We quite like Peter Berg in the editorial office. Leaving aside the excellent Welcome to the Jungle, a few fans even have Bay’s “moron” Battleship, and then, of course, mainly Wahlberg’s works, be it the militant Lone Survivor, Deep Water Horizon, or Patriots’ Day. Everything in red at the ČSFd, all rather sensitively served little pieces in which Wahlberg transcends his acting shadow. And everything but Survivor, commercial flops. Maybe that’s why the proven pair decided to change the scenery and kind of return to Berg’s Kingdom, because team shots to the teeth of armed professionals are both in demand, and, on the other hand, it’s much more fun to shoot a free adaptation of Call of Duty. So we are exploring Mile 22 Movie here.
There is nothing else in the result of Mile 22, because the associations with the Kingdom or even with Bourne or Mission: Impossible are quickly lost. Wahlberg and his elite team are controlled from above by John Malkovich, but the whole world-building of spy organizations, super-secret teams and professionals with a black soul lasts about ten minutes. Yes, the opening scene is Rainbow Six on steroids, but it also presents a team of badasses that the viewer has yet to find their way to before realizing that there is a human being hidden behind the killies. However, Berg rejects this characterization and unlike the aforementioned Kingdom, which is more of a detective story flourished with action scenes here and there, he doesn’t even have time for it, because Mile 22 tries to give the impression of an unstoppable colossus in the second half. Only Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead) has an emotional arc here, the others are just Mariah cards,
It’s annoying to watch, because Berg is quite good at his craft and just drowns in fights. But this is not a surprise, because when you engage someone like Iko Uwais in the role of the MacGuffin aka Pandora’s box and the mover of the plot, you automatically have to “protect” the other actors with quick editing during the fight scenes. It worked, the actors survived, but viewers used to Raid suffer a little. Iko plays a mysterious pro with an encrypted USB that Wahlberg’s team must get out of town and aboard an American plane. This is the only way to get to the hidden shipment of nuclear material. You probably already know it, similar to 16 Blocks or Iron Grip with Eastwood, you need to get your shipment safely through a city full of omnipotent killers.
In the constant pace, there is no time for character polishing, so the characters play on the first impression – they are killers, dirty work for the government with a lot of notches on the barrel. There is no reason to worry about them because they are infallible. There is no reason to root for them because they are no angels. Pedestrians like Ronda Rousey or Carlo Albana are reconciled to it, but Wahlberg in the main role tries to defy the wobbly role and… play for his life. Mr. Hlád asked me if he didn’t look a bit like a “bleached Denzel”. It’s true that Marky Mark’s eyebrow game and effort to hide his Boston accent behind a gruff hiss was more pronounced than usual.
But the biggest problem is that, unlike Lone Survivor, we are not watching the battle of heroic American soldiers with enemy forces, but the battle of two secret services that sacrifice their pins to each other. Yes, one is outnumbered and the other speaks English, but that alone is not enough for great sympathy. I understand that someone will be upset that Berg serves them a decently shot Counter-Strike, but opulent airsoft with eRk effects has never saved a movie. Aware that he has Iko Uwais on the team, Berg even tries a sort of Raid remake for twenty minutes. Then again, it looks pretty good, and Iko plays her brooding decently even in a limited register, but it’s all just an empty imitation. After all, even the attempt to catch up with the plot twists in the last five-minute episode and to try to appear comprehensive in a hurry, sounds lost and is more like an annoyed sigh.
Play the trailerIt’s a wonder that Berg gave a nod to such an empty script from a complete rookie. Maybe on paper those blank pages with the inscription “an action scene follows” sound enticing, and lately we’ve had a few genre films that fill the absence of plot with high-quality action and charismatic heroes. Unfortunately, Berg can only rely on that craft, because even the three commendable characters are somehow unlikeable and you don’t feel like going out for a beer with them without fearing for your own life. This isn’t an A-Team or Fast and Furious spoof, here’s someone trying to launch a brand new serious spy series. I feel a little sorry for Wahlberg – he should have the physical and acting skills for a B-level Bourne, but this effort to milk the audience comes at a time when some fans have started to take him as a character actor as well. This is how he suddenly falls for Gerard Butler and his completely forgettable The Perfect Heist. Maybe it will turn into a two in time, but definitely not in red, ladies and gentlemen.
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