TF:
The low Oscar hum surrounding Peter Berg’s late hopeful poses a question: can the director of Battleship and The Kingdom make a serious film about conflict in Afghanistan? The surprising answer is “yes”, the less surprising caveat: “to a point”.
For “yes”, consider the pulverising mid-section, where Berg takes navy seal Marcus Luttrell’s true-life account of a botched operation in 2005 and turns out a mix of platoon film, post-9/11 actioner, body horror and survivalist cinema. think Gravity via Green Zone, add gore and bring earplugs.
As for the “to a point” bit, the subtlety shortfall in Berg’s passion project – his attachment pre-dates Battleship – poses doubts that all his heavy fire can’t quite silence.
These strengths and weaknesses are implied in the routine base-camp opening scenes, which establish the SEALS as generic Good Men at work. So it’s to the cast’s credit that they manage to convey character through the clichés: Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch all stand out besides Mark Wahlberg’s central Luttrell as men mobilised to track Taliban big-cheese Ahmad Shah (Yousuf Azami) in hostile mountaintop terrain.
The direction pummels and the cast impress, yet Berg’s war movie promises more than it delivers. Memories of Battleship are sunk, but that Oscar buzz may be a bit premature.
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