Mile 22 (2018)

Director: Peter Berg

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, John Malkovich

A small team of elite American intelligence officers, part of a top-secret tactical command unit, try to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of Indonesia.

With so many good action movies out there, ‘Mile 22’ is a movie I’m going to forget in an instant. There is nothing memorable about this film. In fact, it reminded me so much of ‘SWAT’ and ‘The Raid’ (both of which are far more superior movies) that I would rather watch those movies again instead of giving ‘Mile 22’ another view.

Firstly, the characters. Man, they were annoying! James Silva (Mark Wahlberg) especially!! For a protagonist, he sure is an unlikable character. He argues with everyone, he has issues with everyone, and he is just a downright nasty guy! For the first 40 minutes everyone is shouting and screaming as everyone clashes with one another, and foul language to make your ears hurt!

Then there’s the quick-cut editing and intercutting between scenes which makes it difficult to follow. During the first 40 minutes, they keep cutting between different scenes happening simultaneously. The film’s narration only gets direction around the 46 minute mark – thanks to Li Noor (Iko Uwais). Li Noor knows the code to unlocking a sensitive disc, but he will only unlock the disc on the condition he is taken to the United States. James and his team must now transport Li Noor to a plane, but they are followed by another team, who is also after Li Noor and the disc . The fighting scenes are so reminiscent of ‘The Raid’ (in which Iko Uwais starred in a similar role) that it almost looks copied. As a result, I completely lost interest – not that I was interested from the beginning…

‘Mile 22’ offered nothing new and is therefore forgettable.

Would I watch it again? No.