'Act of Valor' takes 'act' out of action
The action thriller "Act of Valor" employs real, active-duty U.S. Navy SEALs in its cast, and every one of them could be a graduate of the Chuck Norris School of Drama.
There is a reason why stars such as Matt Damon and Brad Pitt use stunt doubles in their movies: The actors can't do what their stunt doubles can.
The directors of "Act of Valor" - veteran Hollywood stuntmen Mike "Mouse" McCoy and Scott Waugh - clearly believe that stunt doubles, at least real Navy SEALs, can do what the stars can. Act.
Between acting and action lies an ocean, and neither the directors nor the military cast members can cross it. Sure, the real SEALs shine when it comes to executing a textbook house sweep. But showing us how they feel about their jobs? Or anything else?
Not going to happen.
The best way to look at "Act of Valor" might be as a well-funded student movie.
You admire its ambition and enthusiasm, but it doesn't know how to effectively employ slow-motion shots, build suspense or get the cast to make its sparse, functional dialogue sound more natural and less stilted.
The story, reportedly based on actual SEAL experiences (and reportedly filmed using live ammunition, which might explain the absence of recognizable stars), is a classic rescue tale with a terrorist conspiracy added.
When a CIA operative (Roselyn Sanchez) gets captured and tortured by a ruthless drug dealer (Alex Veadov), the SEALs get the call to retrieve her, plus stop a nefarious plot to send human bombs into America's teeming cities.
Some of the SEALs get actual names such as Dave and Rorke. Others get titles, such as "Senior." Dave is also called "Chief."
I'm not sure why "Act of Valor" (written by Kurt Johnstad, who wrote another action-heavy drama "300") presents its heroes with such vagueness. It's already difficult to tell one SEAL from another, and it's almost as if the individual identities don't matter here; they're a team, a singular fighting unit.
That might make a nice "Band of Brothers" point, but dramatically it's a major error. We don't know who we're rooting for.
We get only sketchy glimpses of the SEALs, outside of one, a married dad about to become a father again. (In formula war movies, extra-humanizing a character practically guarantees his demise.)
Then we have splattery head shots made by SEALs snipers. Initially, crimson showers exploding from enemy heads makes for a shocking, powerful visual.
Then, "Act of Valor" goes on to use so many splattery head shots, they become numbing and start to resemble footage from the last episode of "The Walking Dead."
Or maybe the video game "Call of Duty," because the camera in "Act of Valor" often takes the point of view of a SEAL so that we only see what he sees while sweeping a room with a weapon at the ready. We just don't have a controller to fire the gun.
At least cinematographer Shane Hurlbut puts some nifty moves into his camera work with some Coen-esque whip-shots during a street chase scene and a marvelous tumbling lens that follows Sanchez's body as she's rolled up inside a carpet by terrorists.
In unprecedented introduction, Waugh and McCoy directly talk to us through the camera and explain why and how they made their movie, and actually say they <I>couldn't find anyone better to portray the SEALs than the real SEALs.
</I>Finally, a movie cast has come along that makes Chuck Norris look totally emo.
“Act of Valor”
★ ½
Starring: Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle, Nestor Serrano
Directed by: Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh
Other: A Relativity Media release, Rated R for violence and language. 101 minutes