Lone Survivor is a true story that starts with real footage,
ends with genuine photos of the real life participants and in the middle has
one of the most realistic, brutal and harrowing shoot outs in cinema history. Like
Saving Private Ryan’s D-Day opening or Black Hawk Down’s visceral carnage filled
last hour, Lone Survivor puts you right in the firing line and rarely lets up.
The title and the opening scene might be spoilers but both
give the film and unbearable tension as we watch four soldiers fight for their
lives on a mountain in Afghanistan. Mark Wahlberg plays the titular lone
survivor Marcus Luttrell who along with his three buddies and fellow Navy SEALS
sets out to capture or kill Taliban commander Ahmad Shah in the ill-fated
Operation Redwing. When Marcus, Mike (Taylor Kitsch), Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and
Matt (Ben Foster) stumble across some goat herders in the mountains, they are
left with the tricky decision; to let them go and face the possibility of them
telling the Taliban their whereabouts or to kill them and complete the mission.
If you can forget the politics for a second, Lone Survivor
is blistering, thrilling, gut-wrenching stuff. Forget whether you think the
Americans should have been messing around in Afghanistan in the first place. Forget
the fact the Americans are given back stories with sweethearts back at home whereas
the Afghans are virtually all nameless, faceless, beheading psychopaths.
Director Peter Berg intercuts the ‘rules of engagement’ with the beheading of
an Afghan who is accused of helping the Americans, eagerly pointing out the
difference between the two sides in this war. He also savours the sight of
American military might gliding gloriously over the barren Afghan mountains.
The weaponry, the helicopters, the training montage from the start of the film,
the gear they carry; it’s almost impossible to envisage the Americans becoming
the underdog at any point in this story.
But underdogs they become. After debating the ethics of
killing or cutting loose their Afghan captives, the shit really hits the fan
and at a very high speed making a real bloody mess. The fact the soldiers have
to argue over what to do with the goat herders shows some of their complete
lack of respect for Afghan life. Luckily their consciences (or the fear of
getting caught and ending up on CNN) get the better of them and they release
the Afghans. Of course with the threat of beheading hanging over their heads
(and possibly a bit of understandable hatred for the Americans), one
immediately runs and tells the Taliban and all hell breaks loose.
The fire fight that ensues is absolutely brutal. Though
their superior weapons with fancy scopes may help, they are hampered by poor
communication and inferior numbers. The Taliban are everywhere and they know
the mountains. They are fearless and ruthless. Bullets fly and injuries are
sustained quickly. These superheroes are outnumbered and outflanked and can
survive bone shattering falls and bullet holes for only so long. Even if you
have little sympathy for Americans invading Afghanistan, it is still horrific
and heart breaking to see what they go through. To top it all off, the end of
the story shows the bravery, selflessness and incredible spirit of some
ordinary Afghan villagers who help Marcus when he is the lone survivor.
It is an incredible true story; powerfully acted and
viscerally directed. I only hope that people will realise who the real heroes
of the story are.
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