"Act of Valor"

[RANDALL 1953]

For those of us old enough to remember there was a marketing blitz for the US Armys Green Berets during the Vietnam war. Barry Sadler had a hit with The Ballad Of The Green Berets song. Aurora model kits had a Green Beret model kit. There were Green Beret trading cards, Even Hasbro got in on it with a special Green Beret GI Joe.

[Jungle Rot]

I haven't seen it yet, but a 'Militaria Junkie' friend of mine and his brother saw it and said it was great. I'm going to see it next week when it comes to my town.

[TLeo]

I haven't had a chance to see it yet. I did read that the guy who made the film did it by being allowed to film SEAL training ops and then he spliced it all into a movie. From what I read, the Navy didn't know he was actually making a movie.

[gwb123]

For those of us old enough to remember there was a marketing blitz for the US Armys Green Berets during the Vietnam war. Barry Sadler had a hit with The Ballad Of The Green Berets song. Aurora model kits had a Green Beret model kit. There were Green Beret trading cards, Even Hasbro got in on it with a special Green Beret GI Joe.

 

It also ruined Barry Sadler's military career. After all of the publicity the powers that be felt they could not risk having him shot, injured or KIA. So they refused to send him into a combat zone.

[ABrangerjoe]

Saw it Friday night-- GREAT movie!

[Dave]

It made $25 million it's opening weekend, which was the same for:

 

True Lies

V for Vendetta

Robin Hood

Apollo 13

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Golden Eye

Tomorrow Never Dies

Master and Commander

The Rock

 

and so on.....

 

So it isn't really falling flat on it's face, as some critics predicted...

 

I look forward to seeing it! :thumbsup:

[RANDALL 1953]

Just came back from seeing it. Outstanding! For us camo freaks there was AOR1, Multicam, & Woodland patterns used in the film. :thumbsup:

[patches]

It made $25 million it's opening weekend, which was the same for:

 

True Lies

V for Vendetta

Robin Hood

Apollo 13

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Golden Eye

Tomorrow Never Dies

Master and Commander

The Rock

 

and so on.....

 

So it isn't really falling flat on it's face, as some critics predicted...

 

I look forward to seeing it! :thumbsup:

 

Thats very good Dave glad to know this.

[willysmb44]

Saw it. It'll be good on DVD as there are lots of good action scenes.

The acting is about what I thought and the plot is uber-thin. I can see where the critics are coming from; "Citizen Kane", it ain't.

It's no worse an action flick than most Segal or Willis movies for script writing. The acting really is second-rate, but it satisfies for good action. There were a bunch of teen-age Rambo wanna-bes walking out in front of me, talking about everything was "exactly like real life", I suppose they were experts due to the video games they played. But they clammed up when I murmured from behind them, "Yeah, but almost all that stuff takes place at night in real life."

I must admit I loved the idea of SEALS slugging it out cartel people inside Mexico, such a cool idea. If you're into military stuff you'll like it, just check your judge of acting skills at the door. In my opinion it was $13.50 (afternoon show with a small popcorn) well spent, but hardly the greatest movie I've ever seen.

[hawkdriver]

Written by a retired Navy Seal and his perspective.

 

 

 

 

 

I recently viewed the movie Act of Valor for the second time. I was invited by the Cinema Society of San Diego to view a pre-screening, and afterward, I and a few other SEAL veterans and an active duty Captain from Naval Special Warfare Command were asked to come forward and offer comments. Since the movie is opening to the public this week, and is generating a lot of buzz in the media, I thought it would be an appropriate topic for this blog.

 

A little Background: This movie project was initiated a number of years ago when the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) community was under considerable pressure to increase its numbers to meet increasing commitments, and that meant amping up recruiting efforts. My guess is that they were trying to repeat the recruiting success that followed An Officer and a Gentleman and Top Gun for Naval aviation a generation ago. The Bandito Brothers were selected to help create and film a recruiting film, and over time, the recruiting film turned into a feature length movie. It is ironic that Act of Valor, starring active duty SEALs, is coming out at probably the historic peak of public awareness and admiration of Navy SEALs, in the wake of SEAL snipers recovering Captain Phillips of the Maersk Alabama from Somali Pirates, the successful raid against Osama bin Laden, the tragic helicopter crash, and the recent recovery of two hostages in Somalia. The release of Act of Valor is preceded by a major publicity and marketing campaign, just as the Naval Special Warfare community is trying to lower its public profile and get back to focusing on their mission as ‘the Quiet Professionals.’

 

But the wheels for this movie began turning when recruiting was struggling, and all of these very public successes were still years into the future. Though Act of Valor is being released at an awkward time for the NSW community, the leadership seems to be graciously dealing with, yet again, more publicity.

 

Some things I liked about the movie:

 

- I liked the introductory interview with the ‘Bandito Brothers’ who directed the film – “Mouse” McCoy and Scott Waugh. The movie opens with them speaking for about 5 minutes about what was involved in making the movie, and they offer some candid and positive impressions of the SEALs with whom they worked. Much of this introduction is on their website.

 

- The character and capabilities of the men were pretty realistic – they were not portrayed as super-heroes, rather as very well trained ‘tactical athletes’ committed to each other, their families, and their mission.

 

- The level of comfort and intimacy between the men reflects the best units in the SEAL Teams. Not all SEAL units are that tight, but many are.

 

- It showed the SEALs as family men, which most are, and fairly depicted the divided loyalty these men struggle with, between their family and their unit/mission. This the SEALs share with other deployable military units.

 

- I liked how it portrayed our enemies. The movie gave us a look at the face of the Evil and zealotry we are fighting, and hopefully makes it clear how important it is that we aggressively fight these people.

 

- I thought the movie captured pretty well the intensity of close quarters combat. Some of the shots give an excellent ‘you are there’ sense.

 

- I was glad to see the boats given some of their due. The Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCCs) are truly awesome at what they do and they don’t get the recognition they deserve. I wish we’d seen more about the SWCCs in Act of Valor.

 

- Ethnic diversity was well represented – though perhaps this platoon was more ethnically diverse than most. Increasing racial diversity – for tactical, vice political reasons – is a key NSW recruiting objective.

 

- Act of Valor is orders of magnitude better than Navy SEALs with Charlie Sheen, or GI Jane with Demi Moore.

 

Some things I didn’t like about the movie:

 

The movie claims that, in using active duty SEALs, it provides a fairly accurate portrayal of SEAL missions and capabilities, and life in the Teams. And it does. The nits I pick with this movie are with inaccuracies or incomplete truths that can give a false or overly idealized impression of Navy SEALs, their capabilities and life in the Teams. I do understand that compromises and certain liberties probably had to be taken, in the interest not only of operational security, but also to make a two hour film exciting, dramatic, and successful at the box office. That said, below are some of the discrepancies between what I saw in the movie and my own experience as a Navy SEAL:

 

- The tactical capabilities were somewhat over the top – on very short notice no SEAL platoon that I’ve ever seen can do ALL that this platoon did.

 

- There was no indication of the intense staff support and oversight that would accompany each of these operations. Because the SEAL platoon had center stage in the movie, the movie gave the false impression that a SEAL platoon is given a critical mission of strategic importance, then plans and executes it, with little oversight or staff support.

 

- All the equipment and technology always worked. All the intel was always right.

 

- In order to demonstrate a wide variety of capabilities within a dramatic story line, the movie condensed 4 or 5 epic missions into one deployment for one platoon. The reality is that few if any SEAL deployments have included this much action and drama. Much, but not all, that SEALs do is interesting and exciting, but not nearly as dramatic as this movie depicts.

 

- The movie gave the impression that SEALs are nonchalant in the face of danger. This doesn’t fit with my experience. Cavalier joking standing on the ramp of a C-130 just prior to a night, equipment free fall into a real mission? Cavalier joking after one SEAL nearly shoots his team mate while clearing a building of real bad-guys? My experience is that when all the marbles are at stake, the boys have their game-face on, and there is focus, focus, focus, and little or no room for the distractions of humor. Now afterwards, at the bar, that’s a different story.

