Lone Survivor

[ouwasp]

Son and I went to see it this afternoon. I gave it a 7.5 out of 10. Very, very intense combat. And not the cartoonish, Rambo sort of fighting. The endurance our SEALS displayed is amazing... this is foreshadowed during the opening, which portrays the training these men undergo, and that it is meant to show a man's mind that his body can take much more than believed possible.

The acting was on target. I wish a little more character development could have been included. It would have been useful, in my opinion, to have subtitles when the Afghanis were speaking whatever language it is they speak. The movie showed this once, I think.

Lone Survivor reminded me very much of Black Hawk Down. Seemed to end with a similar body count as well.

From what I have read, Operation Red Wings, on which Lone Survivor is based, is presented truthfully. But I didn't need this movie to persuade me Afghanistan is a hellhole that we shouldn't be wasting any more of our treasure and people on. And that's not the purpose of the movie.....that's simply what I already thought. The Afghanis are not presented as all bad guys, there are good ones too.

[rock on sooner]

Having spent some time in that neck of the woods (many years ago)
I can say that most of those folks are driven by one of two things...
$$$ or fear. Loyalty is cultivated in that manner. Haven't seen the
movie yet, but, from what I can gather, nothing has changed after
all these years.

[diverdog]

Son and I went to see it this afternoon. I gave it a 7.5 out of 10. Very, very intense combat. And not the cartoonish, Rambo sort of fighting. The endurance our SEALS displayed is amazing... this is foreshadowed during the opening, which portrays the training these men undergo, and that it is meant to show a man's mind that his body can take much more than believed possible.

The acting was on target. I wish a little more character development could have been included. It would have been useful, in my opinion, to have subtitles when the Afghanis were speaking whatever language it is they speak. The movie showed this once, I think.

Lone Survivor reminded me very much of Black Hawk Down. Seemed to end with a similar body count as well.

From what I have read, Operation Red Wings, on which Lone Survivor is based, is presented truthfully. But I didn't need this movie to persuade me Afghanistan is a hellhole that we shouldn't be wasting any more of our treasure and people on. And that's not the purpose of the movie.....that's simply what I already thought. The Afghanis are not presented as all bad guys, there are good ones too.

i saw the 60 Minutes interview with the actual SEAL who was portrayed in the movie. He has serious PTSD. Between the movie and his ongoing friendship with the Afghan who saved him I hope he can lead a somewhat normal life. He seems to have serious survivors guilt and those are the guys who at the most risk of suicide. There was a point in the interview where he described himself as a coward. The reason was he laid down his weapon to cover his ears so he did not have to listen to his dying team mate. Never mind he was severally wounded, bleeding out and I think had a broken back. The reporter, I think it was Anderson Cooper, look at him in disbelief and said no one in America thinks you are a coward. The man is dealing with more than any of us can imagine. May god take care of him.

[olevetonahill]

i saw the 60 Minutes interview with the actual SEAL who was portrayed in the movie. He has serious PTSD. Between the movie and his ongoing friendship with the Afghan who saved him I hope he can lead a somewhat normal life. He seems to have serious survivors guilt and those are the guys who at the most risk of suicide. There was a point in the interview where he described himself as a coward. The reason was he laid down his weapon to cover his ears so he did not have to listen to his dying team mate. Never mind he was severally wounded, bleeding out and I think had a broken back. The reporter, I think it was Anderson Cooper, look at him in disbelief and said no one in America thinks you are a coward. The man is dealing with more than any of us can imagine. May god take care of him.

SG is a Major BITCH.
Im too much of a Coward to even try to watch this.

[CK Sooner]

Me and my dad cried at the end....serious.

[I Am Right]

Good Movie!

[FaninAma]

I don't see how anyone could think this film was pro-military propaganda as I have read from a few critic reviews. It is an accurate account of why no one should ever want to be involved in war unless it is truly, absolutely necessary.


Spoiler alert on the following for those who haven't seen the movie:








i do have a couple of questions from those with more military experience than I. Why didn't the Seal team take the youngest goat herder with them and tie the rest up? Then they could have allowed him to return to free the others once the team was rescued. Also, why didn't they want to keep the high ground or even reach the tree line and make the Taliban pursuers come out into the open to attack? It seems they could have positioned sinpers into protected rocky areas above the tree line and held a more defensible position.

[ouwasp]

some thoughts on FaninAma's spoilers...






Not a bad idea on the goat-herder. They didn't discuss such a move in the film...don't know about whether it was mentioned in the book. Maybe it violated the ROE.

