mattgenne

'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.

Given the previous Michael Bay-Jerry Bruckheimer offerings, "Pearl

Harbor" is precisely what you'd expect it to be: a visually arresting

monster with attractive leads, formulaic plotting, two-dimensional

characterizations, and jingoistic appeals to our patriotism that are

about as subtle as a giant American flag flying over a Perkins

Pancake House.

I've got to admit, I had hoped that Bay would at least attempt to

make this his "Titanic" - a full-body workout for the special-effects

guys that somehow also tells a good story. But this is pure drivel. It

certainly shows every dollar of its titanic budget, but unlike James

Cameron's film, "Pearl Harbor" does not transcend its origins.

"Pearl Harbor" is made to do one thing very well: reap

thirteen-year-old kids' allowance money. Consider the inevitable

triage scene at the naval hospital, where the camera shots of

agony and gore were purposely flashed and blurred in post-production so the movie could garner its coveted PG-13

rating.

Given the relative skill of its actors and its colossal production

values, "Pearl Harbor" could have been a fine movie in the hands

of a more competent director and a more courageous producer.

But Bay and Bruckheimer are doing what they have always done.

They've pleased their backers with the lowest common denominator of summertime fluff. If you want battle verisimilitude,

see "Saving Private Ryan." If you want a love triangle in the midst of

war, see "Enemy At The Gates." And shoot, baby, if you've

absolutely GOT to see a Pearl Harbor love story, take a look at the

only good one ever made: "From Here To Eternity."