MILE 22 (2018)

Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais, Ronda Rousey, John Malkovich
RunTime: 1 hr 35 mins
Rating: M18 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: Golden Village Pictures
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 16 August 2018

Synopsis: In a visceral modern thriller from the director of Lone Survivor, Mark Wahlberg stars as James Silva, an operative of the CIA’s most highly-prized and least understood unit. Aided by a top-secret tactical command team, Silva must retrieve and transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to Mile 22 for extraction before the enemy closes in.

Movie Review:

Marky Mark has been taking on some pretty intense roles lately. In 2017, the 47 year old actor got to work up his termper and do quite a bit of shouting in All the Money in the World and Transformers: The Last Knight. Even in the comedy Daddy’s Home 2, he was the uptight father who had his fair share of sulking and yelling.

Here, Wahlberg is working with his frequent collaborator Peter Berg in yet another adrenaline charged action movie. After Lone Survivor (2013), Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day (both in 2016), he is again the tough guy who overcomes all odds. Something is different this time though – the character is a high functioning autistic protagonist who isn’t very likeable. How can you cheer for someone who pushes a colleague’s slice of birthday cake off the table, just because the day isn’t going too well?

Graham Roland and Lea Carpenter’s story puts this CIA agent in spotlight, entrusting him with the mission of transporting a man (the ever charismatic Iko Uwais) across 22 miles of dangerous grounds to safety. This man is no ordinary dude because he holds information that can set off deadly radioactive material. Of course, the CIA task force requires support and they come in the form of other agents (Lauren Cohan and Ronda Rousey) and a suited man (John Malkovich) calling the shots in a control centre filled with techies fiddling with tracking machines… or something.

Details and logic are irrelevant for a movie of this genre because viewers just want to see the guys drenched in manly sweat. The ladies are supporting characters here as they let Wahlberg and Uwais dominate the big screen with their enigmatic presence. While the movie headlines Whalberg, it is Uwais we are rooting for.

The 35 year old Indonesian stuntman, fight choreographer and martial artist is a joy to watch. One standout sequence involves the rogue agent trying to escape captivity. Showing off his sculpted bod, the shirtless actor punches and kicks his way through a gang of baddies. The result is messy, bloody and very satisfying for action junkies. Having seen his powerful fight scenes in movies like The Raid: Redemption (2011) and Headshot (2016), we wish the story could make Uwais the protagonist instead of the somewhat weary Wahlberg.

The 95 minute movie doesn’t believe in subtlety, as decibel levels shoot rocket high with car screeches, gun shots, bomb explosions and people shouting at the top of their voices. Veteran actor Malkovich (Zoolander 2) doesn’t do much with his role, but it might have been entertaining to see him deploy some villainous theatrics. This is a pure action movie which doesn’t do more than what it’s supposed to do. The attempt at introducing a plot twist (ahem, please note that there are Russians involved in the storyline) may not go down with the serious movie goer, but we are all for its silliness. Just give us more of Uwais’ awesome fight scenes – we want to see the man kick some ass!   

Movie Rating:

(Mark Wahlberg is fine in this no brainer action flick, but Iko Uwais is aweome and we want to see more of him!)

Review by John Li