory with the objective to take out a Taliban commander.  In the course of the mission, the Seals encounter Afghan children, compromising the operation.  They make the choice to let the boys go and high tail it out of the area.  In that process, these men are pinned down for days, out manned and out gunned fighting the Taliban.

This film stars Mark Wahlberg as Marcus Luttrell, Taylor Kitsch as Mike Murphy, Emile Hursh as Danny Dietz and Ben Foster as Matt Axelson.  These characters often refer to each other as brother and I felt that these men all felt like a tight knit group who had each other's backs, no matter what the cost.

Peter Berg wrote the screenplay for the film, which was based on Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson's book.  The script is great and we bond with these men before and after they go through a barrage of assaults from the enemy.

Peter Berg's is direction is some of the best I've seen all year.  He did a phenomenal job with 'Lone Survivor'.  The film doesn't feel gratuitous but it is brutal and very real.  It felt very similar to 'Saving Private Ryan' in that sense.  'Lone Survivor' is a war film grounded in reality that doesn't take political sides.  The film just throws us into what we can only imagine this battle must have been like. 

One of the best things I can say about 'Lone Survivor' is this, every time someone fell, tripped or got hit, I felt it.  Not literally but about as close as it gets.  This film is so real and raw that watching it almost hurts.  That is a testament to the acting, direction and screenwriting. 'Lone Survivor' is a superb film on every level.  The film is a serious Oscar contender and one of the best of 2013.

5/5

- George McCann