We are just a day away from revealing what is FemaleFirst's Best Movie of 2014, after heaping praise on a wide range of movies over the last week or so as we counted down the top ten.
Lone Survivor
On the penultimate day, we are at number two and Lone Survivor has just missed out on the top spot. It was back in January when Lone Survivor hit the big screen and marked the return of Peter Berg in the director's chair.
Lone Survivor 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. Mark Wahlberg took on the central role of Marcus Luttrell, while Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana, and Alexander Ludwig made up the talented and all-star cast list.
I am a big fan of the war genre and Lone Survivor was one of the early 2014 movies that I was really looking forward to seeing... needless to say, for me, this movie really did not disappoint. The fact that this is a true story is something that makes this movie even more powerful - I rushed out and bought a copy when I had seen the film - as it follows four men who were put in an impossible situation.
Lone Survivor really is one of the most powerful and harrowing war movies that we have seen in some time - the battle scenes are so incredibly authentic that it will get you heart pumping and your blood racing. Director Peter Berg has really been able to capture the desperate nature of their situation and how they battled to the very end.
Wahlberg, Kitsch, Hirsch, and Foster really do capture and convey the panic of Luttrell, Murphy, Dietz, and Axelson felt, as they were outnumbered, outgunned, and fighting on a terrain that they were not totally comfortable with. However, the brotherhood that existed between these four SEALS shines through as they fight beside and for each other in a desperate attempt to survive.
Even though the odds were desperately against them when the mission goes wrong, these four SEALS battle hard to try to get the job done and get safely home. This really is one of the most vivid accounts of a military mission that goes horribly wrong and Berg must be applauded for really capturing the harrowing nature of what these men faced.
Lone Survivor is not a sweet Hollywood take on the war in Afghanistan, there is something incredibly raw and real about this film - that is thanks to the gritty battle scenes and the intense performances that are given by the central cast.
The title really does give away just how this movie ends, and yet that doesn't make the climax of Lone Survivor any less powerful or any less heartbreaking.This is a movie that really does show the high human cost of the Afghanistan conflict and it makes you reflect on all of the lives that have been lost in the decade long conflict.
For me, Lone Survivor is the greatest directorial achievement by Berg so far, as it is a powerful and truly brutal movie. Of course, Lone Survivor is a piece of entertainment, but Berg has paid tribute to the heroism of these soldiers - some of whom paid the ultimate price in the defence of their country.