Film presents generic action, reminiscent of 'Call of Duty'
Most of the hype that surrounds "Act of Valor" is that this film is supposedly more realistic than every other action and war movie of its kind because active duty Navy SEALS were cast instead of actors. The co-directors felt that casting actual Navy SEALs would be better for the film. I personally don't know that, based on past compelling war dramas such as "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) and "The Hurt Locker" (2008).
While the action may indeed be realistic, everything else about "Act of Valor" is generic and not compelling.
Directed by ex-stunt men and extreme sports documentarians Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh, the team makes "Act of Valor" look like what "Battle: Los Angeles" (2011) was: A complete recruiting video filled with constant military movie clichés and overly ostentatious military propaganda.
The story opens in the most overdramatic way possible: A terrorist explosion occurs in Indonesia and doesn't just kill an American diplomat, but a schoolyard full of children as well. We are then introduced to the SEALS, supposedly portraying themselves, as they embark on a mission to rescue a CIA agent (Roselyn Sanchez) held captive by a family values-flaunting drug kingpin Christo (Alex Veadov). He's in cahoots with a Chechnyan Jihadist named Abu Shabal (Jason Cottle) who plans to transport suicide bombers to major cities in America.
The screenplay, written by Kurt Johnstad ("300"), leans heavily on hilariously tedious, poetic voice-over narration from one of the main SEAL characters, including lines such as "Being dangerous was sacred" and "War is the country of will." It also includes too many throwaway lines like "This could be big trouble in little China."
The cinematography in "Act of Valor" doesn't impress much either. The camera work in some of the action sequences often jumps into the perspective of a first-person shooter video game, particularly "Call of Duty." In fact, there is one point-of-view shot that also includes calculated slow motion, making it seem like the camera style was indeed borrowed from a "Call of Duty" video game.
There are some action sequences that feature some thrilling shots of naval operations. The opening rescue has an entertaining sequence of boats dropped from helicopters and the scene featuring a nuclear submarine surfacing is partially breathtaking. However, the movie makes little sense of how these men communicate and strategize together. The screenplay often gets cluttered with technical vernacular in the field that isn't fully explained.
As for the casting idea for this film, I found it incomprehensible why the Navy thought it was a great idea to showcase its brave men and women by letting active duty SEALS portray characters in a story that isn't a documentary and makes real war look like a generic action film.
As for their characters in the movie, the on-screen Naval officers are neither well-developed nor well-written. Every SEAL in this movie is simply portrayed as a brave and honorable family man.
"Act of Valor" reminds audiences that it's the job of the SEALs to put their lives on the line to protect the freedom that we so often take for granted. But it's my duty to tell you if this movie is worth your time and money. And it isn't. The story is completely clichéd, the acting is stiff, the music is overdramatic, the dialogue is pretentious and every character is undeveloped.