Guns. Explosions. Tough Guys. Yes please … sort of.
After watching the newest military manfest “Act of Valor,” I found myself slightly at unease. How can I critique a film that has tried so hard to represent the men and women who protect our great nation? How can I reasonably go home and point out all the missteps when clearly, the filmmakers tried so hard to depict the difficult situations real soldiers find themselves in?
I discovered, at first that I couldn’t. I couldn’t find the words. Typing and deleting, retyping and then deleting again, the keys on my keyboard feverishly worked in trying to get my point of view across. Then, I realized the problem.
It’s unfair.
I don’t think this was intentional. I strongly believe that directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh truly wanted to make a tribute to our soldiers and in many ways, they did. It was clear that other audience members left the theater extremely entertained and satisfied with what they experienced. But … would this message have better served as a documentary – like the 2010 film “Restrepo” – versus the over-hyped Hollywood testosterone movie that was presented. If the purpose was to depict real soldiers in real situations, were we as audience members informed and truly given a glimpse into the dangerous missions our soldiers have to go on or just given another, fake look at what real combat is like.
Maybe I’m being unfair now, but hear me out.
For those reading that are unsure, “Act of Valor” is a pretty cool idea where the above-mentioned filmmakers partnered with the military and placed a team of active-duty Navy SEALs into a film based on true events. It’s visceral, highly engaging and very well made. At the same time, the filmmakers used live ammunition during the filming in some of the scenes so watching a truck get turned to Swiss cheese and debris by a high caliber automatic weapon is extremely cool to watch.
Just saying.
Here’s the unfair part. These soldiers have a very specific job to do in a very specific way. For half the movie, they are allowed to do what they do, and show us a process that few Americans will ever have to experience. They are trained to be highly vigilant, work as a team and control their emotions in times of extreme stress and tension. For the other part of the film, they are asked to act – a job that realistically is not even well done at times by some of the best trained or experienced in the business. So what do you judge them on?
As critics, we are asked to look over the sum of a film and give our personal opinion on what we see. Most of the times it’s easy. See a movie and if the dialogue is crap, we tell you. Watch a film and the pacing sucks, we say it. Our audience reads it and then they decide whether they agree or disagree. It’s easy.
But is it so easy here?
As a film, “Act of Valor” holds together extremely well. Intriguing events, good characters and solid drama all combine nicely to give a good overall experience for the moviegoers. Lovers of military movies and, more than likely men and women who have or are currently serving will eat this film up with a mess hall spoon and ask for seconds. While, in my opinion, not a great film, action-wise it ranks very high – especially since I believe the action is where it is at its best.
However, acting-wise … not so much.
Overly dramatic and extremely drawn out, the film loses itself whenever the soldiers are away from the fray. And that’s a shame. Part of the reason is the dialogue. Funny at times and personal at others, it is still overshadowed by “Hollywood-tough-guy-quips” that come off hard and unrefined. Lines are delivered with difficulty and the flow becomes hard to listen to. Clunky is the best way to describe it.
So, therein lies my dilemma. How do you rate these men and women who are so good at doing their actual job, but fall short when asked to do another?
To be fair, I will say that it’s pretty impressive to see what they do accomplish. Take the idea that they are real people away and as characters, each soldier depicted is extremely identifiable, likeable and worth the screen time. Moments in battle are very controlled and there is an energy given off that you just can’t take your eyes off of. As a team, the SEAL unit is ultimate group of heroes and you can’t help but cheer them on throughout the various situations.
But, this is still a film and while I am happy to give credit where credit is due, this film falls apart when there is no fighting on screen. Not every time, but for the most part, away from battle, the members become less interesting and the clunky dialogue quickly turns the engagement off. Above, I mentioned the film “Restrepo” and for those reading, I would highly recommend seeing this film if you have not. While a documentary, I believe it is fair to compare these two films because in “Act of Valor” the feeling that you are not only experiencing the soldiers’ job through their eyes but also in their own words is missing. And unfortunately that is a big miss for me.
Like I said, “Act of Valor” is actually a good film. At skin surface, it is the closest thing to real combat situations with real soldiers that most will ever experience. Comparable to some of the newest military-based video games, “Act of Valor” delivers on action. But poor dialogue and a tone that never really finds itself stop it from becoming great. Unfairly, some of the best wearing the uniform are asked to act and while they are adequate for part of the film, the poor dialogue makes the film seem less genuine and thus just another action film.
3 of 5 Stars
