Mile 22
An elite group of American operatives, aided by a top-secret tactical command team, must transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to an extraction point 22 miles away through the hostile streets of an Asian city.
Working with a respectable budget of $35.0M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $66.3M in global revenue (+89% profit margin).
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Mile 22 (2018) showcases precise narrative architecture, characteristic of Peter Berg's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 34 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.1, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Overwatch team raids a Russian FSB safe house to eliminate intelligence threats and recover sensitive materials, establishing their covert operational world.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Li Noor walks into the U.S. Embassy with intelligence about deadly cesium location, offering a trade that will require extraction—disrupting their current operational status.. At 13% through the film, this Disruption is delayed, allowing extended setup of the story world. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 23 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Silva and his team leave the embassy compound with Li Noor, actively choosing to enter the gauntlet of the 22-mile journey through hostile territory., moving from reaction to action.
At 47 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 51% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat The team discovers they've been compromised from within—their safe house is attacked and they realize the enemy has infiltrated their communications., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 70 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Multiple team members are killed in brutal fashion, Silva realizes Alice has betrayed them completely, and the mission appears to have failed catastrophically., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 75 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Silva commits fully to completing the mission regardless of cost, synthesizing his tactical skills with pure determination for the final push to the airfield., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Mile 22's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs systematic plot point analysis that identifies crucial turning points. By mapping Mile 22 against these established plot points, we can identify how Peter Berg utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Mile 22 within the action genre.
Peter Berg's Structural Approach
Among the 9 Peter Berg films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.2, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Mile 22 takes a more unconventional approach compared to the director's typical style. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Peter Berg filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional action films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Peter Berg analyses, see Lone Survivor, The Rundown and Deepwater Horizon.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Overwatch team raids a Russian FSB safe house to eliminate intelligence threats and recover sensitive materials, establishing their covert operational world.
Theme
Alice discusses trust and the cost of their work, foreshadowing the theme of whether the mission justifies the personal sacrifice and moral compromises.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Overwatch, James Silva's instability and genius, the team dynamics, and their mission to prevent catastrophic attacks through extralegal operations.
Disruption
Li Noor walks into the U.S. embassy with intelligence about deadly cesium location, offering a trade that will require extraction—disrupting their current operational status.
Resistance
Debate over whether to trust Li Noor, verification of his intelligence, negotiation of terms, and preparation for the high-risk 22-mile extraction to the airfield.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Silva and his team leave the embassy compound with Li Noor, actively choosing to enter the gauntlet of the 22-mile journey through hostile territory.
Mirror World
Li Noor reveals his own philosophical perspective on violence and duty, serving as a mirror to Silva's worldview and challenging the team's moral certainty.
Premise
The promise of the premise: intense tactical combat through urban warfare as the team fights through ambushes, betrayals, and overwhelming enemy forces.
Midpoint
The team discovers they've been compromised from within—their safe house is attacked and they realize the enemy has infiltrated their communications.
Opposition
Casualties mount, Alice is revealed as the mole, team members die, and the extraction becomes increasingly impossible as enemies close in from all sides.
Collapse
Multiple team members are killed in brutal fashion, Silva realizes Alice has betrayed them completely, and the mission appears to have failed catastrophically.
Crisis
Silva processes the devastating losses and betrayal while making a final desperate push to get Li Noor to the extraction point despite impossible odds.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Silva commits fully to completing the mission regardless of cost, synthesizing his tactical skills with pure determination for the final push to the airfield.
Synthesis
Final brutal firefight to reach the plane, Li Noor's extraction, and the devastating reveal that Li Noor himself was a double agent who played them all along.
Transformation
Silva sits in defeat, watching footage of Li Noor's escape and true allegiance, transformed from confident operative to devastated man who lost everything for nothing.