MovieChat Forums > Lone Survivor (2014) Discussion > What a lame, forgettable, war movie

What a lame, forgettable, war movie


I don't want to re-hash everything some of the one-star rating reviewers have already said, but this film was a huge disappointment. I will throw a bit out there, though; Totally lame hero dialogue that never once strayed from the "Chuck Norris" formula, characters I never cared about for a moment (we're supposed to care that one of the guy's fiancé wants an expensive horse as a present??), enemy soldiers who just run up one and after another like complete dopes and get shot, US soldiers who somehow fall off cliffs at least three times and land on back-breaking rocks and get up and still run around, the sappy doe-eyed little boy and the "hero" local who saved him, and the list goes on and on. The only time I was interested was in the first couple of minutes when they were showing how tough SEAL training was- now that would have made an interesting movie.

Now don't get me wrong here- I absolutely love war movies; 2 or 3 are in my all-time top 10. My message is simply this for people who have grown up during our current conflicts. If you think this is a great war, fine, but I hope you have taken the time to see the real greats; Platoon, Apocalypse Now (original), The Thin Red Line, Saving Private Ryan, and The Band of Brothers. Sometimes I get the feeling that today's younger movie goers never bothered to watch older movies, when they fawn over a dreadful film such as this one. Hell, even a western like The Good, the Bad and The Ugly had more memorable things to say about warfare than Lone Survivor did.

Now I get this is based on a true story and that these guys were heroes and brave and gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, but that doesn't make the film great. I do hope that someday, maybe when our current wars are long over with, a worthy film is made about the Afgahn and Iraq conflicts. Sorry, but Sniper and Survivor ain't it.

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I'm sorry but I have to say I recently saw Lone Survivor and I really liked it. It was really entertaining and I never got bored. Now I've seen some older War movies like Full Metal Jakcet , Apocalypse Now and Saving Private Ryan ( not that old )

Full Metal Jacket was really really good I loved the first part of the movie : the training and it's probably one of the best War movie I have seen I have yet to see Platoon but I've seen Apocalypse Now and honestly it's only my opinion but I *beep* hated it the movie is 3 hours long and I found it to be extremely boring. I guess I had high expectations when I heard it was a classic of the cinema made by Copolla the same guy who made The Godfather movies but I really really hated it

Just my personal opinion but I liked this movie way better than Apocalypse Now.

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Fair enough tehcrieg- it's too bad that almost all the copies of Apocalypse now is the expanded Redux version, which isn't nearly as good as the original, and as you have said way too long. Go see Platoon!

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a worthy film is made about the Afgahn and Iraq conflicts.


Hurt Locker?

I agree, this is just another war propaganda movie, when something stupid like this disaster op has been covered with heroic efforts and death of many great soldiers.

Personally I found interesting only sound effects (extremely realistic) and depiction of close combat in such terrain (forest with cliffs).

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Hurt Locker was a terrible movie.

And of course it's propaganda. Every war movie is propaganda.

There is, unseen by most, an underworld...a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit...

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Lame and forgettable? Reminded you of your life then? I could see how you could hate it.

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What a brilliant comeback, ajaddiction! Bravo! 😴😴

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The Hurt Locker was so unrealistic that it was almost a comedy.

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Funny how it was based on a true story. I guess you've been to war and know what realism is when EOD personals themselves said the movie shows how it was actually like to be an EOD.

It's hard to satisfy you lefty loonies with war movies. Why don't you go watch a movie about men loving men instead?

Don't get hurt kid. I'm not your daddy, I'll beat you senseless.

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It's hard to satisfy you lefty loonies with war movies. Why don't you go watch a movie about men loving men instead?


Um...because we have no interest in your home movies?

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It wasn't based on a true story, you twit. And I'm as far from a lefty as they come. Just do a little research. There are entire websites devoted to the inaccuracies in this film.

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Hurt Locker was a terrible movie.


Agreed.

And of course it's propaganda. Every war movie is propaganda.


Propaganda definition:

Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.

So was Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima propaganda?

If you are not willing to give up everything, you have already lost

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Yes. Absolutely. Just not the kind most people are use to.

There is, unseen by most, an underworld...a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit...

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Yes. Absolutely. Just not the kind most people are use to.


Not used to? Americans aren't used to seeing a movie in which the enemy's side is show. What a load of bullsh.t! There was nothing in Clint Eastwood's Letters from Iwo Jima that was used to promote a political cause or point of view



If you are not willing to give up everything, you have already lost

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Apocalypse Now, Born of the 4th of July, FMJ, Three Kings, Jarhead and Green Zone were propaganda?

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I thought it's problem was simple - monotony.

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yeh, monotony is a great description of that movie

I recall that I kept thinking "when is it going to end?!"

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The Taliban were trying to outflank the seals. If they didn't do this, the seals could have sheltered behind rocks all day, eating sandwiches, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. There was nothing wrong with the Taliban's tactics, it's just that they weren't executed very well. The Taliban are known for their tenacity, not so much for their combat skills.

Anyway, if you think the way the Taliban were being cut down while advancing seemed far fetched, watch some documentaries about the battles fought on the Western Front or at Gallipoli during WWI. Or simply re-watch what happened on Omaha Beach in the movie you mentioned, Saving Private Ryan.

R G B

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Yeah but yall worship american sniper. considered this 'bad' and 'forgetabble' just because for once a war movie did not potray all of us as terrorists

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It was entertainment, based on a true incident, but with Hollywood-ism added in. There will be other movies made about the Taliban and their brutality and there will be more lone survivors because this regime in DC doesn't care, just like they don't care about ISIS retaking all those cities that 6,000 soldiers died trying to rid Iraq of the Taliban.

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Wow, now that you put it that way, I'm in total agreement. This was nothing but a stupid cartoon.

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I thought it was ok just a bit amateurish. I hated the start, the way they make someone dance as an initiation etc, just makes them all seem like a bunch of morons. The way he is risking his life for his country and yet all his wife cares about is him buying her a 15 grand horse. Etc.. It just felt like the entire first half hour was shoe horned in to make you care about the characters and yet I really didn't give a *beep* about any of them nor did I know any of their names or find any individual identities amongst them. It was just a team of identical bearded dumb gung ho Americans.

Then the mission begins and I thought it was good from there. It told the story and showed the terrible situation and how terribly they handled it. To me it was almost like an anti American movie though. It just makes them look like a bunch of incompetent morons and they all paid with their lives. Apart from one who was saved by a village who probably paid with their lives later.

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nothing amateurish about it nor did they handle the situation terribly. they handled it as best as can be when someone is in said situation.

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