Act of Valor

[NETim]

Just go see it.

[jlw]

Poem at the end:


"Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about his religion.
Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.
Seek to make your life long and of service to your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people, but grovel to none.
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light,
for your life, for your strength.
Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
and robs the spirit of its vision.
When your time comes to die,
be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death,
so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time
to live their lives over again in a different way.
Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home."

--Tecumseh

[SecondsCount]

The Mrs. and I went to see it and enjoyed it.

Some of the reviews I have read claim the acting is poor but compared to some other action movies I have seen, including Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger stuff, I thought it was good.

The action scenes are well done and will get your heart rate up. :cool:

[turbolag23]

i jokingly told my fiancee to bring some tissues to an action movie, she wishes she would have. i thought it was a well done movie, it had some sweet action scenes. the acting may not have been big name hollywood actors but i thought they did a fine job. ill have to use my mechanix gloves while shooting more now haha

[Kyle Reese]

Going to see it in an hour.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

[NETim]

I believe Kipling's "If" would be appropriate as well. But the Tecumseh poem is brilliant.

[JHC]

My 19 year old and I thought it excellent. The action scenes are almost peerless and they went the extra mile with small details like a 1st person view (helmet cam) of elevating the M4 muzzle and touching a team mates shoulder as you pass behind him.

The acting and character development was sufficient for this movie. As noted above, at least as good as Arnold or Sly action movies, probably better. So I can't deduct any points for that. Some think the Senior Chief may actually have a future in cinema. I wouldn't be surprised.

I read that some in the Navy are like "Oh sh&$ what now?" as while they intended this to be a good recruiting tool, they did NOT expect it to become a major societal event as it has (it's the #1 Box Office movie this weekend). But it's a lesson for Hollywood on many levels.

It's non-stop action that's for sure. Definitely recommened. Like Blackhawk Down, this one felt like a sacrement.

[JDM]

Aside from the red lasers with NVGs, the technical details were excellent.

[JHC]

Aside from the red lasers with NVGs, the technical details were excellent.

I sat there and figured THAT had to have been deliberate "disinformation". ;) The actual method and the visual affect on camera may have triggered way to much mainstream interest.

[NETim]

The buzzing mini-guns are worth the price of admission alone. The sound man did a spectacular job of capturing the sound of weapons fire. It was almost as if "you were right there."

And yes, the Senior Chief was the quietest and at the same time, the most menacing man I've seen on the screen in a long, long time. I hope he gets a chance to do more work in the movies.

I noticed in the credits that Thell Reed was one of the armorers for this flick.

[zml342]

In an interview with I believe the producer he stated that they had to change some of the camera angles so as not to show some weapons as well as changing some maneuvers due to their classified nature.

I thought the action was great and gave viewers an amazing look in to what these heroes do on a daily basis.

[JDM]

I sat there and figured THAT had to have been deliberate "disinformation". ;) The actual method and the visual affect on camera may have triggered way to much mainstream interest.

I'd agree, but with games like Modern Warfare, and series like Generation Kill, I think the cat is out of the bag.

[Chris_Carroll]

Just got back from seeing this movie. All-in-all, I thought it was a solid action movie. Some of the writing was a little clunky and most of the acting was solid, if not spectacular. I too liked the quiet menace exuded by the Senior Chief. Don't know if I would have had him fast-rope for an interrogation wearing khakis and a blazer, however :) I wasn't a big fan of the helmet cam footage...too much Call of Duty for me. This won't go down in history as a great movie...but it was good, solid fun.

[Kyle Reese]

Just saw it. Thought it was definitely worth the price of admission. You could hear a pin drop in the theater during pretty much the entire film.

[JMorse]

I really enjoyed this one. I was invited to a screening and there was a retired SEAL there who spoke before the film. He said the movie was very accurate aside from the pacing of the missions. He also commented that the boat scene was his favorite, and really brought him back to the days when he used to do do that. He shared a nice fun story about sitting in the Atlantic one night in pitch blackness on a training mission when a sub surfaced between his boat and another. He said he looked over at his buddy with a huge grin and said 'Who gets to do shit like this?'

Very nice guy. I'd have loved to have bought him a beer and listened to some stories, but obviously that wasn't in the works.

