Mile 22

Mark Wahlberg is up to his neck in trouble here as a CIA operative in charge of escorting a valuable foreign asset (played by The Raid's Iko Uwais) on a life-or-death trek to an airbase, while various forces attempt to take them out. From the opening noisy, bullet-ridden tactical siege, the film sets out its stall as a hard-hitting action thriller with Wahlberg in his comfort zone as the story's alpha-male figurehead, alongside an impressive Uwais. Sadly, the enjoyment is only skin deep as there's not much going on here beyond the mayhem. The plot is confusing and told in fast-talking exchanges that rarely amount to more than a set-up for further gunplay. Staccato editing and odd camera angles only add to the feeling that the film is all flash but with no narrative bang. Those excited by machismo and violence will get something out of this fourth collaboration between the star and director Peter Berg (after Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day), however, for a film filled with expository conversations, there is very little story to match the grunt and grind.