Act of Valor

[Impact]

Review, Discuss and Have Fun!

[hogwash13777]

"Act of Valor" Review - No spoilers.

I saw this at an advanced screening on February 7, was very excited for it. Came out extremely dissapointed.

The message is there, these SEALs are heroes, they do brave stuff for us back in the states. That's great and all. About half of the 300 or so in attendance were in naval uniform (or other military uniform) and stood up and clapped at the end. That's all fine, I didn't join in, but it's fine. (I did feel like I'd get beat up, so I forced a couple of silent golf claps.)

The thing is, I didn't need a feature-length recruitment video to tell me what I already knew. The movie oozes with cliched moments (see climax), bad dialogue (throughout), bad acting (expected), and is all strapped together by a cookie cutter story of heroes beating the bad guys, even through great trials. The camera work during the fight scenes is very closed in and annoying, but that's a direction choice I can understand.

The one highlight is the maybe two set pieces of action that do genuinely feel realistic and that work well (even if the plot behind them is weak), and are cool to look at.

Final score: 3/10 or "Skip it."

P.S. During the Credits! It's been a while, but (I think) they have a list of names that comes up of those fallen in the line of duty, and some pictures of those in the Navy and their family. At least during the first third of the credits. That was with my screening, too, it might of changed since then.

Edited February 24, 2012 by hogwash13777

[Hiccup]

^Terrorist!!

Act of Valor

7:15pm

90% full

Trailers

John Carter- Silence

21 Jump Street- Lots of laughs. Best reaction.

The Raven- Some talk

G.I. Joe 2- Silence

Movie: The acting wasn't top notch or anything but the story was deep and amazing! This had the same acting as Courageous but it was made up in the heart-breaking story and great visuals. It has some intense action sequences too that are fun. Since I grew up in a military family (both Great Grandfathers, Grandpas, two Uncles, and my Dad both served in the military) this film might have been more personally and touching. The audience enjoyed it a lot too. It got a standing ovation and claps at the end. The showing was filled with a wide variation of people: older veterans, young kids, men and women, and teens. It seemed universally liked by the audience and there was lots of talk after. The film is very very pro-military and American and won't have the same emotional affect that is has on native born Americans has it will on non-Americans and annoying liberals. I can definitely see this film blasting over 30M opening weekend and would not be surprised if is had great legs and crossed 100M. I enjoyed and it is a must see!!

Support the Troops!

9.5/10

[Hatebox]

Is this just a glorified recruitment film?I only ask as I understand the US government does invest some money into films that portray the military in a favourable light. Michael Bay's on very good terms with them, for instance.

[Ozymandias]

^Its a film that basically shows what the Navy SEALs actually do in a very authentic way without a Hollywood touch on it. I gotta say, its pretty impressive what the SEALs are capable of. No wonder only like 5% of recruits actually make it through the training. They make the Marines look like amatuers.

[Lordmandeep]

Its like watching Call of Duty Modern Warfare cut scenes.However that was a fun game so its still fun.B

[Captain Craig]

B gradeBetter than it had any right of being.

[mattmav45]

At the risk of sound unpatriotic.................this was simply a fucking awful film that should have never been released wide, and had some of the worst acting/dialogue I think I've ever seen.

After I passed out for the 2nd time for an extended period in the first hour.........I figured my subconscious was telling me to GTFO ASAP.

D

[baumer]

And funny enough, as jaded as I am when it comes to the military and what their true purpose is, I actually enjoyed this movie. Yes, the acting was kind of weak but I was pretty engaged with the story and the action. If this is based on a true story then holy shit I feel bad for people like the female CIA operative who got the drill through her hands.....damn that would suck.I really enjoyed the guy who played the commander of the team and I thought he had the best performance.Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit.7.5/10

[ChD]

The movie was meh, but with decent actors, decent director, better cinematographer (some locations were stunningly beautiful), this would've been Relativity's "Argo". The script was also weak in some parts, especially dialogue, in my opinion.

 

C+

[Kvikk Lunsj]

At the risk of sound unpatriotic.................this was simply a fucking awful film that should have never been released wide, and had some of the worst acting/dialogue I think I've ever seen.After I passed out for the 2nd time for an extended period in the first hour.........I figured my subconscious was telling me to GTFO ASAP.D

I agree with the movie sucked. I liked what the film tried to do but it failed and became such a forgettable  movie.  I

 

D

[Ethan Hunt]

B+, cause Keith Urban song in the credits