Act of Valor
By: Rachel Ogle
On our last day of spring break in Florida, my friends and I decided to hide out in the movie theater for a few hours and protect our burnt skin from the sun. We chose to see Act of Valor, a movie about a group of Navy SEALs whose mission is to rescue a kidnapped CIA agent and stop suicide bombers from entering the United States. The stars of the movie aren’t even actors, but are actually active-duty Navy SEALs (I suppose in order to accurately portray a Navy SEAL mission). The idea of the film sounded really cool and I excitedly sat down, expecting an action-packed film that would keep my attention.
This movie gave me a new-found appreciation for professional actors.
The acting was so bad that I was unable to focus on anything else, especially at the beginning. Dialogue between the two main characters was so forced that it was painful to watch and I felt myself cringing. Even the writing was bad. Throughout the movie, one character would turn to another and make a completely irrelevant comment to the scene. Their acting made Miley Cyrus look like an Oscar winner.
Luckily, after making it through the first forty-five minutes or so of the movie, it began to pick up when the Navy SEALs began their mission. The scenes of the fighting itself were cool and well done. The fight scenes were pretty bloody and graphic, the worst being torture scenes of a captured woman that I couldn’t even watch (but, admittedly, I am a wimp).
Another issue I had with the movie was that the patriotism and “gung-ho America” attitude was a little over the top. A movie about Navy SEALs understandably will be patriotic, but all other countries in the movie were seen as horrible sources of evil and terrorism. It was so black and white, with absolutely no complexity of people or characters.
I’m sure that many people who have seen and are going to see this movie will enjoy it (I’m the only one of my friends who didn’t!). If you’re looking for some good action scenes and aren’t phased by bad acting, then definitely go for it; otherwise, use the two hours and $10 for something else!
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