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Is it worth $10? Yes
“Act Of Valor” is unique in that the filmmakers worried so much about getting things “right” and making it “authentic” that they forgot to tell a solid “story.” The reasons for wanting things right are obvious: Directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh convinced eight active duty Navy Seals to act in the film, and the overall intention of the project is to show civilians the ins and outs of real Seals on a (fake) mission. Cool stuff indeed.
Unfortunately, the story is scattershot. The basics, however, are easy: The Seals are tasked with rescuing a C.I.A. agent (Roselyn Sanchez) who’s been kidnapped, and the “extraction,” as it’s called, is full of great tension and action. Things get more complicated, however, when team leaders learn a terrorist named Christo (Alex Veadov) is plotting to smuggle conspirators into the U.S. to attack major cities.
The directors’ original intention was to make a war movie with actors playing the Seals. But with real Seals on set as consultants reportedly getting upset by the lack of realism from the actors, the directors decided to have the Seals play versions of themselves in the fictitious story.
Thankfully, McCoy and Waugh also had unprecedented access into Navy Seal equipment and protocols, and they smartly captured a lot of the action with intense close-ups and first-person point of view shots, which put the viewer right in the moment. Live ammo was also used, we learn in the director’s prologue, which means everyone had to especially be on their toes during action scenes.
The good that comes from this realistic fiction is that the war scenes, terminology, strategies, etc., all look and feel a bit different and more realistic than what we’re used to, and this is always fascinating. The bad that comes from this is that you have non-professional actors having to deliver dramatic lines, and in that the Seals struggle. No surprise there, but even though you can’t knock the Seals for not being great actors their wooden, often monotone delivery does hinder the film’s dramatic impact.
What’s more, writer Kurt Johnstad’s script doesn’t always make it clear how information is received and transmitted, what all the code words mean and what the exact plans are moving forward. We always know who the bad guys are, but the details are a bit too muddled for their own good.
Critics of the film are calling it a glamorization of Seal life that plays like a long recruitment video, and that criticism is not without merit. But it’s also legitimate to say you respect the men who are willing to fight for our freedom and that you’re glad these guys are on our side. Their acting may not be great, but the Navy Seals are damn good at what they’re supposed to be damn good at.
Thank goodness.
Did you know?
The filmmakers had four hours to get on, shoot what they needed and get off the real naval submarine seen in the film.
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miamisweetie
said:
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... John 15:13 reads "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends." This bible verse rings very true in Act of Valor. This is a great movie and I'll recommended it to all my friends and family. =) |
vane923
said:
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... The movie was a great way of opening our eyes to what these seals and countless others go through. The fighting and tactics were great, when it wasnt fighting the acting wasnt amazing but than again these men arent actors. But the best part was that, that these men arent actors they are REAL navy seals. I have to say I enjoyed the movie from the beginning to the end. And by the end it had me crying my eyes out. Definitely a movie worth seeing !! |
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