Lone Survivor!!!!

Lone Survivor.

Before I even watched this film I kind of knew what would happen, hence the title of the film gives away what the final outcome will be. With this aside I went into the film with interest after seeing Kathryn Bigelow's intense yet seriously impressive Zero Dark Thirty I was expecting something on the same scale. 

Real footage of Navy Seal recruits going through the gruelling training to become a Seal is shown on screen, from laying in cold water side by side to running through mud it is all shown. With the ringing of a bell and a helmet placed on the floor the list of people deciding to leave the training is piled up as finally only a few men make it through to the end and become full fledge Navy Seal's.

Fast track to the present and you see the various characters getting up and going about their usual duties at the camp in Afghanistan. Being part of Seal Team 10's quick reaction force they are all on call, a new mission is set by Lieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen (Eric Bana) to track the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah who is responsible for the death of many marines. The four man team sent in consists of medical corpsman and sniper Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), on ground leader Lieutenant Michael P. "Murph" Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), communications Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and sonar technician and sniper Matthew "Axe" Axelson (Ben Foster).

Sent into the mountains they observe and track Ahmad Shah but realise that he is not alone and has a potential small army at his disposal. As some goat herders accidentally stumble upon the four Navy Seal's they have to decide what to do next, leave them tied up, kill them or set them free and say the mission is compromised. 

As they decide to set them free and head up the hillside to be picked up they are soon in the sights of the Taliban and under some serious fire. Using their skills and what they do best they shoot their way out but get into some difficulties causing them to make some dangerous decisions. Shot up and wounded they jump off of cliff ledges and franticly try to survive the attack while trying to call for backup but with no luck.

As each man tumbles down the cliff face and hills hitting every rock and tree on the way down you can do nothing but feel all of them as you hear the cracks. With each gunshot wound you see them suffer and limp around trying to stay alive while still hitting every target. It has to be said the gun fights in the film are impressive and we have not seen footage this intense and on point since Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down.

The film itself does give away the ending just by reading the title of the film but what happens in between is what will get you hooked. You feel every cut, scrape and gunshot wound and you really do root for them and hope that they come out alive but obviously you know that is not the case. With no real backstory of the four men it leaves you floating and not knowing how you truly feel about the people you see on screen. 

One let down for me is the footage of Navy Seal training as it felt like the start of a Navy Seal recruitment video that a young wannabe recruit would have to watch. The whole film felt like a massive advertisement for what to except when you join up and also what to expect when it comes to fighting within the field itself. A nice and respective sombre moment obviously comes at the end with a four to five minute rememberance slideshow of the men who were lost as part of the four man operation. 

An all round impressive film that shows a true story taking place but for me just felt a little bit too distant at times and too propaganderish at the same time.

7/10.