That active SEALs are playing loosely fictive versions of themselves adds oomph to the proceedings, but the film gets snagged by its own narrative convention. The grittiness of the movie, the thud of its bullets and the thrumming energy of its covert ops - these are its strong suits.

But one man lives, one man dies, and the fate of each is clearly announced in the film's opening sequence. Something that doesn't ruin its biggest suspense in the film's opening minutes, when one SEAL narrates a letter to the unborn son of another SEAL who dies in action.īoth are played by active-duty SEALs whose identities are not revealed. Share Act of Valor with your friends and start a discussion on Facebook or Twitter Comment on FacebookComment Comment on TwitterComment. At the end of the day, your opinion of what makes a movie good wasnt presented in this particular movie, so you want to call it bad and then try to justify it in a way that shows your complete ignorance of the whole premise and world the movie was based on-the real one. Something with suspense and actual character development. Act of Valors stars, costume designers, special effects crew and makeup did exactly that. The filmmakers are so intent on shooting the real SEAL deal that they forget this is supposed to be a movie: We need a story. However, in script, characters and plot, 'Act of Valor' offers only the barest minimum. For what it is, it's well done, well filmed, well outfitted with ordnance and, well, exciting. It's intended to wow audiences with high-test action while planting a giant wet kiss on the smacker of the U.S. This shouldn't be too surprising given its directors, the Bandito Brothers Scott Waugh and Mike McCoy, and given its conception as a Defense Department publicity stunt. Real flames lick wildly out of real explosions, and real tension mounts as buff warriors in camo huff through the jungle on their mission to rescue a kidnapped CIA agent. A real submarine splashes to the surface, its fearsome shadow rising from the water. 'Act of Valor' should be one awesome recruitment tool for the Navy SEALs.

Act of valor