Mile 22 fails to deliver despite it being set up for success              

Action movies don’t have to be mindless and there are many examples smart action films. Even mindless action films can be enjoyable if they have characters or fun sequences. Mile 22 aims high on paper and falters badly in execution. It has Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Conrad from The Walking Dead and Iko Uwais among others in a film that’s directed by Peter Berg. Some folks will look at Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg and hope for a repeat of one of their earlier successes. If you’re like me you’ll watch Mile 22 because it stars martial arts super star Iko Uwais. Others will look at Lauren Conrad and are curious to see how she does when she’s not acting opposite some zombies.

Unfortunately for the audience there are zombies in this film and they’re in form of the script and its execution. It doesn’t succeed as an action film under the mindless category or even one that can be enjoyed on a rainy day. We were reminded of The Mechanic and how utterly disappointing that film was. Granted, that film had a low bar and still bonked its head on it. Mile 22 has things behind it that should’ve made it work on some level. However, like the cake in the oven that never truly settles, this is one whose ingredients should never have been mixed.

It didn’t start out like this. The anti-terrorism team is stateside at a home in suburbia USA when things go sideways quickly. 18 months later pieces of the team are in some country at an American Embassy when a high level operative wants to turn himself in.  There is some snappy banter between Wahlberg and the others on his team. However, at the end of the day the audience is there to see the team transport their cargo, Uwais to the airport through 22 miles of urban trick or treats. We want to see The Raid-On The Road and on the way to the plane that can make all of this worthwhile.

There are a couple very good fight sequences. Congratulations Mile 22, you’ve got one of the top, if not the top, martial artists in your film and you manage a couple good sequences-which are all in the trailer! Even more frustrating is the fact that Uwais is in handcuffs for the first 60% of the film! Wahlberg has seen what Uwais’ character is capable of and they’re in a tough spot, yet he insists on pulling him along via the cuffs.

The film’s greatest asset (in some people’s mind) is intentionally kept on the sidelines for a supposed humdinger of an ending.  By the time they finally take the cuffs off of Uwais it’s too late and the film is beyond repair to an ending that leaves your mouth agape-and not in a good way.

They announced a sequel to Mile 22 prior to its release. But then again, even Mechanic: Resurrection (aka The Mechanic 2) made three times its budget (40:125) with 83% of that coming from overseas. Mile 22 was made for 35 million and is tracking to open at 17. By the time it’s finished in U.S. theaters it’ll probably end up just south of 50 and will need a massive overseas haul. Based on low expectations it’ll do well enough to fiscally warrant a sequel, but is a solid waste of talent.