A mess of an action movie that is not as smart as it thinks it is, nor as trilling as it should have been, Mile 22 marks the first dud between director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg, while also ruining the introduction of Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais to western audiences.

There is probably not a cinema invention more used and abused than the Steadicam. You can scream CGI all you want, bat at least that technological invention attempts (and often succeeds) in bringing something to the screen. Now in this post-Bourne world, the use of “shaky cam” has consistently robbed viewers the joy of watching great action choreography. This is especially felt in Mile 22, the latest collaboration between director Peter Berg and star Mark Wahlberg. Their previous three movies – Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, and Patriots Day – are terrifically performed and presented films of much grit and emotion. Mile 22 is as far from that description as they come. Unintelligible, unrewarding, and damn near unwatchable, it is the cinematic equivalent of a Michael Bay movie high on a mixture of caffeine and testosterone. The only solace is found in the casting of Indonesian martial arts star Iko Uwais. But true to form, even Berg messes that up as well.

Let’s back track a bit. Mile 22 follows a covert tactical force CIA team, who are called to duty when no other options are left on the table. Led by the fast talking, take no prisoners James Silva (Mark Wahlberg), this group of committed super-soldiers are put to task when Indonesian police office Li Noor (Iko Uwais) comes knocking on the American embassy with a hard-disk of valuable information, and a request for immunity and extraction to America. With time not on their side and a whole country hunting them down, Silva and his team must escort Noor to an awaiting air carrier with order to transport him stateside.

What could have been a thrilling David v Goliath action packed battle, is instead an overtly confusing and over edited lost opportunity of a film. Berg has made it his mission to highlight the struggles and bravery of all matter of service men and women. Even his Battleship was sure to give a shout-out to military veterans. Mile 22 aims to do the same, with Black-Ops CIA personnel the “heroes” in question. Yet Berg’s execution of his mission statement falls way off the mark. The script by Lea Carpenter (her debut) is a muddles mess of espionage drivel and incoherent geo-political musings. Worst yet is the performance by Mark Wahlberg, which ranks easily as one of his worst, as the usually reliable Oscar nominee motor-mouths through his dialogue like a child on a high of Mountain Dew and Skittles.

The biggest crime that Mile 22 commits is its waste of Iko Uwais, the star of action films The Raid and The Raid 2. Here is an actor whose stock in trade is his phenomenal martial arts skill. Yet under the direction of Berg and the mercy of editors Melissa Lawson and Colty Parker Jr., Uwais’ action performance is chopped, diced, and minced into an unwatchable mess. So it goes for Mile 22. Take another route for a better destination.