Mile 22 Dazzles In Action But Largely Disappoints As A Spy/Espionage Thriller

      When it comes to making action movies or generic spy thrillers, one of the films main selling points is not just its impressive action sequences but the appeal of its main star in the lead role. The main selling point behind Mile 22 was always going to hinge on the filmmakers choice of the films main actor leading both the story and action. With Mark Wahlberg, the filmmakers found a solid and dependable leading man to lead the main cast which consists of talented actors such as Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, Ronda Rousey, and John Malkovich. Despite the talented leads in the main roles, the filmmakers forgot that what also makes an action film great or just generally effective is a strong script that gives audiences characters to care about or a straight-forward narrative. Not only does Mile 22 severely lack in that regard, its strong cast are profoundly underused and ultimately deserve much better than the material they're given. Mile 22 floats when the movie is focused on the action, but doesn't fare well when it focuses on anything else beyond that with the end result being lackluster entertainment at best.

      The plot for Mile 22 centers around an American paramilitary team led by a CIA operative (played by Mark Wahlberg) being assigned to transport a defecting foreign intelligence officer from an American embassy in a Southwest Asia country to an airfield in a treacherous route that totals 22 miles. Though the synopsis sounds compelling on paper, the overall execution of the story leaves much to be desired. It's not that the plot for Mile 22 isn't an engaging one, its that it comes across as being painfully generic with minimal character exploration for the audience to be connected with the story as everyone comes across as being arrogant jerks essentially (Mark Wahlberg's character as a prime example). The film lacks proper thrills and suspense to be truly compelling with the action scenes being the only parts of the film, that standout due to them being both well-staged and executed. The biggest downfall of the film in regards to quality are the weaknesses of its script as the plot can often become confusing to follow at times resulting in an uneven narrative structure. The films plot starts off promising with a concept that's provocative and poses interesting questions before immediately transforming into a generic action thriller with choppy editing and shaky camera work, making it tough for the audience to follow at times. Mile 22 is an action flick that had both the talent and potential behind it to offer audiences a thrilling experience with an interesting story, that could've posed some solid questions regarding the use of paramilitary teams. Instead it ultimately settles for being painfully mediocre with an end twist that'll leave audiences scratching heads rather than being shocked at its revelation.

      One of the films few saving graces that keeps it from completely collapsing is the strength of its main cast despite the minimal character development they're given. The films cast for the most part deliver the best performances they can with Mark Wahlberg churning out a relatively solid performance as usual with him being entertaining to watch, as well as attempting to add an extra layer to his character. Wahlberg plays smart-talking American Black Ops agent James Silva with Wahlberg's character possessing heavy sarcasm and an OCD type condition in which his character goes on constant ramblings directed at other characters ( Both good and bad) in an attempt to prove how much smarter he is than them. Despite the latter being intended to make the character more appealing in regards to being humorous, it just comes across as being awkward, confusing, and ultimately annoying for the audience despite the strong effort that Wahlberg gives with his performance. Lauren Cohan does reasonably well as Overwatch member Alice Kerr with Cohan making her character appear to be tough, likable, and sympathetic. She also works well off Mark Wahlberg with both possessing believable and strong chemistry. Iko Uwais is effective as Indonesian police officer and Alice's asset Li Noor with Uwais being given the opportunity to showcase some of his impressive martial arts skills, as well as his acting capabilities. Uwais takes whats essentially a generic part in terms of his character being a valuable asset being transported around by the main characters in an effort to bait the main antagonists, and makes it more interesting despite the lackluster writing. Ronda Rousey, Peter Berg, and John Malkovich all make the most of their roles and deliver decent performances as CIA agents Sam Snow, Lucas, and the teams camera James Bishop. As a whole, the cast of Mile 22 does a decent job of giving their characters some form of life while helping to add intensity to the story.

