Mile 22 Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 2.25/5

Plot Synopsis: James Silva (MARK WAHLBERG) is an operative of the CIA’s most highly-prized and little known unit called “Overwatch”. Aided by a top-secret tactical team — including Alice (LAUREN COHAN), Sam (RONDA ROWSEY), William (CARLO ALBAN) and commanded by Bishop (JOHN MALKOVICH) — Silva must transport, over the course of 22 miles, an asset named Li Noor (IKO UWAIS) who has vital information about a biological weapon to an airfield for extraction before the enemy closes in.

Review: The premise behind Mile 22 sounded interesting. Having Mark Wahlberg headlining seemed like a good idea. Peter Berg at the helm? Outside of Battleship, he is a solid enough filmmaker. The end product however was rather disastrous. It was a simple concept made needlessly complicated, not to mention some really obnoxious and verbally abusive characters who were utterly unlikeable.

First, the technical issues. I don’t know if Peter Berg attended some kind of seminar conducted by Paul Greengrass, but the editing was all over the place. You had one sequence cutting back and forth between Wahlberg talking with the head of the embassy with another scene with Cohan that had no correlation that I could tell. But that’s minor. Where it becomes annoying is during the action/fight scenes where it’s just tiring trying to keep up on what the hell is going on. I can only assume Berg and his editors, Melissa Lawson Cheung/Colby Parker Jr., thought quick cutting equaled suspense and thrills. Spoiler: it did not.

The other big issue: the characters were absolutely insufferable. Wahlberg’s Silva, who has some kind of neurological problems, is so abusive to his fellow team members, not that it matters as two of them, played by Rowsey and Cohan, were pretty much assholes also, making fun of their fellow tech team members. I guess “Overwatch” is such a coveted job because I’m not sure why any of them would stick around. If you want to see how an assassin-like role with a character who has emotional issues can be done right, look no further than Ben Affleck in The Accountant.

From what I read, Mile 22 was supposed to be the first part of a trilogy planned by Berg and Wahlberg, both serving as producers, for STX but with a lackluster box office pulling in only $66.3 million off of a $50 million budget. Thank god any plans for further installments would likely be scrapped because I could not spend another 90-minutes with Silva being a complete shithead.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.25/5

This release comes with a title-embossed and glossy slip cover; inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD. Features appear plentiful, but in fact each one are merely short promotional pieces: Overwatch (1:36), Introducing Iko Uwais (1:48), Iko Fight (1:47), Bad Ass Women (1:44), Behind-the-Scenes Stunts (1:56), Modern Combat (1:56) and Colombia (3:45), the combined total was a grand 14:32. Also included are 5 Theatrical Trailers (11:54).

VIDEO – 4.5/5

AUDIO – 4.5/5

OVERALL – 2.5/5

Overall, Mile 22 had a good premise, along the lines of The Bourne franchise, completely ruined by poor editing and obnoxious and annoying characters that were absolutely unlikeable, not sure what Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg were thinking. This Blu-ray released by Universal has great video/audio transfers but lackluster bonus features.