Review of Lone Survivor (2013) by Dylan D — 15 Mar 2015

Lone Survivor is one of the most emotionally draining films in recent memory, and there could be no higher praise. Even as the title gives away the ending, the film's unrelenting tension and the uncanny manner in which it immerses the audience in the battlefield cannot be understated, nor can the much deeper and more important themes that run through it, that are built on sacrifice and bloodshed and respectfully recreated with, seemingly, as much authenticity as the cinema medium allows.

It's brutal, it's moving, it's sometimes almost impossible to watch, but the core essence and greater purpose both give meaning to the event and celebrate the sacrifices depicted therein. Lone Survivor should be remembered as the definitive film of the war it depicts, much the same way Saving Private Ryan and Platoon are remembered as the defining films of their respective wars.