Lone Survivor
Rent & Buy
Add-on
+Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.
What critics thought
Peter Berg's recreation of Operation Red Wings earns genuine respect for its sustained, physically punishing combat filmmaking, but critics were divided on whether visceral intensity is enough — many felt the film never takes the time to make its characters into people before putting them through hell, and its relationship to the politics of the Afghanistan war remains deliberately, frustratingly arm's-length.
“the most grueling and sustained American combat picture since Black Hawk Down, as well as a prime example of how impressive physical filmmaking can overcome even fundamental deficiencies in script and characterization”
Justin Chang·Variety
“The sensation of being pinned down and shot apart is so harrowingly conveyed ... that one almost forgives the movie's failure to be quite as persuasive in almost every other respect.”
Geoff Pevere·The Globe and Mail
“This is the sort of bare-bones story that well served plenty of World War II movies once, and it would work here, if Berg had the sense to develop these men as characters, first. But we don't really get to know any of them, or what they might bring personally to this life-or-death emergency.”
Stephen Whitty·The Star-Ledger
“What's in between amounts to The Passion of the Christ for U.S. servicemen: a bloody historic episode recounted mainly in images of hardy young men being ripped apart, at screeching volume.”
Steven Boone·RogerEbert.com
“The film never makes a grand statement about whether or not the war in Afghanistan is, per se, a mistake, but it does portray war itself as a disgusting folly. Berg sets up the cathartic moments we're used to in movies like this, but then he pulls out the rug, reminding us that the cavalry doesn't always miraculously show up in time to save the day.”
Alonso Duralde·The Wrap
Accolades
Genres
Action, Biography, Drama
Cast & Crew
Peter BergDirector
Mark WahlbergPetty Officer First Class Marcus Luttrell
Taylor KitschLieutenant Michael "Mike" Murphy
Emile HirschPetty Officer Second Class Danny Dietz
Ben FosterPetty Officer Second Class Matthew "Axe" Axelson
Eric BanaLieutenant Commander Erik Kristensen
Ali SulimanMohammad Gulab
Alexander LudwigPetty Officer Second Class Shane Patton
Jerry FerraraHasslert
Scott ElrodQRF SEAL
Josh BerryCommunication SEAL
Yousuf AzamiShah
Sammy SheikTaraq
Steve JablonskyComposer
Tobias A. SchliesslerCinematographyLone Survivor
Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.
What critics thought
Peter Berg's recreation of Operation Red Wings earns genuine respect for its sustained, physically punishing combat filmmaking, but critics were divided on whether visceral intensity is enough — many felt the film never takes the time to make its characters into people before putting them through hell, and its relationship to the politics of the Afghanistan war remains deliberately, frustratingly arm's-length.
“the most grueling and sustained American combat picture since Black Hawk Down, as well as a prime example of how impressive physical filmmaking can overcome even fundamental deficiencies in script and characterization”
Justin Chang·Variety
“The sensation of being pinned down and shot apart is so harrowingly conveyed ... that one almost forgives the movie's failure to be quite as persuasive in almost every other respect.”
Geoff Pevere·The Globe and Mail
“This is the sort of bare-bones story that well served plenty of World War II movies once, and it would work here, if Berg had the sense to develop these men as characters, first. But we don't really get to know any of them, or what they might bring personally to this life-or-death emergency.”
Stephen Whitty·The Star-Ledger
“What's in between amounts to The Passion of the Christ for U.S. servicemen: a bloody historic episode recounted mainly in images of hardy young men being ripped apart, at screeching volume.”
Steven Boone·RogerEbert.com
“The film never makes a grand statement about whether or not the war in Afghanistan is, per se, a mistake, but it does portray war itself as a disgusting folly. Berg sets up the cathartic moments we're used to in movies like this, but then he pulls out the rug, reminding us that the cavalry doesn't always miraculously show up in time to save the day.”
Alonso Duralde·The Wrap
Accolades
Genres
Action, Biography, Drama
Cast & Crew
Peter BergDirectorMark WahlbergPetty Officer First Class Marcus LuttrellTaylor KitschLieutenant Michael "Mike" MurphyEmile HirschPetty Officer Second Class Danny DietzBen FosterPetty Officer Second Class Matthew "Axe" AxelsonEric BanaLieutenant Commander Erik KristensenAli SulimanMohammad GulabAlexander LudwigPetty Officer Second Class Shane PattonJerry FerraraHasslertScott ElrodQRF SEALJosh BerryCommunication SEALYousuf AzamiShahSammy SheikTaraqSteve JablonskyComposerTobias A. SchliesslerCinematographyRent & Buy
Add-on
+