 

- Great personal and professional relationships between Platoon Officers and their Chief Petty Officers do happen, but the relationship between Lieutenant Rorke and Chief Dave in this film was truly idealized. There is usually a healthy tension in the professional relationship between the Officer and his Chief, which is meant to resolve itself to the advantage of both the troops, and the mission.

 

- My wife felt that the funeral scene at the end was indeed too personal. She was quite uncomfortable with showing the public the intimacy of a funeral for one of our fallen comrades, especially since the funeral service in the movie represents that of Mike Monsoor, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for covering a grenade with his body to save his teammates.

 

Bottom line: Though Act of Valor presents an idealized depiction of an ideal SEAL platoon, it is worth seeing – but go in with your eyes open. Though it does accurately depict the character of the men in the Navy SEALs and many of their more dramatic operational capabilities, there is some stretching of the truth to make a good story and get the public engaged. It is not a docudrama; a more accurate, warts-and-all look at the Teams might satisfy guys like me, but probably would not have much chance at the box office. The film does provide exciting and realistic action scenes, and stays within the general bounds of true NSW capabilities. The Bandito Brothers deserve to make a lot of money from this movie (God-bless capitalism!), and I hope that the public reaction is positive – in the form of increased appreciation for the sacrifices that these men and their families make to fight the evil that threatens us all. I also hope that it results in more of the RIGHT kind of men going to their recruiters and saying: “I want to join the Navy to be a Navy SWCC,” or “I want to join the Navy to be a Navy SEAL.”

 

A note on Operational Security considerations. The tactics, techniques and procedures that are on display in this movie are routinely presented to the public during NSW capabilities demonstrations and in other open source material. The movie didn’t show the best or the latest or the most sensitive of NSW capabilities. The film was reviewed by a number of DoD experts to ensure nothing classified was revealed. The men in this movie know that they and their families are now vulnerable to more publicity and scrutiny than they are used to. The Navy, their team mates, their leadership and their friends in the community will be taking measures that hopefully protect them, until this blows over.

 

One final thing I liked about the movie was the quote from Tecumseh at its conclusion:

 

“Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. And when your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.”

[RANDALL 1953]

Very good insight from a former team member. Thanks for posting hawkdriver.

[hawkdriver]

Very good insight from a former team member. Thanks for posting hawkdriver.

 

No problem, I haven't seen the movie yet, but got this as an email last week but hadn't opened it. I read this thread and then went to my email to clean it up and this was sitting there, so I thought I would pass it along.

[plick27]

Thanks for posting that Hawk.

Saw the movie, thought it was great!

Had no expectations that I was going the see a Sir Lawrence Olivier performance so was not disappointed in the least bit with the acting.

Told my buddy that we thought the movie was great and it got a standing O when over. In essence he said he that he was pretty happy with it "but what we really care about is that we made a movie to honor our fallen brothers and as best we could, more accurately portray Naval Special Warfare Operations"

 

IMHO, I think they nailed it.

 

RJ

[fstop61]

I guess I'll be the odd man out on this one. I went to see it this past Friday night and I wasn't impressed to say the least. Now, I thought the military gear and special effects were very good. The film fell way short on the direction, acting, and script. When the film started, I thought I was still watching the previews. The camera shots were too dis-jointed to keep track of character developement and story line. To me, it seemed like it was a cross between the "A-Team" meets "The Dirty Dozen". My opinion is by no means a shot at the Navy SEALS. I have and will always be one of their greatest supporters-I just don't think it was the best vehicle for them.

 

Just sayin'

[bobgee]

No problem, I haven't seen the movie yet, but got this as an email last week but hadn't opened it. I read this thread and then went to my email to clean it up and this was sitting there, so I thought I would pass it along.

