My humble review of the movie "Act of Valor"
Posted this in GD for the masses aswell.
Saw the movie today and thought I'd throw my two cents in. I did enjoy the film but I won't say that it was academy award caliber. As a CPO in the Navy (whose been to Afghanistan and the Middle East) I may be a bit biased on how I judge this film so I'm going to try and quell that and try to imagine what the audience in general with no military experience would think.
First the negatives.
- The acting was terrible: I'm not going to fault the "actors" since it is not their primary line of business but there were moments where the lines just didn't seem to come out as natural conversation and seemed forced. Again, not a hit on the guys in the film but it is a valid concern especially for the audience at large.
- Their wasn't much charachter development - I didn't expect to see this film hoping to feel a deep bond with each individual but it seemed like the entire film was based on "these are SEALs and this is what they do" and that's it. No real opportunities for the audience to connect with the charachters.
- The story seemed rushed - Now I'm going to throw some bias in here. Earlier this week while grociery shopping I notice that an "Act of Valor" book was written by Tom Clancy based on the screen play. I downloaded it to my Kindle and finished reading it yesterday. The movie follows the book extremely well. The timeline of events in the movie makes it seem like they happend one right after the other whereas, in actuallity, it happend over a series of weeks. This may just be a case of the movie being spoiled for me because I read the book
The positives
- Military - Everything I saw from language, to tactics, to comradierie was spot on. I've got quite a bit of experience with most of the gear and equipment that was used in the film either by it being issued or being around it on my deployments to know that the way it was used was accurate. In fact, if I had to say there was a negative to this aspect is that the equipment worked without fail each and everytime. Murphy is always around.
- The relationsip between Officer and Enlisted - It is accurate that when you have a small team such as this the relationship does become much more casual. What I found impressive was the way that it was casual in private and professional in public. You'd be surprised how often officers and enlisted can't distinguish between the two.
- The fun factor - I've never been one for video games but I would join the occasional game of Modern Warefare on deployment. This movie was much like that with the first person aspect of the combat scenes. The younger generation will love it.
-The budget - This movie could have very easily been relegated to the "B movie" category were it not for the availability of actual military hardware and personnel. If you doubt that, Imgaine the same story line with endless round magazines, huey helicopters, and stock footage of naval vessels.
Overall I found the movie quite enjoyable and will most likely see it again. For those that have seen the movie I recommend reading the book as well. For those haven't seen it yet watch it first and then read the book.
Looking at it without my Navy issued blinders, though, I wll say that I can see how the critics and the audience might see it differently. Critics are going to look at it with,..well...a critical eye. They're not just going to look at it for excitement but also for cinemetography, direction ,and yes...acting. This I can understand as that is THEIR job. I only hope that it does very well at the box office.
Would this be youth appropriate for those of us with young ones who love the military?
the "R" rating throws me... Why did it get one?
Saw it this afternoon and SeeBee's review is spot on. The screenplay is thin and it almost seems as this entire story took place in less than a week. That's not the fault of anyone on screen. I think it shows the SEAL's in a very positive light and everything looks as I can only imagine it would look.
Couple of technical questions: the operators had lasers and EoTech's/optics on their M4's. Do they actually have both? Seems like the lasers would really help bad guys pinpoint an operator.
Second, these guys are much older than I expected them to be. I can't remember specific ages but am thinking they were all in their mid-late 30's and after thinking about it, it makes sense. What is the age range of the SEAL's
Lastly, at the end of the movie they list ALL the SEAL's who have been KIA and the list is pretty long. I had no idea how many SEAL's are on active duty at any time. Anyone know?
I'd go see it again - it's worth the cost of a ticket.
JDG
Originally Posted By Ming_The_Merciless:
Would this be youth appropriate for those of us with young ones who love the military?
the "R" rating throws me... Why did it get one?
I would say that only you could make that call. There is language with use of the F bomb. I believe that if a movie uses the F bomb more than one time in a film it is an automatic R rating. The violence, I would say, is on par with what you would find in Call of Duty. The movie reminded me very much of the game. There is NO nudity or romance of any kind in the film.
Originally Posted By Doublegun:
Saw it this afternoon and SeeBee's review is spot on. The screenplay is thin and it almost seems as this entire story took place in less than a week. That's not the fault of anyone on screen. I think it shows the SEAL's in a very positive light and everything looks as I can only imagine it would look.
Couple of technical questions: the operators had lasers and EoTech's/optics on their M4's. Do they actually have both? Seems like the lasers would really help bad guys pinpoint an operator.
Second, these guys are much older than I expected them to be. I can't remember specific ages but am thinking they were all in their mid-late 30's and after thinking about it, it makes sense. What is the age range of the SEAL's
Lastly, at the end of the movie they list ALL the SEAL's who have been KIA and the list is pretty long. I had no idea how many SEAL's are on active duty at any time. Anyone know?
I'd go see it again - it's worth the cost of a ticket.
JDG
Typically the lasers are going to be IR so they can't be seen by the naked eye. Only through night vision.
I've met SEALS from 19 to a Senior Chief that was 52 (don't know his story though). Not sure what the average age is.
Nope no idea on their numbers.
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