Going the Distance with Mile 22.

Early morning, Fam…

So, yesterday, we saw the late Summer actioner, Mile 22, starring Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohan, the legendary John Malkovich, and Iko Uwais with a bit part by WWE wrestler Ronda Rousey.

James Silva’s (Wahlberg) a CIA operative tasked with getting Li Noor (Uwais), a foreign intelligence asset with a code to a weapon that has the potential to take out a lot of people, the 22 miles from the American embassy in Southeast Asia to an airfield for extraction.   Along with Silva on the mission’s Alice Kerr (Cohan) and Sam Snow (Rousey) with their eyes from HQ, James Bishop (Malkovich) trying to help the crew stay a couple steps ahead of the plethora of heavies hellbent on getting their hands on the aforementioned code/Noor.

The movie starts pretty clunky in a few sequences before the credits and title card roll.  I guess in a way, it was vehicle for character development.  Still, it made it a little hard to know where the movie was going.  If the movie doesn’t lose you in this opening, you’re in for a ride.

First, don’t look for any deep meaning in Mile 22; it’s strictly an escapism piece.  That’s not to say the movie’s bad, it’s just what it is.  Wahlberg plays Silva as a hardcore, jaded type while Cohan steps up as Silva’s right-hand man.  Her time on The Walking Dead’s primed her for this role.  She looks comfortable transitioning from walker killing to warm bodies.  Rousey, not so much, I don’t think I saw the expression on her face change anytime she was on camera.  Of course, Malkovich is Malkovich whether he’s playing a good guy or a complete prick, he just demands attention.

Uwais made his name known with his work in The Raid movies, which I honestly haven’t seen, but plan on doing so after seeing his work in Mile 22, in which he choreographed his own fight scenes.

I’m not going to ruin the end for you guys, because it’s actually pretty shocking considering we all expect a movie to end just so.  I’d be interested to hear what you guys think if you check out Mile 22.

Late Summer movies more often than not get shafted, because school’s getting back in session and whatnot…or, studios, for whatever the reason is, don’t believe in the product, making it the underdog.  I like underdog stories, so give Mile 22 a chance…of course, after your studies.

Be good to each other.

-J-