430. Mile 22; movie review

MILE 22
Cert 18
94 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence

Here was me thinking that Mark Wahlberg was becoming stereotyped as the shoot-first-ask-questions-later American strongman.
And yet a quick glance of his recent CV shows that, aside of Mile 22, he appeared alongside Christopher Plummer in All The Money In The World, played in the comedy Daddy's Home 2, was a police sergeant in Patriots Day and even had a bear as a best friend in Ted.
A few years back he was one of the leads in one of my favourite films, The Fighter.
So why do I still have him pigeonholed as the type of damaged but fearless character who he portrays in Peter Berg's Mile 22?
Certainly, he fits well into the role as a super-sharp, fiery-tempered elite unit leader who is trying to stop chemical attacks across the globe.
His lonesome character has nothing to lose in this dangerous environment - unlike his partner in saving the planet, played by Lauren Cohan, who is the mother of a young daughter but equally fearless.

Mile 22's premise centres on the idea of the United States being the world's policeman.
The action takes place in an undetermined country from where the earth's most lethal explosive has gone missing.
Wahlberg, Cohan and co. interrogate a local (Iko Uwais) who says he has relevant codes which will help detect the explosives but will only offer them in return for a safe passage out of the country.
Therefore,  a cat and mouse scenario develops with him while, at the same time, his countrymen spare nothing to try to get him back.
By the latter, I mean that buildings, vehicles, roads and people are blown up or caught in the crossfire as tug-of-war evolves.
Indeed, there is far too much crash, bang, wallop and not enough in terms of discernible plot during Mile 22.
In addition, much of the dialogue is mumbled so Mrs W and I often struggled to hear what was being said.
I doubt that we missed anything important. The message is clear - this is all about Americans who are willing to give up their lives for their country and take no credit for doing so.
To that end, Berg's film makes its point over and over again.
Mile 22 has plus points - the action is fast and well-choreographed and Wahlberg and Cohan are both intense but its lack of depth lets it down.

Reasons to watch: Its intense action scenes
Reasons to avoid: Its plot is very thin

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Director quote - Peter Berg: "I feel like it’s a higher level of patriotism than what most of us are used to dealing with. And the more research I did on the ground branch, the more convinced I was that made it the right decision. Really, it is a remarkable group."

The big question - How close to the truth is this type of movie?

Share this post