One of Mark Wahlberg’s most intense war movies is about to explode onto a new streaming home. While he often appears in action movies, it’s rare for Mark Wahlberg to star in a full-blown war movie. Shooter is arguably the closest he came to the genre before 2013 (1999’s Three Kings is more of a heist film than a war movie). But when Wahlberg finally stepped into the genre, he tackled an action-packed and harrowing true story. We’re talking about 2013’s Lone Survivor, and Netflix subscribers will soon get to enjoy the action-packed film.
Lone Survivor will be added to Netflix in the new year. Lone Survivor will stream on Netflix on January 1. Directed by Pete Berg, Lone Survivor is based on the true story of US Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the only soldier to have survived Operation Red Wings in Afghanistan. The mission was to capture a Taliban leader. But when the op goes wrong, and his squad mates are killed, Luttrell is forced to fend for himself against an impending wave of Taliban soldiers. The official synopsis reads:
“In 2005 Afghanistan, Navy SEALs Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), Michael Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) and Matthew “Axe” Axelson (Ben Foster) deploy on a mission of surveillance and to take out Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. Though spotted by goatherds, Luttrell and his team decide not to kill them. But one of the Afghans alerts a group of Taliban fighters to the invaders, and a terrible battle ensues, in which the SEALs find themselves hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.”
Alongside Wahlberg, Hirsch, Kitsch, and Ludwig, the film also starred Eric Bana, Ben Foster, and Dan Bilzerian. Peter Berg co-wrote the script with Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson. Lone Survivor was a decent hit when it first came out. The film holds a 75% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed a modest $154 million worldwide. However, audiences certainly enjoyed the film more than critics, as it holds an RT user rating of 87%. “A great and dark display of the brutal realities of war,” wrote one RT user, while another said:
“This movie puts you right in the action; you can almost feel the weight, the exhaustion, and the intensity of every moment as you move from scene to scene.”
‘Lone Survivor’s Marketing Ruined the Movie
With a film called Lone Survivor, you can guess what the plot will be about. However, the movie itself is set up in a way that you’re not sure which of the four will actually survive the mission (provided you don’t know the true story it was based on). Had the marketing also followed that approach, it would have been a far more enjoyable experience for many.
However, those who queued for tickets at the cinema likely saw Mark Wahlberg’s face plastered on the posters, turned to their friends/family and said, “It’s probably him.” Lone Survivor is still a great movie without the mystery of which soldier will survive. But the breakdown in communication between the editor and the marketing team likely affected the film’s box office and the first-time viewing experience.
