The movie begins with James Silva (Mark Wahlberg), a brilliant but volatile CIA operative, leading his Overwatch team in an operation to dismantle a Russian spy cell in the United States. The mission is successful but ends with brutal executions, emphasizing the team’s ruthlessness. Years later, in the fictional Asian country of Indocarr, Silva and his team are assigned to retrieve a mysterious informant named Li Noor (Iko Uwais), who possesses classified information about stolen radioactive material. Li Noor offers to trade the information for asylum in the U.S.
Silva and his team—Alice Kerr (Lauren Cohan), Sam Snow (Ronda Rousey), and their tech support leader Bishop (John Malkovich)—agree to transport Noor to an airstrip 22 miles away. However, their mission is immediately compromised as the local government and a rogue paramilitary group attempt to stop them. A series of intense gunfights and high-speed chases ensue, with the Overwatch team suffering heavy casualties. Despite his initial role as a supposed informant, Li Noor proves to be a highly skilled fighter, fending off assassins while assisting Silva’s team.
As they get closer to their destination, the team faces relentless attacks. Alice, Sam, and other agents are killed in the ambushes, leaving Silva and Noor as the last survivors. When they finally reach the extraction point, Noor boards the plane, believing he has secured his freedom. However, in a shocking twist, it is revealed that Noor is a double agent working for the Russian government. The encrypted information he provided to the CIA was a trap, and the mission was orchestrated as part of a larger Russian counter-intelligence operation.
The movie ends with Silva realizing he has been deceived. Overwatch has lost most of its agents, and the Russians have gained the upper hand. The film concludes on an unresolved note, hinting at Silva’s thirst for revenge in a potential sequel. With intense action, brutal fight sequences, and a dark espionage theme, Mile 22 delivers a gripping, high-stakes thriller.
