Review of Lone Survivor (2013) by Chris O — 16 Jun 2016

A story of true courage, "Lone Survivor" is a beautifully crafted and gritty war film that will leave you stunned.

The true story of four Navy Seals who embark on a mission to infiltrate and eliminate a high valued Taliban target. However, when their op is compromised, they are left with a moral dilemma which will put them in the most bloodiest firefight of their lives.

To start out, this may be one of my most favorite war films out there. It's so gritty and realistic in so many ways and it's definitely not for the faint of heart. The cinematography looks amazing and the visuals are so realistic that it can be disturbing on multiple occasions. This is an amazing tribute to the men who went through this and it also opens up new perspectives to its audiences. This is an overlooked and underrated war film that deserves a lot of praise.

First off, the cinematography was actually really gorgeous. The landscapes and the scenery all added to the film and it just helped put you in this certain state of mind that would help you fall into the movie. Everything from the visuals to the firefights looked completely phenomenal. Whenever the fighting went down, there wasn't a whole bunch of music blaring or firework explosions everywhere (cough, cough, Michael Bay) but rather, blood was being spilled and men were getting shot. It was real and it was gritty and it will cause some people to look away from the screen in shock. In my opinion, that is the best way to pay tribute to what these men suffered and it makes for some grueling minutes.

Although they often struggle with character development, I personally found myself attached to the characters. This is one of those films where if you watch it multiple times, you find yourself growing attached to the characters at hand. However, for first time viewers, they won't be able to develop much relation to the characters on screen, which creates a problem when their lives are in peril. It makes an attempt at character development, however, it just falls short. Still, realizing what these men went through and watching their pictures come up on screen at the end is enough for me to respect what they went through and I wish nothing but the best for the real people involved in this situation.

I also praise the director and the talent in this film. There was a clear, unified vision here and everyone knew the story that needed to be told. You could see exactly how the director wanted to shoot and tell the story and I love seeing that clear goal in mind. The actors here also brought out the realism, which is something most of us will take for granted. None of them will win an Oscar by any means, but they all fulfilled their roles well and I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to create the film.

Besides the breathtaking firefights and the beautiful cinematography, my favorite thing about the movie was the fact that they added a whole new perspective to the war genre. It's easy to make a war film showing the sides of the Americans and how we're completely good and always right in a patriotic manner, but it's another thing to sympathize with people on the other side. With terrorist groups like the Taliban, their reign of terror is so large that it creates this one central image in the eyes of the public, only fueling racism and hate even more. However, this film showed that most people living on that side of the world want nothing to do with these terrorists and will fight against them. That was showed in this movie and it's so amazing to see that. It shows you that the terrorists are one small part of a large nation and that there are many great people over there. It's proof as to why people shouldn't discriminate or hate against other races.

In the end, I truly loved this movie and it becomes a better experience each time I watch it. I recommend this movie to any war fans and I promise that you'll love it.