Wahlberg still stands out amidst the tech blizzard.
Mile 22
Grade: C+
Director: Peter Berg (Collateral)
Screenplay: Lea Carpenter
Cast: Mark Wahlberg (The Departed), Lauren Cohan (Batman v. Superman)
Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hr 35 min
by John DeSando
Mile 22 is an espionage thriller that is pure crack for the action addicted. So much action that characterization is left in the cars’ dust or lost in high-tech programs. While the techno-glitz and high-speed chases dominate, now and then super government operative James Silva (Mark Wahlberg) peeks thorough with a tough line or two and a few stream-of-consciousness-Jason-Statham-like speeches, minimal at that.
Yet, this film belongs to a genre that demands action, in this case smuggling an Asian police officer out of the country in order for him to disclose world-saving information. My enjoyment of this actioner, however, comes largely from the fusion of technology to our sense of vulnerability.
While it is comforting to see the government using banks of computers to spy on the minute actions of bad guys, it is discomforting to realize those goons or foreign powers have the same capabilities to spy on us. Even though we can use drones to ferret out enemies, they can do the same.
But no enemy can have James, a lethal weapon of high IQ, verbal dexterity, and stirring memories that keep him in the game. Mile 22 is for those who won’t complain about the abundance of action and lack of story or character arc. We are in, after all, the end of summer arc when norms of traditional story telling are ignored while we indulge in action porn of the first order. You will enjoy regardless.
John DeSando, a Los Angeles Press Club first-place winner for National Entertainment Journalism, hosts WCBE’s It’s Movie Time and co-hosts Cinema Classics. Contact him at JDeSando@Columbus.rr.com
