Navy Seals

As far as some action films go, "Navy Seals", the 1990 film directed by Lewis Teague, doesn't deserve most of the criticism that some contributors to this forum have expressed. While it doesn't add anything to the genre, it is a movie targeted to a certain audience, who will no doubt react to it.

On the other hand, watching it on cable the other night, it proved to be the entertainment it's meant to be and nothing more. Let's hope the real Navy Seals will be more selective in picking someone that is as misguided and egocentric as Lt. Hawkins, who disobeys his orders and causes the death of a man that shouldn't have died.

This film appears to be a vehicle for Charlie Sheen who was at the height of his intense period. Michael Biehn plays the man in command, Lt. Curran with flair. Joanne Whalley is seen only briefly. The rest of the cast, notably, S. Ephata Merkerson and Dennis Haysbert contributed to make the film better than it is.

All in all, this is a film for action fans with not a lot of expectations.

If you're interested in seeing Charlie Sheen in one of his most coked up, one-liner driven performances, I highly recommend this film (if not you have problems) Also, behold the greatest, and only action-movie/golf-course hijinks scene of all time. This of course leads directly to Sheen in hot pursuit of his towed convertible while riding a Schwinn. Pure NAVY Seal adrenaline.

Like the previous person's comments, this was like the "Top Gun" on the ground. He just forgot to also mention that it was also done in the Sea and in the Air. I feel that it was similar also to Chuck Norris' Delta Force; however, it was alot more realistic. Well, the actors in this film did a wonderful job of portraying the actions of the elite Navy SEAL teams. This movie should serve as a testament to the courage and valor displayed by all of the great Special Operations and Special Forces teams of the Armed Forces. The characters were really believable and the script was top-notch. Those who are from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (like myself) will definitely notice many of the stateside locales. You could definitely watch this movie over and over again! It definitely provides a boost of adrenaline to all couch potatoes and action junkies, not to mention any of those who have either served in the military or were born in military households like myself!

First off, I'd like to correct the poster below me who said that God "Had a sniper rifle that fired tiny grenades." God was armed with a Barrett M-82A1 .50 caliber BMG. It is a current special forces rifle and is fully capable of (and often used for) putting a bullet all the way through a truck's engine, a foot of solid metal plate, or, as often shown in the movie, wimpy little concrete or cement block walls.

Anyway...

This movie is certainly not a feast for the brain, but neither is it intellectually devoid. The issue with the journalist in the movie is startlingly relevant in today's world, for example. I doubt it was intentional; it's likely that it was put in as a weak attempt at adding conflict and depth to a flat script. But hey, take what you can get, right?

The real strong point of this movie, for me, is the set design. This was shot back in the old days, when neat backdrops couldn't just be drawn in with computers over a bluescreen. The Beirut scene at the end of "Navy SEALs" has some of the best *real* urban combat sets I've ever seen, right up there with the Hue scene at the end of "Full Metal Jacket"... though not quite as good.

I don't know if the sets alone make this movie worth watching, but they do for me. It's generally mindless action, but that doesn't mean that it's without substance; just because "Navy SEALs" doesn't meet the standards of a "great" movie, with well-developed characters and all that junk, doesn't mean it's awful. "Navy SEALs" doesn't include much script depth because it really doesn't need to. That isn't the point. Do you think that real Navy SEALs would make well-rounded characters in the Hollywood sense? These soldiers *can't* have strife within the team, *can't* have little internal conflicts that, in most movies, would be considered interesting. That just isn't realistic.

'Navy SEALs' receives a fair amount of undeserved hate. It doesn't try to be anything other than a fairly mindless and entertaining action movie - surely it can't be criticized for that, can it?

Michael Biehn and Charlie Sheen play the commander and 2IC, respectively of a US Navy SEAL team. The movie starts with them having to rescue some Navy pilots who were captured by the bad guys. Correction - it starts with Charlie Sheen jumping off a bridge from a moving car. Anyway, when the SEALs go in, they discover a terrorist cache Stinger-missiles and find one of the world's most wanted men. After rescuing the pilots, our heroes spend the rest of the movie chasing these missing missiles and the terrorist leader, all while blowing stuff up and killing lots of bad guys. What more do you want?

Character development? Not likely. There is very little among the good guys, and the bad guys are barely even introduced, but thats probably because they spend so much time getting blown up and shot-up. I can live with that, even if I can't remember anything about the terrorist leader.

Check out 'Navy SEALs' if you're up for some mindless action and entertainment - 6/10.