Before I say anything about Act of Valor, I'd like to personally thank all service men and
women "“ military, police, fire, ambulance, what have you.
Act of Valor
begins with some back-story about the movie from co-directors Mike McCoy and
Scott Waugh, explaining how the Navy had approached them to make the film. It
contained some interesting facts about the cast and how the action scenes were
filmed (Live ammunition? Seriously?). The most notable fact about Act of Valor is that the SEAL teams
portrayed in the film were played by actual active duty SEALs who are still
serving. It definitely adds an interesting layer to the film to literally watch
them in action. I appreciate their contributions and completely understand the
reasoning for the very bizarre end credits "“ none of the SEALs who starred in
the film are actually credited in Act of
Valor.
My biggest problem with the plot of Act of Valor stems from my hopes that there would be more family
representation in the film. You never really learn about any of the soldiers
and only briefly glimpse their families, who play very tiny roles in the
story. Some of the plot points
seem a little contrived and very cliché.
Yes, the Evil McBaddy killed some very innocent people; we get it.
While this could have easily been a very expensive Navy
recruitment film, it skirts the line between almost-propaganda and
entertainment. The SEALs' acting abilities are, well, limited, but that evens
out a bit with the professionals who do this for a living. Thankfully, most of
the SEALs scenes don't require huge amounts of emotion and are a little heavier
on the "let's blow something up" style of storytelling. Some of the filming
styles were heavily reminiscent of a first person shooter "“ a tactic that was
interesting the first 3 times it was used.
Act of Valor is
definitely a film I'm glad I saw, and the technical issues don't detract from
much of the film. It's an interesting look into the lives of SEALs, so if
that's something you're interested in, you'll enjoy this film.
