We all have bad days at the office.
Lone Survivor is about a bad day at the office for four American Soldiers.
Our bad days involve missed deadlines, traffic jams, and expensive coffee.
Their bad day involved bloodshed.
A lot of bloodshed.
The setting is the rocky mountains of Afghanistan. Our four heroes are on a secret mission to eliminate a notorious irritant from the Taliban. All goes well until the soldiers are faced with a tricky moral dilemma. They make the right choice, and all goes wrong.
Such is war.
What follows is a shootout worthy of a Sam Peckinpah sixteen gun salute. The soldiers become Honey Badgers in cammo. Ouch. Is that a bullet in my shoulder? Let’s fall down these rocks. Look out for that snake. Is that a bone sticking out of my leg? You’re rooting for these guys so hard you forget the name of the movie.
The film has its surprises. As it turns out, war makes strange bedfellows.
Mark Wahlberg is the star, but it’s not like he dominates the film. That’s a good thing. Lone Survivor is about brotherhood. The movie opens with Navy SEALS in training, arms locked, men leaning on men. Wahlberg is simply the highest paid part of the brotherhood.
Word of advice. Stay with the movie. When you think it’s over, it’s not. Lone Survivor is based on a true story. When the dialog over, that’s when you get to know the real life soldiers. They’re just like you and me. They’re married. They’re engaged. They spend time helping their wives pick out new carpet. They select paint for the bathroom. They hug their pets.
And they have bad days at the office.