The best thing, worst thing, and main thing about the true life military action flick “Lone Survivor” in about the time it takes to watch the trailer. Hit the comments with your “Best Ever” thoughts and guesses!
REVIEW TEXT:
I don’t pretend to have any knowledge of morality in war, but I know honor when I see it.
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“Lone Survivor” stars Mark Wahlberg and Taylor Kitsch as a part of a four man unit sent into Afghanistan on a risky mission and what happens when it all starts to go awry. The film is based on the true story of these four Navy Seals and sheds an extremely graphic light of what modern combat can sometimes entail. And as difficult as it is to see, it’s incredibly powerful.
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A lot of this has to do with how much we care about these men. The movie does an amazing job at building up the characters at the start of the movie without taking up too much time in doing it. By the time they head on mission we feel as if we are one of them, even though I couldn’t do a pull up to save my life. I mean, you just feel like you’re in it with these guys and you know they are in it with each other. There’s just something about the camaraderie of the military that is stunning in its dedication and sacrifice. I loved it. I also loved the beauty of the Afghan environment and the way it was filmed, almost becoming its own character. Both beautiful and dangerous, it was hard not to be in awe of the setting. I think it’s also important to give props to these acting performances, especially Wahlberg and Kitsch. I was skeptical when I heard Wahlberg’s name being thrown around for awards consideration, but after seeing the movie, I get it. There’s a nuance to this role that is difficult to pull off, but he really does find the sweet spot between hardened military man and complex human being. But the best thing for me was the power of choice. There is a crucial moment early on where these men are faced with a choice and to watch them decide what to do is humbling and replete with moral drama. And they aren’t the only ones, there are choices made by some local Afghanee residents that are pretty stunning as well, and the honor shown on both sides is truly praiseworthy amidst some very real consequences.
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And the movie doesn’t shy away from those consequences. This is a no holds barred war movie. In order to give the full effect of these choices the creators made the decision to not shy away from the gruesome violence involved. This is not a movie for the squeamish. I’ll go ahead and call it my worst thing, but honestly I’m not sure it was really a bad choice, because it powerfully brings home the reality of what these men went through. Still its very hard to watch.
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At the end of the day, Lone Survivor is an eye opening tale that makes it difficult to keep your eyes open. It’s an incredible true story told with precision and honor and even if the horrors of war are a bit hard to take it’s still worthy of an A-.
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