Mile 22: 22 miles a minute and going nowhere

Movie Review: Mile 22

Mark Wahlberg plays a black ops specialist who meets his match in Iko Uwais’s cop-turned-double agent in Mile 22, a thriller that stalks, but never closes for the kill.

Mile 22

3/5

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Iko Uwais, Lauren Cohan, John Malkovich, Ronda Rousey

Directed by: Peter Berg

Running time: 1 hr 35 mins

Rating: Restricted

By Katherine Monk

Mark Wahlberg walks into his wheelhouse as Jimmy Silva, a hands-on intelligence officer who often handles big guns when he’s not flexing his own. The same could be said for director Peter Berg, a man who swims in testosterone-fuelled stories and finds a warm pool of machismo in Lea Carpenter’s action-focused script. Plus, there’s us — viewers who know the Wahlberg-Berg  brand as evidenced by Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon, and expect violence-laced escapism with a hint of deadpan humour.

In short, all of us are in familiar territory as we walk down the road of Mile 22. And it’s a good thing, too, because this movie has no map.

An action movie set in urban Southeast Asia, where streets refuse straight lines, writer Carpenter creates a complicated stream of fast-moving storylines that zig-zag and weave, and often feel queasily circular.

In short, all of us are in familiar territory as we walk down the road of Mile 22. And it’s a good thing, too, because this movie has no map.

It’s difficult to follow, but then again, it’s about American foreign policy — at least plot-wise. The rest is really just character, and by that, it’s about Wahlberg and his wheelhouse. The man once known as Marky Mark, a Calvin Klein pinup, and SNL running joke has earned his own locker in the Hollywood actor clubhouse. He’s more than muscle and American grit now. He’s willing to creep around the edges, and pull up the wall-to-wall carpet of humanity.

Silva seems like the standard character — proud patriot, sharp-shooter, ass-kicker — but he’s a little more complicated than your all-American can of pork and beans. He’s got behavioural issues and a clear-cut case of obsessive compulsive disorder. He’s a genius, but he’s not so good with emotions or impulse control. He needs to snap a wristband to keep himself focused — all of which made him an ideal recruit for black ops.

Silva works with Overwatch, a secret mercenary corps assigned to do dirty work for the  American government. Lead by a brilliant tactician (John Malkovich) miles from the epicenter of each mission, Overwatch has access to all the toys in the American arsenal and uses them with laser precision for surgical strikes. Yet, this time, things are a little more complicated because the asset has a mind of his own.

Silva seems like the standard character — proud patriot, sharp-shooter, ass-kicker — but he’s a little more complicated than your all-American can of pork and beans. He’s got behavioural issues and a clear-cut case of obsessive compulsive disorder.

Li Noor (Iko Uwais from the jaw-dropping action thriller The Raid) is a member of the police force and special ops on the South Asian side. He’s got information that could save the lives of millions, but we’re never sure what his true motives are when he comes forward and offers himself to the American embassy.

Silva doesn’t trust him, but we know from his freestyle fighting style that at some point, he and Noor will get a chance at some mano-a-mano action. Uwais has natural charisma and the same ability to wear a sphinx-like expression as Wahlberg. You look at him and you know he could explode, but there’s a too much intellect to ignore — which makes him even more dangerous.

The raw dynamic between Noor and Silva is enough to power the whole film, even though half the time we’re not sure exactly what’s happening. The script is so ambitious and so earnest in its desire to expose the hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy that it gets lost in its own loops.

The script is so ambitious and so earnest in its desire to expose the hypocrisy of U.S. foreign policy that it gets lost in its own loops.

For the viewer, it feels like you’re tripping over the fire hose on your way to the fire. When you finally get there, there’s nothing but ash — and the suggestion that an arsonist is still on the loose.

It’s not the most rewarding finale for a movie that’s aching for a good clean showdown. Instead, Mile 22 feels like the beginning of a long road that could well lead to something fantastic, once you clear the snarl of plot traffic and character wrappers that detour and litter this first leg.

@katherinemonk

THE EX-PRESS, August 17, 2018

-30-

Review: Mile 22

User Rating

2.4 (8 Votes)

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Mark Wahlberg plays a black ops specialist who meets his match in Iko Uwais’s cop-turned-double agent in Mile 22, a thriller that stalks, but never closes for the kill. -- Katherine Monk

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