Mile 22 hit theaters this weekend and I had to go to one of the first showings because I will watch anything with Mark Wahlberg. Critics across the internet consider this shoot’em up style movie a first-person shooter video game that turned into a full-length feature. That kinda put a damper on my expectations, when in reality it never felt like what they described as the story progressed.
The thing is, Mile 22 is no different from a thousand other movies about terribly planned extractions gone wrong. This particular story had disaster written all over it and it truly turned out to be a train wreck. Ana figured out the ending about seven minutes in, while I was completely shocked it turned out the way it did. She teased me about how many movies I see and the fact I didn’t see the ending coming miles away. Maybe I could have figured it out, maybe not. Sometimes it is plain to see and other times I am just focused on the movie and the action to worry about the end game.
What I loved the most was Wahlberg being Wahlberg. He was an @$$hole every moment he got to be. If he was barking orders or swearing like a guy from Southie, he was busy emptying all his gun clips into the bad guys. He pulled everything off with that cocky smile on his face that makes him a fun guy to cheer for. Ana pointed out his character had some of the same traits as Ben Affleck in The Accountant, which she is right, but these two guys are really different. I guess if that movie wasn’t for you, then this one might not be either.
I thought the story played to each character perfectly. Whether it was the badass tactics of Ronda Rousey or the smart wise direction of John Malkovich, there was a lot of opportunities here to have a blockbuster. Sadly though, the intense action scenes cover up a rather lackluster plot that made sense but lack any real heart. Most people may skip this one and I could understand why. Even though Mile 22 was directed Peter Berg and starred his favorite actor, doesn’t mean they can pull off another solid movie with a run time of 1:37. 4/10
Ten Stars or Less 