Act of Valor

A SEAL team travels to globe to battle terrorists. Many of the lead actors are real life active-duty Navy SEALs. The problem about the use of real active-duty Navy SEALs is the limited acting skills. The action is more realistic. It's not all the regular Hollywood blow them up fare. The acting isn't really acting. They are just too uncharismatic. The story is just a series of action to uncover a terrorist plot. In the end, it probably doesn't matter. What does a plot have to do with a picture like this anyways. The action is good, but the acting is not so good.

Act of Valor is what it is - a salute to the US special forces, an action burner that goes for realism in its approach (which works greatly in its favor) Some will see it just an action flick, others will see it as purely propaganda and recruiting - and it really isn't either of those things, or maybe its both? - it does however work, and it works pretty well.

The film is split into two parts - in both parts the SEALs (played by real SEALs) go on an operation - we get to see the insertion, action, extraction, the cost - I would have liked more planning and briefing - but I'll forgive it as there was also no obligatory bar scene. It is reminiscent of British and American war films - John Wayne would be proud - but it brings some modern sensibilities to the filming.

It's shot in a basic action format with some nods to documentary - though more would have been good - and the camera looks and feels quite similar to Arnie's action films - Predator and Commando - and it even borrows some tricks from thriller movies - over- shoulder, heavy breathing, etc; There's nothing new, but it is a good solid, easy to watch, approach.

It is not excessively violent - though the body count is high - it has one major thing going for it , which really surprised me, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen - even though the acting is fairly light, it all works as it feels authentic and looks right.

All in all, a surprisingly good watch.

The choice to utilize currently serving US Navy SEALs to headline this high-tech action flick means two things: the realistic set pieces are fricken awesome and the acting is really, really bad. If you can get past the latter and the occasionally awful dialogue then you're in for one helluva ride though. The SEALs are unsurprisingly epic and, along with the tremendous artillery on display, they lend the gritty action sequences – be it a covert rescue mission in Costa Rica or a loud and heavy gunfight with a Mexican drug cartel – an authenticity rarely seen in other movies. Act of Valor is an entertaining shoot 'em up, no more and no less.

'Act of Valor' is an impressive movie about the cult of professional warriors in the age of global terrorism. Directors Mouse McCoy and Scott Waugh collaborated with the US Navy and actual Navy SEALs to give the film a sense of battle tactics and environment on par with 'Black Hawk Down' and 'Saving Private Ryan'. What little is lost in the SEALs' lack of acting chops is more than made up for by honest performances from the men who actually do this stuff for a living and the film's gripping battle realism. The movie sidesteps an overt political point of view, wisely focusing on the men and their mission rather than commenting on the times in which they serve. Watch for a great scene where Navy swift boats extract the SEALs from a Central American jungle with an astonishing display of live fire. Plenty of battle action to see here that you've never seen before. Highly recommended.

Act of Valour set out to create a film with 100% authentic and realistic action sequences and promote the lives of US Navy Seals. In that aspect it succeeded, however, failed everywhere else.

The advertisement of using real navy seals as the main characters creates a level of military authenticity and accuracy that I have not seen in a film for a long time. All equipment and vehicles used are used correctly whilst dialogue and radio chatter inside of combat shows detail that inexperienced eyes might miss. However, acting is not something these Seals train for at basic! Dialogue outside of combat is weak at best and any scene trying to get some form of emotion out of the audience is lost as soon as one opens their mouth. Not many good things can be said about the story line. A rather unimaginative plot coupled with the stereotypical 'bad guy' does little but create a backdrop for the numerous fire fights and special forces insertions. Lastly, it should be noted that the film was shot in a noticeable High Definition that creates specular grandeur on wide pan shots.

Those looking for a well constructed war film should look else where. The predicable storyline and patriotic American stance will put most viewers off. However, if HD fire fights, good military realism can be taken with a pinch of salt this film does not disappoint.