Review: Lone Survivor
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
[Grade: C-] Once the Taliban goes on the attack, the four SEALs’ suffering is depicted with the flesh-rending fetishism of The Passion of the Christ combined with the snowballing misfortunes of a Coyote/Roadrunner cartoon.
City Paper grade: C-
Peter Berg undoubtedly intended to honor the sacrifices of soldiers fighting in ugly wars by recounting the story of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and his fallen compatriots. But is “honoring” synonymous with “cataloging in minute, gory detail”? Once the Taliban goes on the attack, the four SEALs’ suffering is depicted with the flesh-rending fetishism of The Passion of the Christ combined with the snowballing misfortunes of a Coyote/Roadrunner cartoon. The film’s jingoism is cloaked in a war-is-hell evenhandedness, but the film is apolitical to a fault. The mission’s importance is never broached, let alone that of the war, and hints that the soldiers’ fates might have been different had resources been better allocated are shrugged off in favor of more splatting bullet hits and bone-crunching tumbles down rocky inclines. Mark Wahlberg (as Luttrell), Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster generate a genial camaraderie if not much in the way of individual characters, but Wahlberg devolves increasingly into action-hero mode as his team diminishes. The fist-swinging finale seems especially ridiculous in the context of modern warfare, but by that point the film will have already separated the unabashed flag-wavers from anyone looking for a more nuanced approach.
