Given the title and the fact that Mark Wahlberg is the sole advertisement for this film that I have seen, I knew that from his team of 'brothers', Wahlberg would be the last one standing.

The lone survivor.

...

Anyway, knowing what would happen did not make it easier to watch.

The film details Operation Red Wings, in which four Navy SEALs - Michael P. Murphy (Taylor Kitsch), Marcus Luttrell (Mark Wahlberg), Matthew 'Axe' Axelson (Ben Foster) and Danny Dietz (Emile Hirsch) - are tasked with tracking the whereabouts of Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, who is responsible for killing a multitude of US Marines and villagers and refugees who aided American forces.

Yeah. It's really grritty, bleak, serious stuff. Definitely something that not everyone will be comfortable with, due in part to the sheer bloody and violent scenes. But unfortunately this is everyday life for many.

The film began with the showing of real-life training of would-be Navy SEALs. Some men dropped out and I have to say I did not blame them at all because that stuff is brutal. That part alone just left me saying damn repeatedly.

Berg's direction was fantastic.

There was one particular time when I thought my sound was broken because there was silence for a few minutes. But no, it was just the beauty of silence which I am a sucker for, especially when it's an action or war film. It becomes just that more dramatic.
There were long unbroken shots and shaky cam shots which just added more authenticity.

Deaths are illustrated with finesse.
Yes, finesse.
Juxtaposition or not, each death was in its own way beautifully illustrated, in slow-motion with somber music accompanying it. It was almost as though you could feel what each man felt as they died.

Mark Wahlberg and Emile Hirsch were on fine form as usual.
Ben Foster is just a freakin' revelation. I mean, I only really knew him from X-Men but his acting is class.
Taylor Kitsch just gets better every time I watch him. He was a true leader.
I have to say I was very happy to see Alexander Ludwig, he's done so well since playing Cato.

And can I just take a minute to praise the acting chops of every foreign actor?
...
Well I'm doing it anyway.
I could not fault a single one. I hated who I was supposed to hate and loved the ones I was supposed to love.
There's an adorable little boy who blinks a lot -amazing.
Every cast member was top notch. You know how sometimes a film has extras that aren't very good at their job? Well, that's not the case in Lone Survivor.

I was waiting for the film to end and the 2 hour running time didn't seem that long at all. Which I guess is a good thing.

The end credits were a touching tribute to the lives lost and also highlighted were the beautiful and wonderful Afghan people who risked their lives to protect the Americans as part of their traditional code of honour, Pashtunwali.

The film left me with a feeling of sadness and gratitude so to all servicemen and women alike and Peter Berg, thank you.