Act Of Valor Review

I certainly don't see why this movie has gotten so much hate online.

In a world dominated by war movies and generic "realistic" modern warfare shooters, it's always hard to distinguish between the genuine and genuinely crap, but in my opinion Act of Valour is a fine movie that isn't made up of gun porn and crazy plots.

We open up with a startling scene, which brings to mind such events as the Beslan School Shooting and other horrific massacres (how dare you think of that airport scene) and reminds us that this is the world we live in, though not in an overly dramatic or glorified way.

We are then introduced to the members of Bandito (BANDITOS FOREVER! FOREVER BANDITOS!) Platoon, SEAL Team Seven, who are spending time with each other before being sent back into combat. This is one of a few scenes throughout the movie where we are reminded of the human cost of war. It's not just shooting Islamist terrorists or cartel members in dark rooms. It's seeing your mate die and have to see his wife and children cope with losing him. The team gels together, and it's also great to see Navy SEALs in action; those feared, elite killers of the night. One particularly cool moment is when their sniper takes out an enemy soldier and before he falls in the water with a splash he is caught and lowered by other members of the team. Seeing the team co-ordinate in the beginning of the film is a joy to behold, and seeing this I can certainly appreciate the "realistic" methods of Ghost Recon and Battlefield more. There's also a scene where mini-gun armed gunboats shoot up enemy trucks and soldiers, though I wish they had turned it into a full-blown shootout. 

I won't go too into specifics about the nature of the terrorist plot, but it's certainly ingenious and not as extravagantly implausible as a Russian or Chinese or Islamist invasion of America. How can movies keep their feet grounded in reality? Towards the end of the movie it descends into good old Black Hawk Down-style shooter fun, with guns going off, enemy soldiers dying and the SEALs looking generally badass. Hooray!!!

Overall it's a fun movie to watch, with plenty of shooting to keep you awake, and a decent storyline to back it up. I'd like to have seen more of the emotional side of things, but it was pretty solid in the long run. The only negative point is that the SEALs, although uncannily accurate when compared to the foe, can't act very well. Sadface. 

7/10