Most Brutal Kills in Mark Wahlberg's Action Thriller Mile 22

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for director Peter Berg’s Mile 22, in theaters now.

There's been a resurgence of high-octane action films that hold nothing back. John Wick, Atomic Blonde, The Equalizer and Hotel Artemis are only some examples, but this no-holes-barred attitude is taken to the next level in director Peter Berg's Mile 22.

This espionage thriller delivers action in abundance, focusing on the CIA hunt for insurgents across Southern Asia. It also addresses the intricate spy game played between the United States and Russia, which leads James Silva's (Mark Wahlberg) special-ops unit to attempt to secret a valuable informant to America. Berg transforms their journey into a bloody war on the streets of fictional Indocarr, delivering some brutal deaths in the process.

5. A CIA Slaughter

The film opens up with Silva's squad taking out what they believe is a Russian terrorist cell hiding in the United States. Their CIA handlers, known as Overwatch, oversee the mission, guiding Silva's squad to kill everyone inside, while also enduring a few casualties themselves.

In the process, Silva comes face to face with a young kid, burned and scared, after barely escaping an explosion in the house. Instead of showing mercy or apprehending him, Overwatch, through their leader Mother (John Malkovich), instructs Silva to kill the boy. He doesn't hesitates, and pumps the kid full of bullets. Silva's squad makes one more pass and continues the spree of gunfire on the victims, before the building blows up.

4. Ronda Gets Roasted

Sam (WWE's Ronda Rousey) is one of Silva's main field operatives and a key part of the entourage transporting the informant Li (The Raid's Iko Uwais) from the U.S. embassy in Indocarr to an airstrip 22 miles away. However, they're attacked en route by street gangs, corrupt cops and even the Indocarr army, all in an effort to prevent Li from divulging the location of stolen nuclear material.

In the melee, a biker blows up Sam's jeep, leaving half of her body severely burned. Silva's contingent is also stopped by a hail of gunfire, but as they plot an escape, they realize Sam is mortally wounded. The captain instructs his team to leave Sam behind, giving her grenades to provide them cover. When the assailants approach, she essentially becomes a suicide bomber, blowing everyone to oblivion.

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3. One Unlucky Biker

Apart from Sam's self-destruct plan, all of the pursuing bikers are taken out by Silva and Alice (The Walking Dead's Lauren Cohan) as they flee. With the numbers against them though, Li has no choice but to help the CIA agents to ensure his own survival. He's handcuffed, however, making it difficult to fight back when the attackers arrive to extract him.

When he's assaulted, Li pulls his unlucky attacker through his jeep's window, shattering the glass, before taking the biker's neck and placing it on the shards protruding from the door. He then grates the man's neck from side to side, slitting his throat. The sound effect, the blood shooting out ... Trust us, this moment is not for the faint of heart.

2. Attack of the Drone

The attack on Silva's team is coordinated by Axel, a mysterious official working for Indocarr's government. His rivalry with Silva drives the film early on as he warns them the CIA won't get away with the extraction of Li. When he meets Silva at an ice cream parlor midway through the film, he asks Silva to surrender.

REVIEW: Mile 22 Is An Exhausting Splatter-Fest Pretending to Be a Thriller

When Silva's unit eventually reaches the airstrip, their vehicle is blocked by Axel's jeep. With time ticking down, Silva calls on Overwatch to make the move it's been waiting for the entire film. Silva teases the villain by miming a gun with his hand as an Overwatch-piloted drone blows up Axel with a missile.

When Li and Alice depart on the plane, Silva, on his way back to the U.S. embassy, pieces together the puzzle using a comment Li made about "mother." In a twist ending, it's revealed Li is actually a Russian triple agent, and he begins to kill the Americans on the plane before going after Alice. He was activated to win the CIA's trust so that Li's Russian handlers could track the location of Mother.

This was planned by Vera, a Russian military official and the mother of the charred boy whom Silva killed at the beginning of the film. Her son wasn't a terrorist, but rather part of a refugee safe house, and thus, Vera wants vengeance on Overwatch for feeding Silva bad intelligence. Silva overhears the slaughter on his communications link as Russian assassins attack Overwatch, exacting bloody vengeance.

In theaters now, director Peter Berg’s Mile 22 stars Mark Wahlberg, John Malkovich, Lauren Cohan, Iko Uwais and Ronda Rousey.