     In terms of the films directing, filmmaker Peter Berg who previously helmed Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, and Patriots Day, which also starred Mark Wahlberg, brings a similar style of tense directing to the project with the use of shaky camera​ to add realism to the action sequences, quick-cut style editing, and intense yet well put together action sequences that make the film somewhat exciting despite its weak script. Whereas the script comes with its share of shortcomings, Berg doesn't disappoint in regards to delivering the much desired action the story demands while allowing Wahlberg to command the screen with his strong presence. The films cinematography is a mixed bag with it working well enough in terms of drawing the audience into the action with its realism in regards to the use of shaky cam, though it can be a bit challenging at times in regards to following whats happening during those sequences. The films editing however, is all over the place with certain scenes jumping around along with Wahlberg's characters monologue being randomly inserted throughout the film with some cases having the audience not entirely sure who he's talking to. The films martial arts sequences involving Li Noor are impressive, though feel awkward when revealed in the story. Considering how tightly paced and well-structured Berg's other films came across as being, it's profoundly disappointing to see how Mile 22 pales in comparison in regards to being as well put together as those films. The films score is effective in regards to adding both the suspense and tension within the story with the music giving the action a much needed extra shot of adrenaline. On the directing end, Peter Berg delivers in regards to handling the films action sequences though drops the ball in regards to the films editing. Out of all his film collaborations with Mark Wahlberg (Five thus far and counting), this is their least successful one together with the reason having more to do with the script than Berg's directing.

      The films screenplay by Lea Carpenter from a story by both Carpenter and Graham Roland, can best be summed up as uninspired work that comes with a narrative that feels uneven with minimal character development and exposition. The plot is an interesting one that tackles concepts such as covert operations, spies, the use of black market weapons, the threat of using nuclear ones, espionage, chaos, and patriotism. Although​ the script does a serviceable job of laying out its plot, it tends to be tough to follow at times with the audience trying to find out whose the real antagonist in the story. The themes regarding courage and heroes feels underwhelming in a sense as the audience never gets that true feeling from the main characters despite their noble efforts to save lives while preventing further acts of terrorism. The film through it's opening scene makes a point to emphasize the anonymity and sacrifice of overt strike teams such as Overwatch with the rest of the film failing to live up to the promise of its beginning. The character development presented here is marginal and feels tacked on by the filmmakers as a way of briefly showing that this character has a life outside of the mission and how one should care about them then abandons such subplots afterwards. An example is the character of Lauren Cohan's with hers being shown to have a subplot involving her character struggling to cope with her divorce from her husband, who threatens to take away her kids. The writers make her character appear to be an extremely frustrated divorce mom with the outcome being her character appearing like a hot mess. While such background information is appreciated in regards to trying to make the audience connect with this character, it feels more forced and does little to serve the overall plot of the film. Wahlberg's character also comes across as feeling like a chaotic mess with his constant OCD ramblings making his character appear extremely awkward, over-the-top, and unlikable at times despite his noble deeds in the film. Ronda Rousey's character is given fight scenes but very little dialogue to make her character impactful in the story. The films climactic plot twist would've been far more effective had it been built up better as the end result is more confusing to audiences than shocking. It's not that the writing for Mile 22 is necessarily terrible, the script as a whole feels like a combination of both interesting and solid themes and concepts that end up getting shorthanded in the development department along with the films Overwatch team. The audience ultimately doesn't connect with them the way they were meant to, largely due to there being no clear focus in regards to the films overall story structure.

      What could've ended up being a solid action and espionage thriller ultimately turns out to be a huge disappointment for both audiences and fans of Mark Wahlberg. The latter tries his absolute best with making the film somewhat interesting to watch, though that isn't enough to compensate for the uneven narrative structure nor lack of character exploration. Outside of some impressive action and fight sequences, there isn't much here for audiences to become connected with nor engaged by. Given that Peter Berg's previous collaborations with Mark Wahlberg have resulted in both critical and financial successes, this appears to be the one that unfortunately brings that trend to a shocking halt. Mile 22 is a conjested and uninspired mess that means to take itself seriously with its plot with references to modern day leaders and events, though wastes both its cast of talented actors and filmmakers with a script that feels slapped together and only half-completed. One only wonders what the end result would've looked like had more effort went into its screenwriting process along with more focus on its directing. Fans of espionage and spy thrillers would be wise to avoid this misfire and look elsewhere for a more satisfying and compelling film, that perfectly balances out impressive action with characters the audience grows to care about as the latter ends up being one of 2018's great misfires.

Final Verdict: For Mark Wahlberg fans as well as those looking for a good Spy amd espionage thriller, Mile 22 should be skipped as the end result will confuse and frustrate them rather than satisfy.