Austin Healey, Staff Writer
Act of Valor is easily the most realistic combat film ever produced – nothing compares. The movie centers on a sequence of missions conducted by one team of the elite forces of the United States, the best of the best, the damn few Navy SEALs. To execute this film, directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh employed active duty Navy SEALs, incorporated real battle strategies, fired live rounds, and utilized current technology and weaponry in use today. Although the plot itself is not a reenactment of real events, writer Kurt Johnstad fabricated the plot from five true stories lived by these SEALs.
Act of Valor begins in the Philippines with a disturbing scene highlighting the brutally heartless tactics of modern terrorists. A suicide bomber infiltrates a school with an ice cream truck as the children end their school day. The United States ambassador has arrived to pick up his son. As they go to buy some ice cream, the truck explodes, slaughtering dozens of children, the ambassador and his son, and a security guard.
Soon after, we shift to South America. A CIA operative is captured by the target she has been tracking, a man called Christo. Afterwards, a particular SEAL team is called to rescue her as she is being tortured into releasing every bit of intel her captors could use. Team leader and soon-to-be father, Lieutenant Rorke prepares his team for the mission as they spend their final night before deployment relaxing on the beach with their families and friends. The acting is a little lacking while the men talk on the beach, but is completely overshadowed by the action to come.
The following night, the seven-man team HALO jumps into the jungle just outside the enemy camp. At dawn, the team swiftly and stealthily mobilizes, giving a true understanding of military precision as enemy targets are detected, communicated, and eliminated one by one in seconds. The team struggles, but succeeds. Sadly, the agent has been severely tortured; and one SEAL was shot in the eye. The mission closes with an incredible gunfight as two riverine craft annihilate the enemy targets. What possibly makes this scene one of the best fights in the movie is the fact that the gunmen were firing thousands of live rounds, not blanks.
During the mission, a cell was recovered that reveals a global terrorist plot involving Christo and another target, known as Shabal. Christo’s plans are revealed to the viewer as Christo convenes with Shabal in the Ukraine. The two are organizing an attack on multiple major cities in the U.S. using non-metallic suicide bombing vests, making the undetectable by metal detectors, hidden under clothing, and capable of a large explosion with ceramic balls blasting outward, like a very large fragmentation grenade. Christo ends with stating that he must go into hiding, since he assumes the CIA knows of him, which greatly upsets Shabal.
With the military’s new intel, the SEAL team is deployed to Somalia for reconnaissance, confirming Christo and Shabal’s plot. This information leads them to an island off California, where several vests are obtained. Afterwards, Christo is discovered and captured on a yacht in the Pacific. He is interrogated and reveals that not all vests were captured on the island. He then informs the officer that several more vests and Shabal are already positioned to enter the U.S. from Mexico. Although the acting was fine, the interrogation just seemed a bit unrealistic.
Next, the SEAL team departs and prepares for an invasion. However, the city is controlled by a drug cartel with men positioned everywhere, most protecting the warehouse. Once inside, the danger only increases. Additionally, Shabal has been informed of the invasion as the SEALs approach and prepares his suicide-bombers early, also telling one to remain behind so she can detonate after the rest escape.
During this final fight, the SEALs suffer two casualties. An enemy hiding and waiting on the floor above them drops a grenade. Rorke is the only man to see the grenade, forcing him to heroically dive on top of it – sacrificing his life to protect the rest of his team. Rorke’s right hand man and best friend, Chief Dave, enters the final room with an underground tunnel leading to the U.S. Dave kills several men, including the final suicide bomber, but takes several shots and falls unconscious. Shabal arises arrogantly and readies his gun to kill Dave. At the last moment, the rest of the team enters and immediately kills Shabal before he ever fires; and Dave survives.
The film ends with Rorke’s funeral. Each member of Rorke’s team, including the SEAL shot in the eye and Dave in a wheelchair, pins their badge into his coffin and salutes. The pregnant widow, who is weeping uncontrollably, is presented with an American flag and a second which Rorke had always carried with him on every mission. Then, a voiceover of Dave reading a poem (also read in the beginning) finishes the film as the widow can be seen still crying as she feeds her infant son.
Overall, Act of Valor is by far the closest film to real Navy SEAL combat. I have heard people criticize the acting, but question their comparison. These men have lived and performed this countless times in training and under real combat pressure. The best comparisons we can make are derived from video games and movies with actors and directors who have never lived it. I will believe these men over any actor any day. However, I can admit the acting in non-military scenes lacked at some parts for the SEALs – but oh, well. Also, finding a cell phone to uncover enemy plans seemed like an avoidable copout. There is only one, short reconnaissance scene in the movie. A second, longer recon mission could have been used to reveal more instead while offering a lot of suspense. Lastly, I definitely wish they fixed the ending. A mother crying in front of her child adds to the sadness after the funeral. However, I would rather see a greatly superior message with an empowered woman rising above the gloom. The raw action of this film certainly overshadows the few kinks. So go watch Act of Valor. There is plenty of great action and suspense; and you cannot get much more realistic unless you record the real thing.
