Review: ‘Lone Survivor’ is a powerful film that serves as a reminder of the cost of war

Posted on January 17, 2014

Telling the true story of the ill-fated 2005 Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan, “Lone Survivor” is one of the most powerful and impactful war movies I’ve seen. It’s a very narrowly-focused story, following the four-man team sent into the mountains of Afghanistan to confirm the location of a Taliban leader responsible for the deaths of many Marines.

The title tells you that only one returns home alive, and since the film is based on the book by Marcus Luttrell, you know who it is. This is a difficult movie to watch, because you know more or less how it ends. In fact, just in case the audience doesn’t know what happened, it begins with Luttrell’s rescue and subsequent treatment, then jumps back to tell the story of how he got there.

But like “World Trade Center,” it is also a movie worth watching and Luttrell’s story, and those of his fallen comrades, should be known. We can’t know the story behind every U.S. solider who gave his or her life for their country, but with this film, we can know these stories.

The film is rated R for strong bloody war violence and pervasive language.

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