[F-Trooper05]

Here (http://bobscorner.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/act-of-valor/) is a review from a retired SEAL Captain.

[jlw]

Here (http://bobscorner.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/act-of-valor/) is a review from a retired SEAL Captain.


That was a good review.

[Koup]

I sat there and figured THAT had to have been deliberate "disinformation". ;) The actual method and the visual affect on camera may have triggered way to much mainstream interest.

In a pre-screening I attended, one of the producers said the reason for using Red is actually more mundane. While there were a lot of scenes cut for security reasons, the red laser replacement was more of a concession to Hollywood norms. Since the lasers did not show up on the cameras, so they had to go in and add it in post. The producers just decided to go with the red since it is visually more recognizable to most people.

[JM Campbell]

I'm about to see it now. I am seeing it in a DBOX seated theater, should be pretty damn cool. Ticket was $19 with service fee and when purchased online there is a option to donate to the SEAL Foundation, classy IMO.

Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket

[vaspence]

Poem at the end:


"Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about his religion.
Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.
Seek to make your life long and of service to your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend,
or even a stranger, if in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people, but grovel to none.
When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light,
for your life, for your strength.
Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
and robs the spirit of its vision.
When your time comes to die,
be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death,
so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time
to live their lives over again in a different way.
Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home."

--Tecumseh

I have a version that I carried for years in my wallet. I ripped it out of a Sports Afield magazine when I was a kid. Looking at the advertisements on the back it must have been in 1983.

625.

[Fly320s]

Watched it today. I enjoyed it and thought the acting was decent. I wasn't expecting Oscar-quality acting from Seals.

The thing that bothered me most was the out-of-focus scenes. There were lots of them.

[TGS]

Just got back from seeing it. Thoughts were the same as everyone else, so I won't go over that.

But how about some of the trailers?

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? Really? WTF? Granted I went to a matinee so there were only 15 or so people in the theater, but did everyone else have the entire theater laughing at the end of the trailer?

The Raid. That looks like it might be good....reminded me of OldBoy in some ways.

[zml342]

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? Really? WTF?


It was actually a funny book, IMO. It essentially takes the biography of Abraham Lincoln and adds a vampire spin to all events. It was written by the same author (Seth Grahame-Smith) who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347), so take it for what it is...

/thread drift

[Kyle Reese]

Reading some of the critical comments made regarding this film (not here, but on other websites) and they make me laugh.

One one hand you have people complaining the acting wasn't on par with the likes of George Clooney or Brad Pitt, and on the other you have some lamenting the fact that we're using this film to get the populace riled up for a conflict with Iran.

Is there something being put in the water which turns erstwhile normal people into blithering morons?

[turbolag23]

Is there something being put in the water which turns erstwhile normal people into blithering morons?

there may be but i think its just the internet bringing to attention all the blithering morons that we otherwise wouldnt know were out there.

[JHC]

It was actually a funny book, IMO. It essentially takes the biography of Abraham Lincoln and adds a vampire spin to all events. It was written by the same author (Seth Grahame-Smith) who wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Prejudice-Zombies-Classic-Ultraviolent/dp/1594743347), so take it for what it is...

/thread drift

I'm gonna see it.

[Tamara]

All greater philosophical issues aside, I am so used to watching gun handling in movies and thinking "You're Doing It Wrong!" that it was refreshing to see one that made me think "Huh. I'm Doing It Wrong." :cool:

[LOKNLOD]

Is there something being put in the water which turns erstwhile normal people into blithering morons?

Moron is the new normal.

[JHC]

Moron is the new normal.

!!! Sig line!

[LOKNLOD]

!!! Sig line!

It would be slightly less ironic if you spelled my screenname correctly :p

[JHC]

It would be slightly less ironic if you spelled my screenname correctly :p

ROFL!!!

[bdcheung]

Saw it last night, and I got choked up at the end. There may have been a tear or two.

I just found out on Friday that I'm going to have a son in July. Probably related to the emotions.

[JHC]

Saw it last night, and I got choked up at the end. There may have been a tear or two.

I just found out on Friday that I'm going to have a son in July. Probably related to the emotions.

