Movie critics have called “Lone Survivor” the best war-time movie since “Saving Private Ryan.”

The film — based on the true story of Navy SEALs on a mission in Afghanistan — caused CNN’s Jake Tapper to question the operation that took the lives of 19 men. The Navy SEALs were tasked to capture or kill Taliban leader Ahmad Shah when an unexpected event forced them into a deadly situation.

During a tense interview with former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and Mark Wahlberg, who plays Luttrell in the movie, Tapper questioned if the lives of the 19 men were lost “senselessly.” Luttrell responded with an answer you’ll want to watch beginning at 1:15 in the clip.

Read the transcript below:

Jake Tapper: One of the emotions I felt while watching was, first of all, the hopelessness of the situation, how horrific it was. And I was torn about the message of the film in the same way that I think I am about the war in Afghanistan itself. I don’t want any more senseless American death.

Marcus Luttrell: I don’t know what part of the film you were watching, but hopelessness never really came into it. Where did you see that? We never felt like we were hopelessly lost or anything like that. We never gave up. We never felt like we were losing until we were actually dead.

Tapper: It seemed senseless. I don’t mean to disrespect in any way, but it seemed senseless — all of these wonderful people who were killed for an op that went wrong.

Luttrell: We spend our whole lives training to defending this country, and then we were sent over there by this country. So you’re telling me because we were over there doing what we were told by our country, that it was senseless? And my guys, what? They died for nothing?

Tapper: No.

Luttrell: That’s what you said. So, let me just say, it went bad for us over there, but that was our job. That’s what we did. We didn’t complain about it.