Lone Survivor

”Anything in life worth doing is worth overdoing. Moderation is for cowards.” - Patton

release year: 2013
genre: dramatization of real-life events
viewing setting: home DVD, 6/28/14

synopsis: This is the story of the four-man SEAL team that went into Afghanistan in 2005 on a scouting mission and ended up being chased for miles by hundreds of enemies, while fighting back every step of the way against all odds and despite horrific wounds.

impressions: I'm not sure a written review can convey just how powerful this movie is. In the end, it shows four warriors keep going despite multiple wounds (any one of which would have felled a regular person) because that's just what they do. The tragic part is that they ended up in a hopeless battle because they were trying to be humane and spare the lives of locals who might have been innocent, and they did it because they had to worry about rules of engagement and the opinion of the public...a public who couldn't last an hour in the same battlefield where these guys fought on for days, against all odds, after losing fingers and being shot in the leg, chest, and head. If this movie can't get people to appreciate our country's soldiers more, then nothing ever will.

trivia: The training scenes at the beginning are from BUD/S Class 234 which is an excellent documentary.

acting: Mark Wahlberg is the only survivor, and does a good job, but the other guys - Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch, and Emile Hirsch - are just as good if not better. This truly feels like a band of brothers who will do anything for each other. Eric Bana is the SEAL commander back at the base.

final word: Powerful and tragic look at the worst things can get on the battlefield, and how elite soldiers deal with those situations.

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