I read somewhere the Taliban was attacking the SEALS within an hour. And it seems in the movie that they had made a misjudgment as to the contours of the mountain; that the peak was not as close as they had thought... and the SEALS did not want to be caught in the open...so they had to make the best use of the available cover. Something that I don't believe was shown in the movie, but was part of the battle in reality: the Taliban use of mortars. I think this also would have precluded any attempt to simply shelter in the rocky areas.

[FaninAma]

What are the ranges on mortars and RPGs?

[olevetonahill]

What are the ranges on mortars and RPGs?

Mortars can be Very accurate up to 3 miles depending on the type. RPGs Are Quite a bit less 200 to 400 Meters

[8timechamps]

I don't see how anyone could think this film was pro-military propaganda as I have read from a few critic reviews. It is an accurate account of why no one should ever want to be involved in war unless it is truly, absolutely necessary.


Spoiler alert on the following for those who haven't seen the movie:








i do have a couple of questions from those with more military experience than I. Why didn't the Seal team take the youngest goat herder with them and tie the rest up? Then they could have allowed him to return to free the others once the team was rescued. Also, why didn't they want to keep the high ground or even reach the tree line and make the Taliban pursuers come out into the open to attack? It seems they could have positioned sinpers into protected rocky areas above the tree line and held a more defensible position.

Ultimately, it was the LT's decision, but the last thing I would ever want to do is pick-up non-essential personal on a recon, especially not a kid. When that happens, you take one of your operational forces out of action to "babysit". I was not a SEAL, but have been on recon patrols (not as intense as that), and the #1 priority is to not be seen/heard. Also, I'm sure the movie took some liberties in how they actually operated, but their clock was ticking, and the decision probably needed to be made very quickly. As for the ridge-line/treeline, they reached the "false summit", which meant they would have probably had a day hike to get to the summit (through another valley), so they decided to garrison and wait.

I can't really speak to the Taliban tactics, but the same thought crossed my mind (about being in more defensive positions).


Anyway, I saw the movie with my son, and admit that I lost it at the end. Fortunately, I never had to serve in Afghanistan, which is a much harsher terrain than Iraq, but anyone that has lost a friend in combat (and even if you haven't) had to have struggled keeping their eyes dry at the end of that one.

It's a movie I'm very glad I saw, and it really resonated with me, but I will never watch again.

[FaninAma]

Ultimately, it was the LT's decision, but the last thing I would ever want to do is pick-up non-essential personal on a recon, especially not a kid. When that happens, you take one of your operational forces out of action to "babysit". I was not a SEAL, but have been on recon patrols (not as intense as that), and the #1 priority is to not be seen/heard. Also, I'm sure the movie took some liberties in how they actually operated, but their clock was ticking, and the decision probably needed to be made very quickly. As for the ridge-line/treeline, they reached the "false summit", which meant they would have probably had a day hike to get to the summit (through another valley), so they decided to garrison and wait.

I can't really speak to the Taliban tactics, but the same thought crossed my mind (about being in more defensive positions).


Anyway, I saw the movie with my son, and admit that I lost it at the end. Fortunately, I never had to serve in Afghanistan, which is a much harsher terrain than Iraq, but anyone that has lost a friend in combat (and even if you haven't) had to have struggled keeping their eyes dry at the end of that one.

It's a movie I'm very glad I saw, and it really resonated with me, but I will never watch again.

8xC, thanks for your perspective. The range of mortars would make defending a rocky, out in the open position problematic. However, continuing to move up the mountain would have solved their compromised communications.

I feel the same way about this movie as I do about Saving Private Ryan. Great movie but I won't watch it again.

[diverdog]

8xC, thanks for your perspective. The range of mortars would make defending a rocky, out in the open position problematic. However, continuing to move up the mountain would have solved their compromised communications.

I feel the same way about this movie as I do about Saving Private Ryan. Great movie but I won't watch it again.

Fanin:

Here is the 60 minutes interview and it will answer some of your questions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF4bU6O7qWk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTgUWeV1ylg

[Soonerjeepman]

I have never served...so obviously I ask this for those that have....

why didn't they tie them all up? and head up the mountain? I know they mentioned "wolves" but honestly I would think someone in the village would have come up after a few hours if they didn't return.

I know there are "rules" and codes...but damn. Did we not learn anything from Vietnam? some folks don't fight fair and SOMETIMES we have to do the same. Not saying they should have killed them, but tying them up and leaving it for chance...might have been better. Oh and screw the reporters "in the field" that prevent our folks from doing their job.

Thanks to all who have served...

[8timechamps]

I have never served...so obviously I ask this for those that have....

why didn't they tie them all up? and head up the mountain? I know they mentioned "wolves" but honestly I would think someone in the village would have come up after a few hours if they didn't return.

