Mile 22

James Silva (Mark Wahlberg) is the head of an elite secret unit that is called into action whenever diplomacy fails. When a large amount of radioactive material goes missing, mysterious spy Li Noor (Iko Uwais) seems to be the only one who can prevent it from causing a worldwide disaster. He strikes a deal with the U.S. government, but in order to do so, he must be brought to America from the U.S. embassy in Southeast Asia. The road from the embassy to the plane that can take him out of the country isn't far, but it's paved with people who want to prevent the deal from happening. Silva and his team are tasked with providing Li Noor with protection over the 22 miles, but there is little time to do so - and with each passing mile, the team grows smaller.

Peter Berg can't seem to do without Mark Wahlberg anymore. Mile 22 is the fourth film in a row the director has co-directed with Wahlberg - and the next one is already in the works. Once again, the duo delivers plenty of explosive action and a bit of suspense as well, though Berg has given Wahlberg's character a few tics this time around - the constant snapping of a rubber band, for instance, or talking extremely fast - that could quickly get on the audience's nerves. So it's a good thing that this time he's joined by The Raid star Iko Uwais, a performer whose fighting chops make any weakness in the script and staging at least momentarily forgettable.

The real-time chase from the US embassy to the plane is really fast-paced and gripping. That the rest is rather weak average and can score neither with good dialogues, nor with really convincing actors, is there almost forgivable. Because Berg hardly leaves the viewer time to get angry about clichéd word fights or deep logic holes. For that the action is simply too good and too fast-paced staged.

However, there are also scenes that have to do without shootouts, fight choreographies, car chases and explosions. And in such moments the movie reveals that it doesn't have much more to offer than the usual play with stereotypes. Thus, the movie can't be said to be convincing as a whole. Purely for the action there is clearly a worth seeing, but all in all Mile 22 is no more than decent average - with some slips down.

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp