Ever wonder what it must be like to be a part of the United States Navy’s SEALs (Sea, Air, and Land Teams)?  Act of Valor gives you an up-close and personal look at their life, in what the filmmakers are calling “cinematic nonfiction”.  Like television shows such as Law & Order, CSI and Body of Proof, Act of Valor is based on real-life events.  But unlike those shows, this film showcases real-life, currently active-duty SEALs in the storyline, doing what they do best.  It’s a riveting film that kept this “thought I’d seen it all” action-genre fan on the edge of her seat.  Is it top-notch storytelling and grade A acting?  No, but if you’re expecting award-winning performances from non-actors you be trippin’.  What it is, is a whole lot of fun that left me with a warm fuzzy feeling about being Amuuuurincan.  It also gave me even more respect for the men and women of today’s Armed Forces.  Hooyah!

The storyline is a simple one; a terrorist organization is planning to strike deep in the heart of the good ol’ USA.  When CIA operators get ambushed, it’s up to the SEALs to save the day for everyone.  So…is this movie a shill for the Armed Forces press corps?  Nope.  Sure, they had final cut privileges, but just about every movie that deals with the Armed Forces has some sort of okay process that the producers must go through.  It’s said the real nitty-gritty tactics aren’t shown, but damn if I can tell what they’ve hidden, since there’s a whole lotta shootin’ going on in this film.  It plays out like an up-close, no-holds-barred film in the depiction of the SEALs’ activities when they’ve gotta put the hammer down.  Watching these guys do their thing, even though it’s choreographed so nobody gets hurt — they used live ammo during filming y’all; the crew said the SEALs “wouldn’t do anything that wasn’t real and authentic” — is truly amazing stuff.

What is less than amazing are the scenes that focus on off-duty time.  Hey, it’s to be expected with non-actors.  With on-duty operators playing…on-duty operators, you’re not going to get a whole lot of back-story here.  It doesn’t make for more than a basic iceberg-tip when it comes to characterization, but it does let these people keep their private lives private.  Plus, this is not a movie about amazing men and women, it’s about the amazing stuff they do.  Remember that, and you’ll have a good time here.

A handful of real-life actors get screen time here, as CIA operatives, bad guys and the like.  Roselyn Sanchez (Without A Trace) is probably the best known of this bunch.  Casting lesser known actors works well here, keeping the focus on the action.  It also helps keep the acting level on more of an even keel.  You don’t want Dame Judi Dench blowing everybody out of the water.  Wanna know who the Navy SEALs are that starred in Act of Valor?  Don’t go checking the credits, or IMDb; they’re not there.  Keeping the names off the credits is probably a kindness to these people, letting them keep their privacy.

The filmmakers worked around the deployment schedule of the SEAL “actors”, causing this film to take two years to make.   No, it doesn’t have the feel of a two-year shoot.  It has the feel of those testosterone laden ammo-fests from the 80s.  Toss in a little Sly, a touch of Dolph and maybe even a Van Damme (please, no Seagal, thanks), and lose the live ammo?  That’s about right.  But those movies don’t have with Act of Valor has in spades; a feeling like you’re getting to peek in on something that has been shrouded in mystery for years.  That’s worth the price of admission right there.

More info on the making of this film can be found on the Act of Valor website.  And if you want to help the men and women of the SEALs, check out The Navy SEAL Foundation.