Lone Survivor Review: Patriotic
Lone Survivor is a true story about four Navy Seals who were on a reconnaissance mission in Afghanistan. While setting up camp in the mountains above a town, three villagers stumble upon the team and blow their cover. Due to the rugged turain communications with their base was poor and they ultimately had a difficult decision to make. Do they eliminate the villagers so they can keep their presence a secret or let them go and try to return to base before being found by an army of enemy combatants.
Lone Survivor shows the choices that these soldiers had to make that unfortunately put them in a dire situation where they were overrun by Taliban soldiers. It also shows how brave and tough our Navy Seals are, and the type of conditions they have to endure to make sure they survive. It’s truly remarkable what these guys go through, and Lone Survivor does an incredible job of capturing these moments. These guys endure multiple gunshot wounds, explosive shrapnel wounds, and throw themselves off a rocky cliff multiple times to get away from the approaching enemy.
Since it’s a story where three Seals lost their lives, director Paul Berg and each one of the actors portraying these soldiers made sure to do their homework. In order to demonstrate the utmost respect, a concerted effort was made to get everything right in the film. The director and actors met with the families to learn more about who these fallen heroes really were, so they could better understand them and ensure that they accurately honored their memories. The special features on the Blu-ray really are fantastic to watch and provided significant insight and information on the filming process. Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor of this incident, was also featured throughout the special features and makes them well worth watching.
The movie also taught me more about the situation that I was unaware of. For example, I didn’t realize that two helicopters arrived at their location with reinforcements but one was shot down before they could land. This forced the other to retreat the landing zone because it was too hot with enemy fire. As a result Marcus Luttrell actually had to survive on his own for a time until he eventually came across nearby villagers who decided to help him.
It was very interesting to see these villagers take Luttrell in and help him. They were even willing to fight the Taliban to save his life. This was due to the fact that these villagers live by a life code known as Pashtunwali, which promotes the principals of self-respect, love, hospitality, and tolerance toward everyone, including strangers and guests, such as Luttrell. As a result these villagers were able to fend off the Taliban until American forces were able to rescue Lutrell.
Lone Survivor really is an incredible story that everyone needs to know. The directing and acting in the movie is great. And like I said, don’t pass up on the special features.
Score: A
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