There is a lot to admire in Peter Berg’s brutal military action romp. Driven by a palpable sense of peril that hangs over our heroes as their day goes from bad to worse, Lone Survivor ticks a lot of the right boxes. However, what could have been a slick and expeditious outing from the seasoned director unfortunately gets bogged down by over-the-top messages of American jingoism and, at times, cumbersome pretensions which ultimately hold it back from greatness.
Based on the nonfiction book of the same name and written by the real-life counterpart of Mark Wahlberg's character, Marcus Luttrell , Lone Survivor tells the true story of a failed U.S. Navy SEALs mission, Operation Red Wings, in which a four-man reconnaissance team was sent to track and kill a notorious Taliban leader during the war in Afghanistan. Due to unforeseen circumstances, what initially seems to be a relatively casual surveillance mission carried out from the exotic comfort of an Afghani mountainside gradually unravels into a life-or-death scenario for the four soldiers.
One thing that Berg really seems to succeed in is pacing; at least for the majority of the film. Like The Kingdom, which faced criticism for its nationalistic undertones but was found enjoyable nonetheless, he proves that you don’t have to make an action film that boasts explosive action in every scene. In fact, there is hardly any action at all in the first hour or so of Lone Survivor, and I think that this works in its favour. For the sake of telling a story it is as though we are being acclimatised to this unfamiliar setting - which also features later as a very memorable action set piece - and thus when the action does come we are immersed enough in the environment for it to feel surprising and authentic. The same can be said about the steady development of the four main characters, as well as Eric Bana’s decent mini-role, as when things start to get really hairy we are emotionally invested enough to actually care about which bodies are dropping (on the American side, of course).
This leads onto one of the innate problems with Lone Survivor which is that the Afghani presence is almost squashed out completely of its humanity. Yes, there is the token good-natured Arab that appears to help save the day but this just seems too forced for us to feel comfortable with the overarching theme of vilification, regardless of the character supposedly being based on a real person. This is not to say that Berg is prejudiced, but his unwavering devotion to the upholding of American exceptionalism is so strong that whole cultures are thoughtlessly pigeonholed in the process, and the credibility of Lone Survivor as a tribute to ‘true acts of courage’ suffers as a result. Obviously it’s told from the American perspective so I knew what to expect, but I suppose I was hoping for a little more depth than just the usual good vs. evil propaganda. For example, the Taliban leader, Ahmad Shah (played by Yousuf Azami): pretty early on he is shown to us committing gruesome acts, establishing him as the dead-eyed extremist to root against even before the main narrative has properly started; I don’t know about everyone else but I’m bored of that stereotype.
There is a duality, though, with reference to Lone Survivor’s glamorisation of U.S. armed forces coexisting with its unflinching depiction of violence. You really feel every bullet wound and bruised internal organ - the latter sustained from one of the best mountain-toppling-sequences I’ve seen in a long time, albeit fairly unrealistic - and towards the end some of the injuries we see are truly horrific. This gives the film a darker edge and challenges audiences to question the appeal of on-screen violence more so than your average flag-waving war blockbuster. Having said this, the film could’ve done more with the whole survival instinct theme. Upon hearing the film’s title I immediately thought of Bear Grylls’ brilliant TV series of a similar name, and there were thematic parallels, but by the Wahlberg-centered third act these ideas get wasted and the film becomes a little bloated, not to mention cheesy.
All in all an enjoyable film - the setting and direction of extended action sequences are a highlight - but it suffers from being overlong and for including too many heavy-handed narrative ploys that serve an all-too-questionable agenda.
*Originally published on the Redbrick website, 25 July 2014