Act of Valor (Minor Spoilers)

Call of Duty?

THE MOVIE: CRITIC'S TAKE

The Act of Valor. More like Call of Duty the movie. I heard a lot of hype over this film and was compelled to see it. It stars actual active duty Navy Seals fighting a real life threat. It was a nice hook to sell a film but at the same time does it tell a good story? After watching the film I have to say no. It felt like I was watching a live action video game rather than a feature film.

STORY

What story? It's pretty much a straight forward Call of Duty film but I'll give it a try. It mostly evolves around two Navy Seal men who have to deal with their family and going to war for their country. Together they are tracking Islamic insurgents who want to reach U.S. borders to inflict damage upon U.S. cities. It started as a rescue mission but quickly turned into a fight for their lives. Does the men stop the insurgents and rescue the captive? Of course they do or we would be living in a different America.

Bad ass

ACTING

Yuck! What acting? The Navy Seals aren't very good showing emotion unless it's anger. I couldn't feel for any one of them despite them being real people doing very real dangerous things. I thought I would see some real emotion when it came to their families but it didn't show through the screen. A polished actor would have delivered the lines better. Overall it sucked.

Needs lessons

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Here is where the movie succeeds. It used live ammunition and real explosives that shined on screen. The action is intense and unforgiving. I was glued to my seat watching the action unfold. If you want to see the most realistic military movie out there then this is for you. Just bring a bottle of aspirin because you will get a headache.

Run

WRITING AND DIRECTING

The film was written by Kurt Johnstad and directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. Kurt wrote some intense sequences that made the movie engaging. It was everything else that stunk. The storyline was easy to follow but I found more intriguing story lines in military video games than this. I won't put the full blame on him when it comes to the characters and dialog. He didn't have good actors to make them jump from the page. The directing, however, was great. Mike and Scott was able to capture the action in full view. I loved how gritty it was and how they didn't hold back any punches when it came to violence. The only good thing of the film.

THE END

If you want brutal violence and see a bromance movie then this is for you. Other wise skip this movie. The acting is not great and the storyline itself isn't fulfilling. I would wait for video and save some money. I just wonder what's next? A live action MMA movie? Let's hope!

It's a Party

OVERALL

STORY 4 out of 10
ACTING 3 out of 10
SPECIAL EFFECTS 8 out of 10
WRITING 4 out of 10
DIRECTING 7 out of 10

OVERALL 5 out of 10 (wait for video)

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