Movie Review: 'Act of Valor' mixes recruiting with SEALs
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Sat, 02/25/2012 - 4:05pm
The action-thriller film "Act of Valor," now playing at now the Galaxy Fandango cineplex in Carson City, merges real-life SEALs (we all know who the SEALs are, thanks to the Osama bin Laden assassination) with Hollywood actors in action photography taken during maneuvers at the SEAL training grounds.
No SEALs are identified by name, although there is a surprisingly length listing of SEALs who have died in action at the end of the film.
Several battle scenes take place, the first with the SEALs rescuing a woman CIA agent being tortured by bad guys (there are many baddies in the film, some Jihadists, some Mexican drug gangsters — if it moves and they are bad shoot 'em seems to be the motto.)
It's hard to tell where this is a plug for recruiting by the Navy or a real movie (oxymoron, of course). But the action scenes are pretty convincing, although not that much different from the Hollywood normal versions.
(A personal note: as a journalist in Germany and Italy I went along with Special Forces units in training exercises and found the SEAL scenes to be authentic, down to the bent-knee way of walking in combat situations. The real troops looked exactly right, as they should.)
OK, only four cast members identified, SEALs go unnamed but at least got Navy pay. The usual back story of families, friends etc. is tucked in but it doesn't really have much to do with the action scenes, not counting the ceremony when one SEAL widow gets the flag from her husband's funeral.
The acting by the SEALs is pretty much "Me Tarzan, you Jane" levels but who said sailors had to act? Direction by McCoy and Scott Waugh is pretty basic — after all, how much can a director say as the SEAL troops practice the real thing? Bad guy Christo (Alex Veadov) has the required beard and pretty girls on his yacht and Roselyn Sanchez as the tortured CIA is severely battered with fine makeup. Background music in intrusive and silly at times but it's a tradition, I guess.
Lots of action, SEAL team is good, rest is pretty much Hollywood hokum. But the gunfights really seem realistic, no long wild large bursts of gunfire and the SEAL team is always reloading.
Incidentally, why "act"of valor? Seems like many acts, but that's nitting.
— Sam Bauman
Cast
— Alex Veadov as Christo
— Roselyn Sánchez as Morales
— Nestor Serrano as Walter Ross
— Emilio Rivera
Directed by: Mike McCoy, Scott Waugh
Produced by: Mike McCoy, Scott Waugh
Written by: Kurt Johnstad
Music by: Nathan Furst
Cinematography: Shane Hurlbut
Editing by: Siobhan Prior, Michael Tronick
Running time: 101 minutes, rated R
