Act of Valor
“Valor in Action” expresses its story through a great amount of hard hitting combat footage. The film has two non-factual action scenarios which tells a thriller about the mission of SEALs to unbind CIA operative (Roselyn Sanchez) from kidnappers and other one is about a plan to smuggle terrorists into America through drug cartels made Mexican tunnels.
All the details in these both seem realistic but how would I know? It’s an accomplished, gripping action movie by co-directors and their team. I am reminded of films like Platoon directed by Oliver Stone and Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker that had strong initial impact because they told convincing stories which were also authentic. However, ‘Act of Valor’ focuses more on action than human elements involved so it didn’t work for me as well as those did.
The main characters are portrayed by real-life Navy SEALs who were apparently serving on active duty during filming and still are now; therefore, it becomes difficult for me to write a standard review since none of their actual names are given out nor do some figures even have any at all according to Rebecca Keegan’s article in Los Angeles Times.
For instance, Chief Dave is played by an unnamed SEAL whose first name happens to be Dave while Lt Rorke remains nameless too though he shares same with another performer called Rorke. Thank you very much indeed! This official cast listing looks quite confusing featuring roles without names mixed together alongside those having “uncredited” parts, not to mention absence of both Chief Dave or Lieutenant Rorke from it thereby leaving us no choice but describe what happened instead of commenting on how well people acted there.
This movie mostly consists pure actions interrupted by laconic conversation lacking any deeper meaning. We never learn anything personal about these individuals apart from fact that they serve as SEALS; hence, cannot even tell them apart later since each lacks distinctive features or history which could help identify them individually when speaking at different times during or after movie.
So if all were indeed played by real SEALS then I must admit that their performance was naturalistic enough considering type of roles assigned but none seemed challenged beyond his abilities in terms acting skill required for any particular scene.
But movies can be discussed at another level. In the same week I saw “Act of Valor,” I also saw an extraordinary film named “Hell and Back Again.” It is one of this year’s Oscar nominees for best documentary feature, and will open in many markets on the same day as “Act of Valor.” It is about a real man, Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris, and his real wife, Ashley.
He led men in combat in Afghanistan. A sniper’s bullet entered his right buttock shortly before the scheduled end of his six-month tour, shattered his hip socket and bounced back to destroy leg bones. He does not say whether he has killed anyone or not; but the director, Danfung Dennis, who was embedded with Harris’ Echo Company, follows him into action, and we see that he has grown into a natural leader of men.
Some of the movie’s most poignant scenes show him debating village elders (through an interpreter) about the role of America in Afghanistan; he sincerely believes he is helping to bring them freedom, and finds it hard to answer their statements that they want to be left alone by both us and the Taliban.
The picture follows Harris home through an agonizing period of rehab; shows him that his life will never be the same; haunts him with memories of battle; intercuts actual sights and scenes from Afghanistan with scenes back home in North Carolina; observes that he doesn’t have post-traumatic stress syndrome; sees him dreaming about returning to action while it is hard for him to accept that may not happen.
“Act of Valor” is gift-wrapped in patriotism. It was once intended as a recruitment film, and plays like one. The action scenes are harrowing but exciting: lots of explosions and special effects. At the end there is a full dress military funeral for three generations of warriors. The real action scenes in “Hell and Back Again” don’t play like an action movie. I don’t recall seeing a single Taliban fighter. One of Sgt. Harris’ men is killed on the first day in the field, and Harris is wounded late in his tour; but nobody saw either one of the snipers.
I have a feeling that teenage Nathan Harris, who wanted to kill people, would have loved “Act of Valor.” But “Hell and Back Again,” describing his life today, does not play like a recruitment film. A great deal is made by the directors McCoy and Waugh that actual live ammunition was used in the making of their film. Actual live ammunition was also used in “Hell and Back Again.” If you asked Sgt. Nathan Harris what he thought about using live ammo in a Hollywood action movie, what do you suppose he would say? My best guess is, he would say they were damned fools.
Watch Act of Valor For Free On Gomovies.