I know there are "rules" and codes...but damn. Did we not learn anything from Vietnam? some folks don't fight fair and SOMETIMES we have to do the same. Not saying they should have killed them, but tying them up and leaving it for chance...might have been better. Oh and screw the reporters "in the field" that prevent our folks from doing their job.

Thanks to all who have served...

We'll probably never know exactly why Murphy chose to free them, but their options were very limited, and the time to decide very small.

Killing them was never an option, so it came down to capture or release. They chose to cut them loose and put as much ground between the Taliban and themselves as they could.

One of the things we learned from Vietnam is that you cannot kill innocent people. Even though the SEALs knew releasing the goat herders would bring on the Taliban, the goat herders were unarmed civilians. You just can kill unarmed civilians, it's murder.

As for reporters in the field, I think it's moronic, but for different reasons. One of the positives of allowing reporters to embed with units is it's bound to keep bad soldiers honest to the rules. I think it's moronic though, because I think it's wrong to ask soldiers to protect unarmed journalists (it's hard enough to cover each other's ***). Also, it makes war "sterile" to the world. It's commonplace now to see war footage, so a lot of folks become desensitized to it, and think it's no big deal. That's why I loved this move, because it doesn't glorify the military, it tells the story and is very accurate.

[olevetonahill]

Another one I'll never see.

[olevetonahill]

An ad I saw posted somewhere the other day.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIlPFRsseQ8

[Soonerjeepman]

We'll probably never know exactly why Murphy chose to free them, but their options were very limited, and the time to decide very small.

Killing them was never an option, so it came down to capture or release. They chose to cut them loose and put as much ground between the Taliban and themselves as they could.

One of the things we learned from Vietnam is that you cannot kill innocent people. Even though the SEALs knew releasing the goat herders would bring on the Taliban, the goat herders were unarmed civilians. You just can kill unarmed civilians, it's murder.

As for reporters in the field, I think it's moronic, but for different reasons. One of the positives of allowing reporters to embed with units is it's bound to keep bad soldiers honest to the rules. I think it's moronic though, because I think it's wrong to ask soldiers to protect unarmed journalists (it's hard enough to cover each other's ***). Also, it makes war "sterile" to the world. It's commonplace now to see war footage, so a lot of folks become desensitized to it, and think it's no big deal. That's why I loved this move, because it doesn't glorify the military, it tells the story and is very accurate.


8time...I totally agree on all your points. When I mentioned the Vietnam issue, I just think sometimes things could be more flexible. Killing was not an option. I find this so ironic that we (Americans) go out of our way to "play by the rules" and the world still thinks we are the bad guys. I know it's so much more, but danm ya think we'd get credit for something.

We sure didn't fight fair in 1770's....

[Howzit]

Tough movie, on more than one occasion I would look down our row of seats and more than one person would be covering their eyes. Chick accused me of checking out the woman with rilly rilly big boobies, and she was right, but that does not change the fact that multiple people were covering their eyes.



I have never served...so obviously I ask this for those that have....

why didn't they tie them all up? and head up the mountain? I know they mentioned "wolves" but honestly I would think someone in the village would have come up after a few hours if they didn't return.

I know there are "rules" and codes...but damn. Did we not learn anything from Vietnam? some folks don't fight fair and SOMETIMES we have to do the same. Not saying they should have killed them, but tying them up and leaving it for chance...might have been better. Oh and screw the reporters "in the field" that prevent our folks from doing their job.

Thanks to all who have served...

[8timechamps]

8time...I totally agree on all your points. When I mentioned the Vietnam issue, I just think sometimes things could be more flexible. Killing was not an option. I find this so ironic that we (Americans) go out of our way to "play by the rules" and the world still thinks we are the bad guys. I know it's so much more, but danm ya think we'd get credit for something.

We sure didn't fight fair in 1770's....

I'm with you. Believe me, there was more than one occasion (in my personal experience) when "playing by the rules" was very frustrating. But, we did. There are people out there that understand the difference between the people that live in the country and the government that runs it, but you won't find those folks anywhere near a fire fight.

[8timechamps]

Tough movie, on more than one occasion I would look down our row of seats and more than one person would be covering their eyes. Chick accused me of checking out the woman with rilly rilly big boobies, and she was right, but that does not change the fact that multiple people were covering their eyes.

Quit looking at boobies during the movie.

[Howzit]

I am a multi-tasker.

[JiuJitsuSooner]

I read the book a couple years ago, if I remember correctly, I think the goat herders had a little boy with them (which could be why they just let them go)

[8timechamps]

I am a multi-tasker.

They make ointment for that.