Lone Survivor

With a story of true-life courage and heroism as its source, and flag-waving patriotism filling every frame, Lone Survivor practically dares moviegoers not to stand up and salute afterward.

Yet while its aspirations are high and its intentions are genuine, the film is a slick and hollow war drama that benefits from some harrowing battle sequences.

The film re-creates the failed June 2005 mission known as Operation Red Wings, which sent a team of four Navy SEALs – Marcus (Mark Wahlberg), Matt (Ben Foster), Mike (Taylor Kitsch) and Danny (Emile Hirsch) – into the Afghan mountains to capture Taliban leader Ahmad Shadh.

However, despite careful planning and execution of the attack, the quartet becomes overwhelmed by a larger group of Taliban rebels, killing the entire team except for Marcus, who must make a daring escape while badly wounded in order to survive.

The script by director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights), based on Marcus Luttrell’s memoir, lacks subtlety and surprise, making little effort to disguise the inevitable fate of its main characters. It also indulges in heavy-handed sentimentality.

Rather than providing context or developing characters, Berg concentrates the bulk of his efforts on staging brutal and bloody depictions of combat that aren’t for the squeamish. The film’s pivotal battle sequence lasts almost 30 minutes, and offers an intimate and intense perspective on battlefield tactics and terminology that doesn’t shy away from graphic violence.

Although we don’t find out much about the characters outside of their knowledge of military procedures and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the cause, the performances convey a convincing camaraderie.

Lone Survivor could have been edgier off the battlefield, yet the second half of the film has a taut, boots-on-the-ground urgency that helps to overcome some early flaws. At least Berg mostly avoids the type of political posturing that often accompanies this subject matter, instead keeping a tight focus on the soldiers and their plight.

It’s possible that other recent films about the Middle East military conflicts of the past decade might have desensitized audiences to a degree, but that doesn’t mean stories like this one should be ignored.

Rated R, 121 minutes.