I saw Lone Survivor in the theater and the last hour or so was so intense that I was literally tired when I left the theater. The gunfight was very good, especially in context and when buoyed by the rest of the film, but doesn't stand as well on its own as the scenes from Heat and SPR.
i totally get what you mean with that, but i also disagree. the "gunfight" in lone survivor, if you go from start to end, is like an hour long. with heat and SPR you have a definitive start and end point, and the heat one is pretty short, and the SPR one is like 20 mins or so with minor downtime in the middle, and it kind of trickles to a slow.
with lone survivor, it is like a series of mini battles that all kind of wind together. however, i disagree that scenes from within the hour long gun battle really do stand on their own. i had only seen it once (at home on bluray when it first came out), and this past weekend i decided to put it in and just watch some of the gunfight scenes. and i gotta say, they really do stand on their own. the very beginning of it until the first "slowdown" in the fight really does stand on it's own. from the very first shot walberg shoots (and the shot that you can literally feel from the bass in your chest) to when it kind of slows the pace, it's just a very intense fight and has you gripping on your seat. i think a lot of it is how well the movie is done and the sound is just incredible.