James Silva (Mark Wahlberg) is a leading agent who is a part of a CIA operated tactical group called Overwatch. The team is charged with helping to protect a valuable asset to their team, Li Noor (Iko Uwais). Alice Kerr (Lauren Cohan) and Sam Snow (Ronda Rousey) are additional operative agents working in Silva's tactical group. Bishop (John Malkovich) leads the tactical team behind-the-scenes and sounds-off the commands. Their one mission is to protect Li Noor from the enemies.

The film is extremely light on actual plot or character development. Instead, the film is almost entirely comprised of shoot-em-up action-sequences and adrenaline fueled tactical action. The film starts with Overwatch right in the middle of an operation and then maneuvers into introducing the team. It isn't long before it turns into a full-on action flick. It's just too bad that the film didn't form a cohesive storyline or have the craft to actually be a great, edge-of-your-seat action extravaganza.

Mark Wahlberg (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees) seems like he's on auto-pilot. When he's on his A-game, Wahlberg's an exceptional star who can carry a film with charisma and skill. In Mile 22, the results are far less successful than one would hope for. Unfortunately, Wahlberg seems to be running out of steam here. Mile 22 is a messy action film without a compelling leading performance to carry the show.

The screenplay was written by Lea Carpenter (from a story by Lea Carpenter and Graham Roland). This was a screenwriting debut for Carpenter. The story-line feels like it was constructed entirely around the concept of Mark Wahlberg being in an action flick: there's little thought to characters, fundamentals of storytelling, and no attempts to elevate the material. The score composed by Jeff Russo (Star Trek: Discovery, Legion) carries a action-tempo. The cinematography by Jacques Jouffret (The Purge, Truth or Dare) is slickly polished but lacks finesse.

Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon,The Kingdom) directs. Berg has become synonymous with action filmmaking. This is simply the latest effort in Berg's action filmography after a string of hits. It marks the fourth time Berg has worked with star Mark Wahlberg. It seems like the director is running out of stream himself as Berg joins his lead star in feeling like he's an auto-pilot for the entire duration of the film. Mile 22 is an underwhelming spectacle: an action film that's sole concern is to be mindless fun (with spectacular stunts in mind) and yet it fails to even deliver on that front. This is an altogether messy and overlong experience (even at 1 Hr. 35 min). Mile 22 simply doesn't make the cut.

The Blu-ray:

Video:

Mile 22 is presented on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 widescreen. The film has a rather clean, modern HD sheen to it. This is a reasonably strong presentation which preserves the cinematographer's fast-oriented action. It has no detrimental banding or serious encoding issues. The film looks a bit soft during some scenes but is generally pleasant and gets the job done for the release.

Audio:

Mile 22 is presented on Blu-ray with a 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio presentation. This is a strong HD audio presentation with quality bass for the film's action-sequences. Dialogue reproduction is also excellent. The sound mix was well designed and is well duplicated on this release. From the fast gunfire in the action scenes to the sound of cars revving down the streets, this release has strong lossless quality audio.

Optional subtitles are presented in English SDH (for the deaf and hard of hearing) and Spanish.

Extras:

Overwatch (HD, 2 min.) discusses the real life tactical teams which inspired the action in the film.

Introducing Iko Uwais (HD, 2 min.) focuses on the acclaimed action film star and his involvement in the production.

Iko Fight (HD, 2 min.) focuses on a fight sequence featuring Iko and the behind-the-scenes training that went into the action choreography.

Bad Ass Women (HD, 2 min.) focuses on the cast of strong female characters and the actresses who brought these characters to life: Alice (Lauren Cohen) and Sam (Ronda Rousey) highlight the extra.

Behind the Scenes Stunts (HD, 2 min.) features the cast, production crew, and stunt coordinator as they discuss some of the film's key stunts and the special effects work done on the action sequences.

Modern Combat (HD, 2 min.) features director Peter Berg discussing the style of the film and the use of practical effects for many of the stunts and action sequences

Columbia (HD, 4 min.) focuses on the production of the film's sequences filmed in Columbia and how the actors and crew worked in that environment and how their location manager handled the process.

Trailers (HD, 13 min.) includes five theatrical trailers promoting Mile 22. Available with a 'play all' option or individually. Includes both red and green band trailers.

Final Thoughts:

Watching Mile 22 is sorta like walking twenty-two miles without any breaks to take a breath of fresh air and smell the roses. The film is a non-stop adrenaline rush of mindless action sequences pilling up (one after another) with absolutely no characters to root for (just stock characters) and no storyline to be absorbed into. It's a routine action film that's boring at times and which features Mark Wahlberg as sleepwalking super-action-star. It's mindless entertainment (mildly enjoyable in brevity) but ultimately forgettable.

Unless you're a diehard Mark Wahlberg fan who watches everything the actor does, there's no point in checking out this underwhelming action flick.

Skip It.

Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.