"Lone Survivor" pays tribute to extraordinary soldiers "Lone Survivor" is a war action movie based on the memoirs of the only special forces soldier to survive a US army raid that went wrong in Afghanistan. He was a member of the Navy SEALs, the elite of the elite of the US army, which is trained for unconventional warfare. Director Peter Berg, who also wrote the screenplay, explained the work that went into making the film look authentic: "You know, it was very important for the actors to make it clear that, yeah, they trained hard and they worked hard, but that wasn't ever to be in any way equal to a SEAL. It was to be able to maybe get an understanding of what a SEAL went through, so they could fake it, could portray it. Mark Wahlberg plays Marcus Luttrel, a young US Navy SEAL who was dropped by helicopter into rugged Afghan mountains to neutralise a Taliban chief in June 2005. The cast's training included a three-week boot camp in New Mexico. "There were many challenges to making a movie that takes place in Afghanistan at 14,000 feet, just logistically, it was a very difficult movie to make, but nothing in comparison to what those guys went through, what they sacrificed," Mark Wahlberg said at the premiere. Yes, I think there are so many challenges. To do these guys justice is the number one thing, to have their families be proud of it is the reason why you take this on," said Taylor Kitsch, who plays one of Luttrel's teammates. "I absolutely felt an extraordinary amount of pressure to tell these guys" stories right. These are Navy SEALS who lived and died, and they all have friends and family who are going to see this movie," added cast member Emile Hirsch. The mission went wrong and three out of four team members were killed. Luttrel was left unconscious with numerous fractures, shrapnel wounds and a gunshot. Another 16 US soldiers died when their chopper was shot down on a rescue mission. "Lone Survivor" is the latest in a string of action movies based on real events for Mark Wahlberg, including Oscar-winner "Black Hawk Down" and "Munich." The film is out in the US on Christmas Day and in Europe from January.