Lone Survivor (2013)
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A four-man Navy SEAL team faces a deadly ambush while on a mission to capture a Taliban leader in the mountains of Afghanistan.
The story
Set during the war in Afghanistan, the film dramatizes the unsuccessful United States Navy SEALs counter-insurgent mission Operation Red Wings. A four-man reconnaissance and surveillance team is tasked with tracking down and capturing Ahmad Shah, a local Taliban leader. While navigating the treacherous mountainous terrain of the Korangal Valley, the team faces increasing difficulties in maintaining communication with their base. The mission takes a perilous turn when the team is discovered by local villagers, forcing the SEALs to make split-second decisions as they are pursued by a growing number of Taliban forces in a desperate struggle for survival.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2005, a Navy SEAL team consisting of Michael Murphy, Matthew Axelson, Danny Dietz, and Marcus Luttrell is sent to the Korangal Valley to capture Ahmad Shah, a Taliban warlord. While moving through mountainous terrain, they encounter villagers and decide to release them. This action alerts the Taliban, who launch a massive counter-attack. The SEALs are forced into a ravine where they are overwhelmed by superior numbers. During the chaos, Dietz is killed, and Murphy is killed shortly after attempting to establish a communication link. A rescue helicopter is shot down, leaving Luttrell and Axelson alone. Axelson is eventually killed by enemy fire. Luttrell, severely wounded, survives an explosion and hides overnight before being found by a local man, Mohammad Gulab. Gulab hides Luttrell and alerts a nearby base. When Ahmad Shah arrives to execute Luttrell, local villagers resist his advance. Local rangers eventually arrive to evacuate Luttrell. The film concludes with a montage of the real individuals involved and an explanation of the Pashtunwali code of honor.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Peter Berg
- Writers
- Peter Berg · writer
- Cast and characters
- Mark Wahlberg · Hospital corpsman First Class Marcus Luttrell; Taylor Kitsch · Lieutenant Michael P. "Murph" Murphy; Emile Hirsch · Gunner's mate Second Class Danny Dietz; Ben Foster · Sonar technician Second Class Matthew "Axe" Axelson; Eric Bana · Lieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen; Ali Suliman · Mohammad Gulab; Alexander Ludwig · Navy SEAL Machinist's Mate Shane Patton; Yousuf Azami · Ahmad Shah
- Genres
- action; war; drama
- Themes
- survival; brotherhood; sacrifice; war
- Tone and mood
- visceral; tense; somber
- Premise and plot tags
- military; biographical; action
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2007 nonfiction book by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews, with critics praising the realism, acting, and visual scale, though some noted a heavy focus on action over character development.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6.60 · scale: 10 · review count: 227; Metacritic · score: 60 · scale: 100 · review count: 44
- Awards and nominations
- Academy Award · Best Sound Editing · Nomination; Academy Award · Best Sound Mixing · Nomination; Las Vegas Film Critics Society · Best Action Film of 2013 · 2013 · Win
- Production trivia
- The film was screened to several professional American football teams to build word-of-mouth.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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