This purports to be a true story about a group of Navy Seals during Operation Red Wings where they were tasked with finding a Taliban leader in Afghanistan. Things don't go all that great, let's just say that. The fact that the movie is called Lone Survivor might give you a hint that many people will die in the progression of the film.
Marky Mark plays a more serious version of the exact same guy he was in Three Kings. It's okay, as I really liked Three Kings, and this character is a good and reliable one. Mark plays it well, as he is really just in there with a fairly good ensemble cast, we don't get a whole lot from any single actor.
Once I saw Eric Bana in the movie, I kind of expected to see a lot of Eric Bana. When you spring for the big name, you tend to use the big name to excess, but Eric actually has a relatively small part in the movie, which works out okay.
The fact is, all of the guys in here did a great job with their respective roles. I honestly can't fault a single one of them. Hell, even the Taliban guys and the locals pulled off very convincing performances along with the little kids who pretty much did little more than stare blankly while the soldiers debated killing everyone.
The story is quite compelling, and it includes a bit more than the simple good vs bad storyline that you would expect. I figured going in that we would see a lot of pro-US, anti-Afghan stuff, but it managed to stay on the right side of believable and more complex than it at first appears.
The way the movie starts, with a documentary-style montage of Navy Seals (aka Frogmen) going through training with one after the other washing out after the clearly horrifically bad treatment and difficult tasks that come with encouragement like, "Now we're going to show you what it's like not to breathe!"
The acting was very good
Effects were very good
Directing was great
Cinematography was great
Story was compelling
4.75/5