Billed as an “unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking”, in a somewhat unique cinematic venture, you won’t find the main actors involved in Act of Valor listed anywhere in the film’s credits. That’s because they don’t actually hail from that profession and instead are genuine living and breathing U.S. Navy SEALs and U.S. Navy Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen, drafted in by the makers to play the parts of seasoned combat veterans rather than having pampered actors do the job.
Portraying characters who are (presumably) close in temperament to themselves, an elite crew of globe-trotting soldiers named the Bandito Platoon embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent in the Mexican jungle. During their exploits, they uncover an intricate terrorist plot which is designed to flood US soil with hard-to-trace devices which possess the potentially devastating means of unleashing mass destruction across the country. Together, they race to intercept the deadly consignments before they can cross over the US border and fall into the wrong hands, and they do so with little concern for their own safety, but with a desire to kick some serious butt.
A smoky and hilariously earnest voice-over (from one of the Jeff Bridges sound-alike co-leads) opens the film and pretty much sets the tone of what’s to follow. On the surface, we may be veering close to a flesh and blood representation of Team America, but in spite of the film’s sometimes unintentionally laugh-out loud comic jingoistic posturing, Act of Valor is a surprisingly enjoyable, old-school action-adventure movie.
Make no mistake, there’s dialogue here which would cause Michael Bay to choke on his Red Bull during a first table reading. It’s corny and predictable as hell (due to the hoariest of character-in-combat clichés, you can guess the fate of one of the leads in his very first scene) but the makers seem entirely uninterested in forging some kind of profound character study of life on the battlefield, and instead, are more intent on constructing a thrilling, old-fashioned (despite the modern trappings) tribute to those men of war, and they succeed admirably on that level.
From the truly shocking and explosive opening, to the mid-way rescue mission and final explosive showdown in Mexico, first-time filmmakers Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh show an incredibly assured hand at directing action in a convincingly visceral way. This is where the makers are able to really demonstrate the power of their unorthodox casting, and the realism, precision and professionalism the grunts add to proceedings is a thrill to behold. The duo even throw in the first-person shoot em’-up perspective favoured in video games, but rather than standing out from the rest of the action (which is usually the case when such a technique is deployed) it actually works incredibly well here, drawing you into the moment and delivering some incredibly tense moments.
It’s a shame that same level of expertise couldn’t have been mustered up for any of the acting, although as many of the SEALS are lumbered with some of the cheesiest lines not seen on the big screen since the halcyon days of Chuck Norris and Co. (surely this wasn’t the result of troops being asked to contribute some real-world banter?!?) it would take a performer of considerable experience and talent to make the words resonate.
Act of Valour will undoubtedly be branded overly patriotic, propaganda nonsense by some critics, but for anyone looking for an unpretentious, bangs-for–your-bucks slice of Friday night escapism on the big screen (and the kind of film which will instantly evoke pangs of nostalgia for those military men on a mission movies which sat on the shelves of video shops across the land decades back) you should make this film your call of duty.
[Rating:3.5/5]
