A four-man US Navy Seals team tasked with tracking and eliminating Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, encounter a small group of locals by chance. Facing a dilemma of either executing the locals or allowing them to go free thereby compromising the Operation, they choose the morally right option and that gets them in a spot of bother.
Language:
English
Running Time:
121 mins
Rating:
R
Release date:
10 January 2014
Directed by:
Peter Berg
Produced by:
Peter Berg
Sarah Aubrey
Norton Herrick
Barry Spikings
Akiva Goldsman
Randall Emmett
Written by:
Peter Berg
Based on:
Lone Survivor by
Marcus Luttrell
and Patrick Robinson
Starring:
Mark Wahlberg
Taylor Kitsch
Emile Hirsch
Ben Foster
Eric Bana
Music by:
Explosions in the Sky
Steve Jablonsky
Shot by:
Tobias Schliessler
Editing by:
Colby Parker Jr.
Distributed by:
Universal Pictures

What’s Hot

  • Mark Wahlberg, as Marcus performs brilliantly as the Navy Seals corpsman. Some of the stunts and the emotions displayed by him under severe distress are outstanding. Hats off to him for producing this venture and giving equal scope for all his Navy Seals team mates in the film.
  • The supporting characters such as the Team lead Murph, Communications specialist Danny and sniper Axe are also terrific and their realistic acting gives the film a big push. The Afghan villagers and the men from Taliban score with their expressive eyes. Sammy Sheik who plays Taraq, a commander from the Taliban group, is menacing.
  • A significant chunk of the film is dedicated to non-stop brutal shooting between the Taliban and the Navy Seals. They are so well choreographed that we do not feel bored even for one minute in spite of the incessant gun shots and blood splatter. The crisp sound design adding to the slow- motion shots makes us cringe and feel for the soldiers as they tumble down the mountains.
  • The adaptation of the screenplay from the book of the same name, by the director Peter Berg is exemplary with the uncomplicated dialogues raising the film’s engagement quotient. The technical department has been well marshalled by the director in making the film authentic, with the locations, editing, costumes and production design working cohesively to deliver a great product.

What’s Not

  • The film chronicles the operation alone and does not delve into the deeper into the foreground or the aftermath of the mission. The fact that we know nothing about the soldiers’ lives or characters does leave a hole.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

Lone Survivor delivers the message of courage and sacrifice of the Navy Seals soldiers impressively without probing into the issues surrounding the mission.