Act of Valor

Last night, I was able to go see the newly released Act of Valor movie with some friends.  The place was packed and we ended up sitting in two separate groups.  I was actually looking forward to this movie for a while until I researched this movie a bit.  Then my expectations lowered considerably and I went to the theatre expecting a horrible movie.  As an airsofter, I still wanted to see it for the gear porn factor alone.

Billed as a war movie starring active duty US Navy SEALs, i expected big things from the movie.  The plot was a bit weak in my opinion.  It started as a rescue mission of a CIA operative in South America led the team to places all over the world as they unravel a plan by a terrorist group to attack America.  I would go as far as calling this Call of Duty: The Movie.

Once the action started, I just place the plot behind me and just concentrated on the visuals on the screen.  I looked at all the gears used by the team and particularly the way they conduct their movements through the many CQC environments.  I must say that I was not let down at these parts.  I thoroughly enjoyed them and felt that these action sequences were very real and was done by men who trained for these during their every waking moment.

One major let down for me was how bad these guys act.  They read their lines like a robot but these guys are soldiers first so I guess I can understand that.  Also, as much as I like MultiCam, I question their use during greenside ops.

So to summerize, here are the things I liked about the movie:

• Lots of gear porn, This is why I went to see the movie and I was not disappointed.
• Realistic action sequences and lots of them.
• The use of only semi-auto fire and magazine reloads.  Its refreshing to see this in movies.

Here are some things I didn't like:

• Weak plot and acting.
• Some scenes were made to look like a FPS video game.  I guess to appeal to the younger COD kids.
• How this particular team of SEALs was tasked with all of these missions, where in reality there would be multiple teams that would be sent out.

Overall, I was expecting a horrible movie but it ended up being a not so bad.  For anyone who wanted to see some realistic action and lots of explosions, I would recommend it but leave the thinking outside the door.