“Mile 22,” directed by Paul Berg and starring Mark Wahlberg, comes on the heels of “Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon” and “Patriot’s Day,” all of which were really good movies. In fact, “Lone Survivor” and “Patriot’s Day” were in my top 10 for their respective years. However, that may change with Wahlberg’s newest entry.
In “Mile 22,” Wahlberg plays James Silva, the leader of an elite American tactical group that handles off-the-books missions. James is a bit of a savant, which we learn through flashbacks, with a hyperactive mind that works “faster than others’, ” but he lacks social skills. Silva’s team consists of Alice (Lauren Cohan), Sammy (Ronda Rousey) and Bishop (John Malkovich), among others, so there is no lack of star power here. The technology and resources at their disposal rival what we see in the “Mission: Impossible” movies, sans the masks, of course.
The focus for the team this time around is protecting an Indonesian police officer (Iko Uwais from the “Raid” movies) who has turned on his government and holds information to the whereabouts of a new nuclear substance that could be used on U.S. soil. The local police force is after him, so the team must protect him and get him to the airstrip, which is 22 miles away. We learn there is also a Russian presence in play, trying to sabotage the mission.
Let’s start with what’s good about the film:
- At its hour-and-a-half run time, there is almost no slow-down. It’s frantic, exciting and brutal action from start to finish.
- Uwais is outstanding. I considered “The Raid 2” the best action movie of 2014, and I’ve been waiting for Uwais to break into the American movie scene. With small parts in “The Force Awakens” and the straight-to-streaming release “Beyond Skyline,” this role is what I’ve been waiting for. Every scene he is in is great; he is the modern-day Jackie Chan.
- The movie has a few good twists and turns that keep you guessing throughout, and pays off nicely in the end.
Now, what’s wrong with the film:
- The editing: This is the elephant in the room. Anyone, film buff or not, will notice the jarring editing and shaky camera work here. The fight scenes have so many quick edits that you can’t even tell what’s going on, which is unfortunate when you have someone like Uwais. I don’t understand what Berg was thinking, as this has not been his normal style.
- Wahlberg’s character is utterly dumb and unlikable. As I mentioned, he has no social skills, but instead of drawing respect while understanding his leadership style, the team (and us as the viewer) is annoyed by him in most scenes. I see no reason for the addition of this character trait; having him be a competent, normal guy would have worked just as well.
- The plot, although fairly straightforward, leaves a lot to be desired. There are some pretty major plot holes left unexplained. I have to assume that this was intentionally done to either set up a sequel or for the effect of dropping the viewer into an intense hour and a half and pulling them out without the full story. Either way, I wish the run time had been extended to flesh out the characters and fill in some holes.
Many critics have panned this as one of the worst movies of the summer, but I found it to be a middle-of-the-road action flick that should have been much better. I did actually enjoy it, but the editing brings the rating down. I would recommend you go into “Mile 22” with an open mind and expect some mindless action and not much more.
