Lone Survivor (2014)
TOMATOMETER
Critics Consensus: A true account of military courage and survival, Lone Survivor wields enough visceral power to mitigate its heavy-handed jingoism.
Critics Consensus: A true account of military courage and survival, Lone Survivor wields enough visceral power to mitigate its heavy-handed jingoism.
Trailer
Photos
ADVERTISEMENT
Movie Info
LONE SURVIVOR, starring Mark Wahlberg, tells the story of four Navy SEALs on an ill-fated covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative who are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Based on The New York Times bestseller, this story of heroism, courage and survival directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) also stars Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Eric Bana. LONE SURVIVOR will be released by Universal Pictures in platform engagements on … More- Rating:
- R (for strong bloody war violence and pervasive language)
- Genre:
- Drama , Action & Adventure
- Directed By:
- Peter Berg
- Written By:
- Peter Berg
- In Theaters:
- Jan 10, 2014 Wide
- On DVD:
- Jun 3, 2014
- US Box Office:
- $125.1M
WATCH IT NOW
| Buy $14.99 Rent $4.99 | |
| Buy $14.99 | |
| Buy $9.99 |
Cast
-
Ben Foster
as Matt Axelson -
Mark Wahlberg
as Marcus Luttrell -
Emile Hirsch
as Danny Dietz -
Taylor Kitsch
as Mike Murphy -
Eric Bana
as Erik Kristensen -
Alexander Ludwig
as Shane Patton
Related News & Features
-
Mark Wahlberg's 10 Best Movies
– Rotten Tomatoes
-
RT Podcast: Ep. 016 - Fault in Our Stars cast & Griffin Dunne
– Rotten Tomatoes
Lone Survivor Videos
Photos
Friend Ratings
No Friends? Inconceivable! Log in to see what your friends have to say.
Critic Reviews for Lone Survivor
All Critics (200) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (150) | Rotten (50) | DVD (3)
Lone Survivor isn't always sophisticated ... But there's moral complexity and a climax in an Afghan village which is tense and surprisingly moving.
Lone Survivor' hits home and hits hard.
The film effectively assaults its audience almost as aggressively as its subjects.
The film's director, Peter Berg, wants to immerse you so deeply that you feel as if your bones are breaking, too. There's a price, of course, for that kind of immersion: It becomes tough to see the movie for the drum-beating.
Lone Survivor is a brutally effective movie, made by people who think that they're serving their country. But they're just making us coarser and more self-centered.
Berg's fine achievement is in relaying that sense of abject danger even as he and his actors honor the utter connection of the men who lost their lives that day.
Peter Berg is effectively offering four Rambos for the price of one - the Seals' bullet-whistling gunfight scenes are a combination of Saving Private Ryan on a ridge, Heat on a hill and Open Range out in the open. Bang, bang, bang! And bang again!
Lone Survivor comes off as a celebration of the martyred American soldier, that myth that makes it that much easier for old men to send young men to their deaths.
Knowing the outcome tends to lessen the intensity of the well-shot action sequences.
"Lone Survivor" thrills, horrifies and also punches home the simple point that individual acts of conscience can save lives, and even change the world.
Encontra seus melhores momentos em suas sequências de ação.
This is an intense film. You get a clear sense of the panic these guys felt and the hopelessness of their situation.
Narrative cohesion is not the film's strong suit, but battlefield authenticity most certainly is.
Lone Survivor is a proficiently-made film with plenty to enjoy, but truly embracing it is difficult outside of an American context.
Lone Survivor is a proficiently-made film with plenty to enjoy, but truly embracing it is difficult outside of an American context.
The most harrowing combat film since Saving Private Ryan.
Small in scale but just as intense, Lone Survivor's extended battle recalls the opening of Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. like its hardy protagonists, is determined to get the job done.
If there's one major message at the core of Peter Berg's outstanding, realistic, fact-based war film it's that no amount of new-fangled military technology can take away from the brutality and human cost of frontline fighting.
Though the film predictably finishes on just one of its number, it is in the many that Lone Survivor's components best succeed.
Not since Mark Bowden's Black Hawk Down has there been such a vivid account of a mission gone wrong.
