I am a fan of war-themed movies. I try not to miss it in cinemas. Recently, I watched a really good one and it was based on a true story. The film takes place during the United States and Taliban war in Afghanistan a few years ago and is based on the book written by United States Navy SEALS officer Marcus Luttrell.
The film is titled Lone Survivor and based on the book of the same name. It is directed by Peter Berg (Battleship, Hancock, The Kingdom) and features a star-studded cast. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster, and Eric Bana. The screenplay is written by Berg and distributed by Universal Pictures.
Will writer and director Peter Berg do justice to true story? Do read on...
L-R: Taylor Kitsch, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, and Emile Hirsch
Four highly trained Navy SEALS based in Afghanistan are given a secret mission to assassinate a top Taliban senior official. During their mission, the group is constantly troubled by communication problems with their headquarters. By chance, the group encounter some Taliban residents and things turn for the worst.
SCRIPT:
Pretty good and straight forward. Well structured. The film could have been better off a little bit without too much technical military jargon. High praises for small comedy moments to break the tension of its serios subject.
ACTING:
Wahlberg, Kitsch, Hirsch, and Foster played their roles well. They gave intense and solid performance as military men. The focus is more on Wahlberg since he is portraying Marcus Luttrell, the individual who wrote the book in which the film is based upon. The four actors functioned well as a team.
FILMING:
Director Peter Berg brings his usual 'shaky-cam' and 'hand-held' camera style to this. A little overdone at some moments but does not take away from the focus of the story. Good editing with fast cuts that made it exciting. As of this posting, the film has been nominated for two Oscars; Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing for the 86th Academy Awards. High praises to the stunts where most of the action look realistic. Lots of audience reaction in the cinema. Kudos also to the make-up on the film which brought authenticity and made the audience cringed.
Wahlberg, Kitsch, Hirsch, and Foster played their roles well. They gave intense and solid performance as military men. The focus is more on Wahlberg since he is portraying Marcus Luttrell, the individual who wrote the book in which the film is based upon. The four actors functioned well as a team.
FILMING:
Director Peter Berg brings his usual 'shaky-cam' and 'hand-held' camera style to this. A little overdone at some moments but does not take away from the focus of the story. Good editing with fast cuts that made it exciting. As of this posting, the film has been nominated for two Oscars; Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing for the 86th Academy Awards. High praises to the stunts where most of the action look realistic. Lots of audience reaction in the cinema. Kudos also to the make-up on the film which brought authenticity and made the audience cringed.
Navy SEALs under seige from the enemy.
Reasonably well. Not too fast and not too draggy. For a movie that is almost two hours, the pacing is good.
TONE (MOOD):
Survival and battle in a situation where death is almost imminent.
DOWNSIDE:
Military style film may not suit some people. The violence and blood might scare some too.
UPSIDE:
TONE (MOOD):
Survival and battle in a situation where death is almost imminent.
DOWNSIDE:
Military style film may not suit some people. The violence and blood might scare some too.
UPSIDE:
Action and drama with lots of almost realistic gun battles.
OVERALL:
L-R: Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, and Mark Wahlberg in a scene from the film.
It is a pretty good film. It is not among the best war-themed films but certainly worth a watch.
RATING:
8 out 10
Good review Feris. The movie focuses more on the soldiers involved with this travesty, more so than the actual war it took place in, which I think was a smart, and respectable move on Berg's part. A lot better than what I expected him to do, after some of the crap that he's put-out in the past.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment.
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