Directed by Peter Berg
Written by Lea Carpenter (screenplay and story) and Graham Roland (story)
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, Ronda Rousey, Elle Graham, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Carlo Alban, Terry Kinney, Poorna Jagannathan, Sam Medina, Alexandra Vino, Cedric Gervais, CL
Soundtrack: Jeff Russo
Peter Berg directs Mark Whalberg in the Bergiest Berg to ever Berg.
It’s not the first time, and I doubt Mile 22 will be the last time, but this particular Berg-ception caught my eye like no other.
For one thing, it was encouraging to see an upcoming action movie (or any movie at all, frankly) that’s not based on any existing IP or “true story”, but also, as a big fan of The Raid movies (particularly The Raid 2), I was intrigued to see what martial arts superstar Iko Uwais could bring to an American production.
Well, unfortunately, the result is disappointingly middle-of-the-road.
There are entertaining elements of Mile 22, and if you like your action to have a certain level of brutality to it, the film definitely delivers on that. The biggest problem is that the movie is caught in two minds. One the one hand, it wants to be a serious thriller about how CIA operators really work; on the other, it wants to be a classic action film of the Eighties and Nineties. I can’t say it particularly succeeds at being either. The script starts out okay, but becomes pretty hackneyed and predictable along the way, and it doesn’t help that the performances are hit and miss.
Also, Iko Uwais is great when he’s let loose to do his thing, but, on the whole, the action, while not as frustrating as, say, a Paul Greengrass movie, is not as elegantly captured as it should be (seriously people, the Steadicam was invented over four decades ago; I don’t know how many more times I have to say it).
Still, I can’t say I hated Mile 22., and I think a lot of that comes down to Mark Whalberg, who has enough charisma to bully through his character, no matter how nonsensical or underwritten he may be.
Not a full price experience in my opinion, but check it out on a matinee if you’re curious (or if you’re just that desperate for a visceral action fix).
Rating: ★★★☆☆