If Mark Wahlberg stars as an interesting character, the movie has a fighting chance at the box office - and this one became a hit.
It will be remembered for its bone-breaking, blood-splattering, white-knuckle skirmish - not for its performances, characters, plot or dialogue. On this level, it works.
For all its flaws it is both a gripping action thriller and an unforgettable depiction of the cold realities of war. My first reaction after seeing it was a simple one: this must be how it was. It may be the highest tribute I can pay.
The film doesn't glorify war, it pays tribute to courage and determination; while it doesn't play politics, it does show the Taliban as vicious, bloodthirsty and mercil
...a disappointing, underwhelming actioner from Peter Berg...
A portrayal of strict military excellence and grueling physical performances, to which Mark Wahlberg brings his best game.
Audience Reviews for Lone Survivor
I didn't find this film particularly moving or powerful, other than in knowing from the title credits that it's based on actual events. Undoubtedly the soldiers on which the film was based were true heroes, but there was not much humanity or likability portrayed by the actors in this film. (This is surprising for me given that Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster star in the film!) The film was technically strong, but I didn't come away with the Jingoistic enthusiasm I would have expected from a film like this.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Despite being based on a true story, I wasn't anxious enough to check it out as the flick belongs to war genre. However, when my brother decided to watch it, I couldn't help keeping him company. As it turns it, it wasn't a disastrous decision on my part as the movie was a bearable fare. (Knowing that there won't be much story, only action for most of the part, might have helped.) The fight for survival is neither engaging nor boring. The sequences involving Marcus and the kid are nicely done, though.
Nothing great here, but if you've fallen short of options, feel free to take this risk at your own cost.
Super Reviewer
"Lone Survivor," from writer/ director Peter Berg, has a technical ferocity that cannot be denied. The film's second half consists mainly of pronged volleys of war carnage; intensity arguably not seen in a Hollywood war production since Ridley Scott's superior "Black Hawk Down." The action is masterfully edited and staged, with award-level sound design. Berg has us tightly in his grasp in the picture's best moments, usually those in which the score is scrapped and we are immersed in the action with little in the way of the usual action movie tropes. While I admire "Lone Survivor" greatly for it's filmmaking and game cast, it's ultimately disappointing that Berg decided to garnish his gritty realism with occaional war movie cliches and hero worship. The way in which the Seals are garishly martyred akin to J.C. in "The Passion of the Christ" in particular is hard to swallow, especially considering the human stance Berg implements through most the picture, it's final stretch in particular. Such detractions are heightened in a good movie that could have been great. To quote Ben Foster's Matt Axelson while looking through the scope of his rifle, "You can die for your country... I'm gonna live for mine." Sometimes action is louder, and less cringe-inducing, than words.
MoreSuper Reviewer
This is Director, Peter Berg's true triumph, his most ambitious, thoughtful and breathtaking achievement. A true love letter to the Navy. It's on a par with war films like Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan It's intensely gripping, action-packed and deeply moving. A heart-pounding and exhilarating thrill-ride that does not let up till the final shot is fired. You feel the tension escalate in the story and between the characters wonderfully and is acted superbly. A true powerhouse of a movie that's a riveting celebration of courage and brotherhood. An unforgettable movie that is a must-see. The all-star cast is tremendous and give strong performances and has outstanding chemistry. Mark Wahlberg is riveting. Taylor Kitsch is terrific. Ben Foster is excellent. Emile Hirsch is great. A truly memorable and extraordinary film with tremendous power.
MoreSuper Reviewer
Lone Survivor Quotes
- Marcus Luttrell:
- That's not a knife, that's a fucking duck!
- Marcus Luttrell:
- I don't go home, you don't go home.
- Matt Axelson:
- If I die, make sure Cindy knows how much I love her. And that I died here with my brothers, with a full fucking heart.
- Marcus Luttrell:
- You're not going to die.
- Matt Axelson:
- You can die for your Country, but i'm gonna live for mine.
- Mike Murphy:
- Whatever you do, just find an excuse to win.
- Marcus Luttrell:
- Next one Shane.
- Shane Patton:
- Have fun you lucky bastard.
Discussion Forum
Discuss Lone Survivor on our Movie forum!
