BLU-RAY REVIEW: LONE SURVIVOR
06/01/2014

OVERVIEW: Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative face an impossible, moral decision in Lone Survivor, the intense, action-packed story of heroism, courage and survival, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack, including Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD with UltraViolet™ and On Demand on June 3, 2014, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Lone Survivor will also be available on Digital HD two weeks earlier on May 20, 2014. 

Based on Marcus Luttrell’s The New York Times bestselling memoir, Director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) explores the unbreakable bond of brotherhood in a film that Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers praised as “a powerhouse film.” Lone Survivor tells the incredible tale of Operation Red Wings, a mission about four Navy SEALs ambushed by the enemy deep in the mountains of Afghanistan. As the soldiers are confronted by unthinkable odds they must find reserves of strength and resilience in order to fight to the finish. 

Both the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD include bonus features that shed new light on the valiant real-life soldiers of Operation Red Wings. Exclusive to the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack are interviews with the film’s cast and creators, as well as action-packed behind-the-scenes featurettes. 

SYNOPSIS: Based on The New York Times best-selling true story of heroism, courage and survival, Lone Survivor tells the incredible tale of four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative. The four men must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As the confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish. Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg 

FILM REVIEW:  

There are several key points to making this movie and story worthy. And though I would love to be highly critical in length about how awesome this latest Peter Berg (Battleship, 2012) effort is; for the sake of brevity, I’ll try to make this short and sweet. As one combs deeper through Lone Survivor's layers, it becomes quite obvious that it is a tragedy, both in circumstance and in truth. It is the sort of story that kicks one’s teeth in with the relentless onslaught of gory bone-tingling, nerve-shattering bombs, bullets and blood. And as would be expected, it is accompanied by the typical rapid-fire military jargon and exaggerated protocols. As war flicks go, it is as tough a watch as you’ll ever find on the big screen. Director Peter Berg seemingly captures the tension and the pain of the Navy SEAL’s harrowing five-day ordeal in some of the roughest terrain imaginable in a war zone. He transports us to a monstrous battle fought in the desolate peaks of Afghanistan, where the beleaguered SEAL team encounters some of the Afghani-Taliban’s worst. 

In this rich and moving chronicle of honor, courage and patriotism, Mark Wahlberg delivers one of the most powerful demonstrations of his talent, to date. And though in recent years, the Department of Defense (DOD) conflict movies tend to come across as extended infomercials for the US armed forces, Lone Survivor is a story that is a perfect illustration and testament to the true warrior spirit demonstrating the level of physical and mental punishment these SEALs suffered through. It’s graphic, but more than that, it’s just simply brutal with a testament to humanity in the face of conflict.

The four actors that represented the central characters carried the heavy burden of representing that warrior spirit and did so with magnificent display of talent and skill. However, what’s most notable throughout this movie is the manner in which Wahlberg is able to convey the true spirit of the modern American warrior. For a man that has never spent a day of his life on any battlefield or war-zone in any conflict around the globe, he embodied and displayed those attributes and convictions of the US Armed Forces personnel with an intensity that can only be judged by the like-minded. To that end, there’s something to be said about those whom will judge his spiritually honest portrayal of the men and women in uniform. They [the awards judges] will probably not give him the credit he deserves for playing this role because they themselves cannot see what perfection Wahlberg is able to bring forth, without actually experiencing war firsthand. Hats off to him for such a valiant effort and I’m certain Marcus Luttrell (central character) is proud of Wahlberg’s representation.

There are a few minor shortcomings with how the storyline is paced; however, this movie is probably the best conflict movie of the year. It is certainly worth watching in any format, whether in theaters, on DVD or pay-per-view. It deserves four and a half stars out of five for excellence in acting, substance and cinematography.

Review By Movi-Man Stan 

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English, French  and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/DVS Dolby Digital 2.0 (English); DTS Digital Surround
5.1 (Spanish)

Subtitles - English Spanish French

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home; featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

DIGITAL HD with Ultraviolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download movies to watch on iPad®, iPhone®, Android™, smart TVs, connected Blu-ray players, game consoles, and more.

Will of the Warrior: An in-depth look at Marcus Luttrell, the real-life Navy SEAL who received the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for his actions in Operation Red Wings.

Recreating the Firefight: Reveals how Lone Survivor’s action-packed stunts were choreographed and shot. This featurette includes interviews with Director Peter Berg, Actors Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch and stunt coordinator and 2nd unit director Kevin Scott.

Learning the Basics: Watch as Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch and Ben Foster go through rigorous SEAL training in weapons handling, communication/patrolling and simulated attack drills. Along with Marcus Luttrell, Peter Berg enlisted the help of active Navy SEALS to help the actors accurately portray the fallen soldiers of Operation Red Wings.

The Pashtun Code of Life: Learn why Marcus Luttrell’s rescuer, Mohammad Gulab, risked his life and the lives of everyone in his village in order to save Marcus. 

Bringing the Story to Light: Marcus Luttrell’s story of survival under extremely dire circumstances is an inspiration to anyone who hears it. Director, producer and writer Peter Berg, Producer Sarah Aubrey, and the four lead actors (Mark Wahlberg, Emile Hirsch, Taylor Kitsch and Ben Foster) reveal their passion for the project and why it was so important to them to tell this story.

The Fallen Heroes of Operation Red Wings: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch profile the real-life heroes who inspired their characters: Marcus Luttrell, Michael Murphy, Daniel Dietz and Matthew Axelson. Family members provide intimate accounts of what these brave men were like in their private lives, as well as perspective on their decisions to join the military and make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Also included is a tribute to the team of Operation Red Wings, using personal photos.