Demoralizing
Hagel Promises More Military Pay, Benefits Cuts
Posted on 01/20/2014 1:37:20 PM PST by LS
If you have read the book Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson, you might come to the film prepared to see at least an hour's worth of SEAL training. After all, the book devotes considerable space to the rigor of the preparation, but this is all handled in the opening credits in the movie "Lone Survivor." (I have used Lone Survivor in my classes as a required reading since it came out, and it is now good to have a movie version.)
The movie is faithful to the book in most cases, although you'd swear that they threw in a couple of extra mountain slopes for the Redwing team to roll down (the extras did these stunts themselves, and did not use dummies. One stunt man suffered several broken ribs and other injuries.) Certainly you cringe every time the SEALs begin another series of tumbles down the rocky, wooded slopes.
For anyone who doesn't know the story, Marcus Luttrell, his Lieutenant Mike Murphy, Danny Dietz, and Matt Axelson are heli-dropped into Taliban country with the mission to hike over five miles to a Taliban compound and take out the leader known as Shah. Shah is first depicted beheading a local Afghan tribesman whom he thinks betrayed him. So the viewer knows what's in store for any captured American. While on the mountain making their approach to the compound, Luttrell's team is stumbled upon (literally) by three Afghan goat herders. The SEALs secure the man and his two sons (one of whom is clearly a Taliban affiliate), then have a heated argument about what to do with them. Luttrell insists that if they kill the goat herders, they will end up on CNN and eventually in Leavenworth. Moreover, he and Murphy have moral pangs about executing unarmed boys. Ultimately Murphy orders the three set loose, knowing they will immediately tell Shah and his pals there are Americans on the hill.
Part of the team's dilemma is that they have lost radio communications for an extract, and to get the sat phone working need to be higher on the mountain. But once they get near the higher peak, they come to a dead end, short of the top and unable to call for help. When the Taliban approach, all they can do is fight---and outnumbered a good 25:1 they take their toll on the enemy, but one at a time the team members die until Murphy sacrifices himself to get the sat phone to a high enough location to radio for help. Luttrell is saved only by falling down still more mountainside and eventually hiding in a rock outcropping. It is ironic that this frogman only truly gets to some safety when he reaches . . . water. While immersing himself in a stream, Luttrell (badly injured and wounded) is protected by a group of Pashtun villagers. Over the next 24 hours they risk their lives to protect him against the Taliban---whom they also despise.
Having driven off Shah once, though, the Pashtun villagers brace for his return with more men. But meanwhile a messenger has been sent to the nearest American base with a note from Luttrell giving coordinates of the village. The (air) cavalry arrives just in the nick of time, and PC or not, you want to cheer when the gunships finally unload on the Taliban creeps.
There are other twists and turns---Redwing reinforcements on Chinooks arrive but Luttrell's joy turns to horror as the lead Chinook takes an rpg right into the inside of the helo and explodes, killing still more of Luttrell's fellow warriors.
Wahlberg does a credible job as Luttrell, except that he is too small. Marcus Luttrell is a giant of a man, and often remarked in his book that it penalized him when climbing. Other cast members are solid. There is no need for wild special effects, and the music isn't particularly stirring.
What IS compelling is the story---and the miracle--of Luttrell's rescue. Murphy's words to him, "As long as you're alive, you're always in the fight," should become the slogan of American patriots everywhere, who might be tempted to give up in this dark period. But the most poignant scenes come at the end, when all the members of Redwing are shown in photos.
Two cautions for viewers who might think of taking youngsters: The film depicts combat; it is bloody and brutal. And it is filled with foul language---SEALs, after all, aren't the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Wahlberg, who has been the face of the movie and greatly publicized it, is an executive producer, and he will be very handsomely rewarded at the box office. While today was a holiday, nevertheless the 1:00 show was over 2/3 filled. Wahlberg has done a great service to the SEALs, to Luttrell, and to America.
At that time, the werewolves “were” not there to climb the trees.
year? I meant weekend.
LOL. And hugh. I meant to say “badly injured by the fall and wounded from gunshots and RPGs” but went for short form.
No, I don’t think ANY security issues were revealed, unless you want to cite the common sense repositioning of helos miles away from the firefight zones. No, the training was covered in less than 5 minutes of credits, nothing about the sequencing and nothing that I thought would reveal anything to our enemies except that SEALS are badasses.
I don't understand the mystique. These guys are superb physical specimens, not in terms of having bodybuilder physiques, but in terms of being equipped to endure the difficulties of hiking through rugged terrain and dealing with physical hazards. But they're men, and without adequate fire support they're just highly-trained light infantry. Using fire support from USAF, USN and USMC aircraft, the Northern Alliances routed the Taliban. There ain't no magic involved. Air support was the hammer and the the Northern Alliance was the anvil. These SEALs took a pounding because they were outnumbered, lacked air support, and had only what they could carry as weaponry.
That’s good news. I would feel better about seeing this movie and supporting it with my dollars, if, as you say, no high security has been breached. There was probably some technical adviser on the set, ready to say “NO!, that (extreme disclosure) is wrong and it’s not gonna work”, loud enough for the directors to hear him.
” I know that is sacrilege around here but who cares. “
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Good for you. I go every week and love it.
I saw “Lone Survivor” today. Terrific.
We’re going to see “Nebraska” next week.
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Maybe Walberg is picking up where Mel Gibson became distracted with personal problems and stopped making high ideal movies. Some actors, act to earn a living, other actors learn how to create the entire vehicle, from story board to the night of premiere. Ronnie Howard is that way. Ronnie is one of the few child actors who learned the business and all it’s components. I forgive Ronnie for being a lib, because at least he doesn’t seem to be a hateful lib, or one bent on destroying all pillars of society as does Rob Reiner, aka Meathead. Rob pals around with the ACLU!
Yes, this is what fighting an earlier version of the Taliban was like without air support
http://www.tribalanalysiscenter.com/PDF-External/Umbeyla.pdf
There have been a handful of close calls and brushes, but no Navy SEAL since the beginning in ‘62 has ever been captured alive.
Irony of ironies, the op-tempo for specops troops the past decade has been so high, that this platoon was a group of SDV guys from Hawaii, trained for mini-sub ops locking out of dry-deck shelters clamped upon boomers and fast attack subs. About as far from the Hindu Kush as you can get, and still be a specops warrior.
Have a look before you go see Jack Ryan. The bad guys in that movie are “right wing Christians” from Russia.
ought to read malakand expedition by winston churchill about his experience fighting the talaban of his day in 1890’s. same place, same deal, same #$@% just a different bag. nothing changed in 100 years
Watched it on Saturday in CT. Sold out show again. Pretty good for the second week. The silent majority votes with their wallet.
Thanks for your ratings of some of the other movies out...I was a little apprehensive to see some of them. My next movie will be Jack Ryan. As for my wife with Lone Survivor, she closed her eyes during some of the more hard to watch moments but she really enjoyed it.
I read the book when it came out and couldn’t appreciate the tumbling down the mountain until I saw it in the movie.
Good review.
Wahlberg is a good actor, but he’ll never be Daniel Day Lewis. Rather, I think his calling is as a producer-—not just this but he also was the exec producer of “Entourage” -—a much lighter and funnier Breaking Bad quality show.
I was kind of surprised that a CH-47 full of SEALs was shot down. My wife asked if that was the SEAL team 6 chopper that went down (she is reading the book “Betrayal”)
I couldn’t answer her for sure because I had not heard of another SEAL chopper being shot down (although this was long before the ST-6 chopper shootdown)
Was this shootdown covered up as well?
No, that one came afterward.
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