 

Excellent insight, Hawk. Thanks for posting. I saw it last week and thoroughly enjoyed it. I did not go expecting a SEAL documentary. I was intrigued by the fact that the Team were actually SEALs. As amateur actors I think they did a very creditable job. The action scenes were exciting and the tactics as presented were realistic. Of course, I realized that this is a "Hollywood" commercial film intended to draw box-office receipts and therefore the script was written to do just that. "Gone With The Wind" it aint but I paid my money to see it not expecting that it would be. It is a true "good guys" vs. "bad guys" flick. The 'GOOD GUYS' come out way ahead! If you are a green-blooded patriot, go see it. You will "enjoy" it......particularly if you limit your expectations. I'm happy to give it :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Semper Fi.......Bobgee

[chcole1]

Thanks so much for posting Hawk. My wife and I saw the movie last week. I have to confess, I work in the entertainment industry, so I'm a pain in the rump about movies. My wife is always dragging me to films with a good message, which I appreciate, but I can't get passed weak directing or bad acting.

 

All that said, I really liked this movie. Yes I agree, the writing could be a little better. And the storyline is somewhat linear. But nothing was all that exaggerated from what I understand these guys really do. Like others have said, no team would have so many intense missions in such a short span of time. I also missed acknowledgment that it takes more than just the core team to makes these missions happen.

 

In any movie, there are liberties taken to tell a great story in 2 hours or less. We have all watched historic movies we can pick apart because they compressed the timeline of events so it will work as a story, or eliminated historic figures so the story could work as a movie without getting confusing. Hell, you can't make a Harry Potter without making some adjustments.

 

All that said, to me this was a really honest depiction of what these guys go through. If traditional Hollywood did it, they would have taken a group of "stars" and made it into a cartoon, with characters that have superhuman strength and 50 times more explosions. It doesn't take much to realize how lame it could have been. I'll take this over the usual predictable crap any day.

 

Chris

[juvatwad]

The acting stunk. I don't care who they got to play the roles, but I hate movies with bad acting. It's like a late night "B" cable movie.

 

Ian

[RANDALL 1953]

I think it is similar to what Stone did for Platoon, multiple events concocted to make one story. Like you said, no team would have so many missions in that short time frame. From what I understand, some Seals go their entire career without getting a mission.

[Chap15]

Saw the movie.

Thin plot. Acting ok.

Very real in some cases.

Not recommended for those who struggle with issues from the war.

The torture scene. :w00t:

[Bob Hudson]

Took my dad to see it: he's career Navy and we both really liked it.

 

As a Navy brat one thing that really stood out was at the end when they were all in dress uniform for the funereal. Enlisted Navy uniforms are just not something you see on "heroes" in the movies and I was somewhat startled to see these warriors take off the tactical gear and show up in crackerjack suits and Dixie Cup hats. Even though we know the SEALs are Navy, it was a surprise to see them look Navy.

[KeithL]

I just saw Act of Valor on On Demand last night.

 

The acting was not great, but I have seen worse. Stallone is millionaire for worse acting than those guys. Plot was okay. Again I have seen worse, a reference to a Stallone movie seems appropriate again.

 

The action was good. Fast paced and pretty realistic. Some of the details were Hollywood, i.e. the ops tempo, the timeline of the action.

 

The message is very positive. I t was not subtle from the first minute of the movie you know how that is going. I think it is worth seeing for that.

 

Somebody said it was B movie. That is about right. It is not a star studded block buster, but it is entertaining and not a stinker. ( Some blockbusters with big stars are real stinkers and this compares well to many of those).

[royalvolunteerregt]

Agree about all reviews posted above

[alktrio06]

Just saw this movie yesterday. I was really excited for the use of real SEALS. I did not expect good acting and an indepth story. Here's me pro's and con's

 

Pro: Great action scenes. It really showcased the tech and tactics used. (Bit of a recruitment type film)

 

Con: I'm not going to pretend to know what combat is like, but it seemed like there was a "Call of Duty" video game theme in the movie. For example, the looking down the sights and the blacking out scene at the end.

 

Still, this was a decent movie that has some replay value.