Act of Valor
2.5/4
Cast: Anonymous, Roselyn Sanchez, Jason Cottle, Ailsa Marshall, Alex Veadov
Rated R for Strong Violence including Some Torture, and for Language
"Act of Valor" is frustrating. Character development is minimal, the story (thin as it is) doesn't make a lot of sense, and the film has a tendency to get ponderous and preachy. But the action scenes are intense and exciting. Can a series of well-executed action scenes make up for the deficiencies in the script? Almost, but not quite.
The film is being advertised as starring actual Navy SEALs, which it does (none of them are credited for obvious reasons). Apparently, the SEALs were irritated during production because they were not being portrayed accurately, so they were given the roles. It shows. None of the action scenes seem to be rehearsed; the amount of verisimilitude is extraordinary.
If only that descriptor carried over to the other aspects of the film. The story is pretty thin, and it's little more than a connecting thread between the action scenes. But it goes down like this: A CIA agent has been kidnapped by a drug cartel and the Navy SEALs are sent in to retrieve her. Once they rescue her, they realize that a smuggler has teamed up with a ruthless terrorist named Abu Shabal (Cottle) to attack the US. The SEALs must find the smuggler, a man known as Cristo (Veadov) to find Shabal.
For what it is, "Act of Valor" isn't half bad. In fact, it's decent entertainment. But the script could have used some beefing up and a few rewrites. There's not much here to make us want to keep going except the fact that there's another action scene coming up.
Speaking of which, the action scenes are the main selling point. They're fluid, relentless and visceral. We can see their tactics and professionalism. The lack of "Hollywoodization" is immediately apparent. Even the most intense action movies aren't this realistic.
One of the most common pitfalls of using no-name actors is to cast actors (or in this case SEALs) who look and sound indistinguishable. That's the case here. The only thing that differentiates them is the fact that one has a baby on the way and the other already has kids. Add to the fact that they wear identical combat gear and there's no telling who is who (they're so alike that sometimes its one who has the kids and other times the same guy is the one with the pregnant wife).
Okay, so the movie doesn't work. But I'm not going to sit here and tell you to avoid it. Far from it. This is a solid effort, especially since it avoids the obvious pitfalls (it is not, as some have said, an advertisement for the Navy. Although the thought is understandable, it's not really fair to the film).
Cast: Anonymous, Roselyn Sanchez, Jason Cottle, Ailsa Marshall, Alex Veadov
Rated R for Strong Violence including Some Torture, and for Language
"Act of Valor" is frustrating. Character development is minimal, the story (thin as it is) doesn't make a lot of sense, and the film has a tendency to get ponderous and preachy. But the action scenes are intense and exciting. Can a series of well-executed action scenes make up for the deficiencies in the script? Almost, but not quite.
The film is being advertised as starring actual Navy SEALs, which it does (none of them are credited for obvious reasons). Apparently, the SEALs were irritated during production because they were not being portrayed accurately, so they were given the roles. It shows. None of the action scenes seem to be rehearsed; the amount of verisimilitude is extraordinary.
If only that descriptor carried over to the other aspects of the film. The story is pretty thin, and it's little more than a connecting thread between the action scenes. But it goes down like this: A CIA agent has been kidnapped by a drug cartel and the Navy SEALs are sent in to retrieve her. Once they rescue her, they realize that a smuggler has teamed up with a ruthless terrorist named Abu Shabal (Cottle) to attack the US. The SEALs must find the smuggler, a man known as Cristo (Veadov) to find Shabal.
For what it is, "Act of Valor" isn't half bad. In fact, it's decent entertainment. But the script could have used some beefing up and a few rewrites. There's not much here to make us want to keep going except the fact that there's another action scene coming up.
Speaking of which, the action scenes are the main selling point. They're fluid, relentless and visceral. We can see their tactics and professionalism. The lack of "Hollywoodization" is immediately apparent. Even the most intense action movies aren't this realistic.
One of the most common pitfalls of using no-name actors is to cast actors (or in this case SEALs) who look and sound indistinguishable. That's the case here. The only thing that differentiates them is the fact that one has a baby on the way and the other already has kids. Add to the fact that they wear identical combat gear and there's no telling who is who (they're so alike that sometimes its one who has the kids and other times the same guy is the one with the pregnant wife).
Okay, so the movie doesn't work. But I'm not going to sit here and tell you to avoid it. Far from it. This is a solid effort, especially since it avoids the obvious pitfalls (it is not, as some have said, an advertisement for the Navy. Although the thought is understandable, it's not really fair to the film).
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