ALL PHOTOS and VIDEOS by Joane Nelson
By Anna Paula Goncalves
LOS ANGELES — I’ll just cut straight to the chase:
Go catch “Mile 22” in theaters, Aug. 17! As you can see from watching our fun “black” carpet experience, maybe these 22 [no spoiler, here] reasons of why I think you should, means you will.
Ready? Here we go.
1) This is Mark Wahlberg and Director Peter Berg’s fourth collaboration (“Lone Survivor,” “Deepwater Horizon,” and the Boston-set “Patriots Day,” about the Boston Marathon bombings) yet “Mile 22” is their first collaboration on a fictional story.
2) Mark Wahlberg’s character, James Silva, will give you a little bit of everything you love about Mark.
3) Lauren Cohan. I was already familiar with her work on ‘The Walking Dead,’ but she was a revelation to me in this film. And she may just end up being one to you, too.
4) Iko Uwais. WHAT?!?!? Where did this guy come from and why wasn’t I familiar with his work before?!
5) Ronda Rousey. I personally love seeing her reinvent amd rebrand herself. If you dig her as much as I do, you’ll appreciate her character, Sam Snow.
6) John Malkovich. Need I say more?
7) Nikolai Nikolaeff. I got a taste of his work and definitely want to see more.
8) Every single cast member that was on that carpet loved being there and it showed. That made me much more excited to see them on the big screen. And after watching them on the big screen? Yup, that was some great casting.
9) In fact, I’m just going to go ahead and give credit where it’s due and where it’s usually not given: Casting Director and guru, Sheila Jaffe, for her and her team’s work.
10) Did you realize just how many of the actors come from TV series? Some of which didn’t have film credit at all prior to “Mile 22”! As someone involved with the casting world, I love seeing professionals appreciate talent and hunger over a resume. Hence my point No. 9.
11) Sound effects team made me really take in everything that was happening.
12.) You will want to applaud… (I lost track of how many ‘applauding’ moments happened in that theater.)
13.) You will be ‘shook’…
14.) You will also laugh, though…
15.) And yes, you will probably want to shout, too…
16.) You won’t want to look away. In fact, you may get mad at yourself if you do or if anyone walks in front of you. I saw it happen three times (one being with me, I’ll admit it.)
17.) You will be caught off guard…
18.) You will want to watch the sequel. Oh yes, there’s a sequel already set to happen you guys! That should tell you something. For more, read here.
19.) Lea Carpenter and Graham Roland. Intentionally left these two toward the end because every point made here was thanks to their original story.
20.) Screenwriting was also well done (Lea Carpenter).
21.) Although we see a lot of this kind of theme, these two really wrote something that was unexpected. You have to watch to know what I mean.
22.) Left the best for last: A reminder, even through a fictional film, of how sacrificial it is for our service men and women to sign up to give their lives as a shield to protect others.
And there you have it! My 22 reasons why you should drive however many miles to your nearest theater to catch this film on Friday, Aug. 17!