What Lone Survivor is attempting to help us in the audience understand is exactly how
strong a soldier is. In this instance however, strength is a fairly complex concept, as physicality is the least significant of the otherwise more distinguishing traits that comprise a soldier. The greater aspects are loyalty, brother and sisterhood, and dedication to a cause that when one puts on a uniform is always greater than oneself. These are only a few traits that convey the supreme strength of a soldier, and Lone Survivor ambitiously attempts to help us understand each one, an endeavor to which I can honestly say has succeeded.
Mark Wahlberg stars as the real lone survivor of the 2005 Operation Red Wings, Marcus Luttrell, who not only wrote the book which this movie is based on but also appeared in the film itself, for however brief a time. In light of his appearance one can’t help but ponder the authenticity of it all, and that beyond the hand of Hollywood the appearance of an actual heroic figure would inspire precise accuracy. The inevitability is that there are always certain expectations from the audience, and that while there may be additional footage outside of a one hundred percent reflection of the actual events, the graphic and up close action and spotlight on the characters would suggest a loyal script nonetheless.
This can be a difficult film to watch, as when one exits the film’s well placed comic relief
from the intensity of the events, we’re immediately brought back to the sobriety of what’s going on, and that like an effective war movie will convey, war is a hellish place. Saving Private Ryan was hailed and rightly so as an effective and remarkable anti-war film, and while Lone Survivor is littered with familiar military jargon and colloquialisms, it’s Luttrell’s perspective that reminds us of the horror of war. What’s fresh about Lone Survivor, however, is also that there’s a constant reminder of a soldier’s vow and willingness upon entry.
The beginning of the film is a scattered sequence of training sessions that Navy SEALS 
endure. Every sequence seems to become tougher than the last, and each establishes again the strength of a soldier, though more specifically how far a soldier is willing to go, and how much they can take. When the elongated climax of the film takes place, those training sequences flood back to the front of your memory, as you see the four SEALS as per Operation Red Wings enter what seems like another war inside of the existing one. The fight sequences are disturbing because one can’t help but shudder at the pain a trained, determined body can take. You wonder, the thought being almost humorous, how are they still alive?
It’s scenes like this, movies like this, that bring down the axe on not only a parent’s but
even a potential Military applicant’s decision to join. It comes across as counter-productive in a way though the intense and graphic violence serves as both an example of good vs. evil and as a device of direction to all watching that this is real, that this did happen, is happening, and will continue to happen because war exists. And this is why Lone Survivor can be seen as an anti-war film, because it looks so unbelievable, when actually it’s entirely believable. This is based on a true story that did happen, but today it’s still happening.
War exists, it is real, and while a film can only offer so much authenticity compared to one
who’s actually been in the field of battle, the screen can for some be the best source of knowledge for what our men and women in uniform encounter, fight, and die for. In the midst of all the gunfire and yelling and explosions though, there is always that depiction of the human spirit, what makes us human, and who we are in our last moments. War is often described as something that changes you, some in ways more severe than others, though the question is how, or even can a person stay the same, who they were before?
The answer might be no, and why the answer might be no might not be completely clear, but what is clear is that in such circumstances, so much is revealed about you. For Marcus Luttrell what was revealed was a total willingness to die for his country, that after all that happened, he could do it, and he’d be okay with it. I would think that the moment you decide to enter the military, you also decide that you are willing to die for someone and something, more than yourself. It seems like such a grand facet of humanity to consider, ultimate sacrifice. Soldiers make it look easy.
Lone Survivor is an intense, up close and compelling war film whose story has a gripping power over the devastation and horror of war, a power that reminds us of humanity’s push and will to endure the darkest fights of the world until our last breath.
Flicks With Maddog 