Act of Valor

Act of Valor is one of those action movies that you have to ignore what the critics say about because this is one of those unique movies you may never see again. Initially, I was not sure what they were going to do with this movie in using actual active U.S. Navy SEALs, this concept had a lot of potential, but my main worry was this would come off corny or even too much of a "Ra-Ra" America is awesome movie. So I was hesitant as well because I have seen plenty of movies that I thought had a great concept, but sometimes the follow through fails. In the end Act of Valor felt like the entire movie was real and even had a grittiness about it that really gave the feeling that this movie was not an America is so great and the Navy SEALs are indestructible, but instead really humanized and strived to give the audience a feeling of gratefulness for the sacrifice that happens all over the world as our troops protect those who can not protect themselves. Yes this movie is not great or amazing, but is a good movie that is unique and has a niche among the movie viewing public.

The active U.S. Navy SEALs in the roles of the Navy SEALs give a performance and great believability to their roles. I found it funny to hear various critics state that the acting was very amateur, that makes me think well "duh" isn't that the point by not casting professional actors in the SEAL roles, even though the non-combat scenes may not be the best, they still do a fairly decent job and the realism they bring to combat sequences is unmatched. Alex Veador and Jason Cottle in the roles of Cristo and Abu Shabal our terrorists that the Navy SEALs are trying to stop give solid performances as well. They embody their characters so well that in knowing that the SEALs are actual SEALs you almost believe them to be the terrorists as well and not actors. The rest of the supporting cast give good support as well. The performances that the terrorists give makes up for the lack of acting ability  that the SEALs have outside of the combat. The family of the SEALs is portrayed well and they really do a strong job at conveying the sacrifice they have to make as well.

The story while similar to that of Black Hawk Down as both greatly benefit from being based on actual events, yet Act of Valor ends up having some fantastic action choreography that is unlike the typical Hollywood flash-bang formula. The simple reason for this is that first time directors McCoy and Waugh get out of the way and allow the SEALs to choreograph all of the action and the directors just filmed what the SEALs drew up. The fact that there is nothing fake about how these operations are portrayed only enhanced the movie for me. I enjoyed the way this film was told in a letter to a newborn and in the end you really realize that any of these SEALs knows that they may have to sacrifice in the end with the ultimate price. While there are those that have said that the plot is too simple that it has no depth is missing out. This movie was meant to show the action that goes on with military Special Ops around the World and a deeper plot is not necessary and allows the audience to focus on the true message of the film. I think as well the fact that some aspects were actually fired with live rounds only added to the awesome factor of this movie. In movies all gun fights are fired using blanks so for them to go onto the live range and film using live ammo it showed the true damage that ammunition can do to even trucks. To be able to see how the ammunition is able to shred through a truck and completely turns it into Swiss cheese is one of those things that is unique to Act of Valor and it really works.

Act of Valor while it is not the greatest movie made, I found the whole concept to be not only unique and exciting, but the follow through really worked. I really enjoyed the whole use of actual SEALs, it gave a great realism to the movie that I have never seen in a military movie before. The combat sequences that are put before us throughout the entire movie though are unmatched and will probably not be seen again in a movie. The story was very simple and straightforward and that is precisely what Act of Valor required. The use of live ammunition at one point truly worked and it is because of all of this that I am giving Act of Valor three and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. Act of Valor is a must view for anyone that is a fan of military movies.

-The Movie Man-