Review- Act Of Valor

Review- "Act Of Valor" - It's a competent action film, though the casting of legitimate, active-duty Navy Seals both helps and hinders the film.  You can't nitpick the presence, authenticity or believability factor of the Seal Team members without looking foolish, yet any complaint about their acting abilities are definitely warranted. It's hard to convey emotion, or tension involving their possible fates, when lines of dialogue are delivered without much feeling- either while at home or abroad. It's a shame that a few secondary character actors, both good and bad, are far more memorable here than the real-life heroes this film features.

It doesn't help matters that the two leads here are look so similar- it's hard to follow what's happening to either one at any given time while in combat gear.  One Seal I've seen before in previous films, possibly brought on as a combat specialist in other action movies, is the only real standout as an actor- he's referred to as "Senior" in his precious few scenes (he's the individual pictured above, to the far left).  His timing and ability as an actor is quite evident in an interrogation scene aboard a terrorist's yacht.  Too bad there's not more of him.  I believe the casting of one familiar, name actor, as a sort of emotional anchor amongst the team members, would have helped this film immensely.  You'll probably recognize a couple of the token bad guys, as well as the lovely Roselyn Sanchez (Rush Hour 2).

The cinematography is often gorgeous- the jungle scenes are sharp and quite vibrant.  Battle sequences are highly detailed and feel genuine, with a bare minimum of CGI assists.  There's a "being there" feel to the proceedings, though I could have done without the first person shooter POV bullshit and the distracting onscreen stats and mapping- it wasn't necessary, yet will probably thrill fans of the SOCOM games. There are admittedly two brief instances where I couldn't exactly get a fix on what just happened. 

Action/Combat film fans might want to check it out, though don't expect Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down. 

7.0 outta 10