Me too. Could be related to one son in the Army and another tracking to be. But I think also and even mostly out of overwhelming awe for the best of us that will risk all their tomorrows in such service. It is a brand of nobility that is truly breathtaking.

CONGRATULATIONS on the news of a son!

[YVK]

Saw it yesterday, not really sharing group's enthusiasm about this one. Acting was weak, to say the least, but I was OK with that. Having active duty SEALs portray themselves lent some credibility to it, and bad acting somewhat worked in a way of "look, we're SEALs, not actors". However, what credibility was earned that way, got immediately lost for me after the first extraction episode due to poor screenplay. What, we have only one platoon of SEALs to hit consecutive targets and do recon in multiple spots on the globe within compressed span of a time? From that point on, I couldn't take it seriously, although the gunplay was very realistic. And yes, the end of the film, even though predictable, left me with a tear.
3/5 stars, in my opinion.

[JHC]

Saw it yesterday, not really sharing group's enthusiasm about this one. Acting was weak, to say the least, but I was OK with that. Having active duty SEALs portray themselves lent some credibility to it, and bad acting somewhat worked in a way of "look, we're SEALs, not actors". However, what credibility was earned that way, got immediately lost for me after the first extraction episode due to poor screenplay. What, we have only one platoon of SEALs to hit consecutive targets and do recon in multiple spots on the globe within compressed span of a time? From that point on, I couldn't take it seriously, although the gunplay was very realistic. And yes, the end of the film, even though predictable, left me with a tear.
3/5 stars, in my opinion.

Totally spot on observations IMO. I agree with all of that . . . but still liked it very much. I am adept at suspending reality to enjoy a movie so the biggest problem of one platoon covering the globe I just had to allow for. I prefer BHD as the best movie of pure battle. No home front. Just the troops and the battle.

[NETim]

It's made $45M and cost $12M to make. They're making money on it at least. I was hoping it would continue to dominate but sadly it appears to be tailing off.

But that's understandable with competition like "Project X" and "The Lorax" to contend with. :confused: No accounting for taste I guess.

Sitting through the previews was painful both times but I gutted it out.

Truly good movies are such a rarity these days.

[MD7305]

I saw the film yesterday evening and I really enjoyed it. Given, the acting isn't the greatest but I didn't see if for that reason, I saw it because I think it's awesome to have SEALs playing themselves in a movie about them. The action was solid and the story wasn't bad. One of my favorite parts was the interrogation of "Christo" on the yacht. And the M134......I love me some miniguns!

[JHC]

I just love any halfway decent flick with good guys killing jihadis. There are a million great stories waiting to be put to film. Hollywood resists.

[TGS]

One of my favorite parts was the interrogation of "Christo" on the yacht.

I would love to develop the abilities and disposition of that Senior Chief from that interrogation. That was awesome, and I'm guessing the part where everyone was referring to when saying he was a menacing character.

[Failure2Stop]

Is there something being put in the water which turns erstwhile normal people into blithering morons?

Free access to mass media without the filter of consequence, exascerbated by anonymity.



My name is Jack Leuba, and I approve this post.

[Kyle Reese]

Free access to mass media without the filter of consequence, exascerbated by anonymity.



My name is Jack Leuba, and I approve this post.

Spot on.

Sent from my ADR6400L

[Tamara]

However, what credibility was earned that way, got immediately lost for me after the first extraction episode due to poor screenplay. What, we have only one platoon of SEALs to hit consecutive targets and do recon in multiple spots on the globe within compressed span of a time?
From what I understand, that came from a desire to show as many possible facets of varied SEAL ops in a short time frame.

Remember that it supposedly was originally just going to be a recruiting flick and kinda sorta turned into a feature length motion picture almost by accident.

If you approach it as basically a string of vignettes that show "Look, HALO! Look, SDV! Look, night-time direct action! Look, VBSS! Look, sneaking around in the jungle! Look, Boat Guys! And guns, guns, guns!" and tie it together with a thread of a plot and a reminder of sacrifices at the end, and not an actual story like For Whom The Bell Tolls or whatever, it holds up a lot better.

[BaiHu]

Just saw it and the boat exfil made my year. What was right about this movie was showing what was wrong about every Hollywood movie. Other than that, the poem rocked at the end and made me proud of my country. Here's a copy. And no I don't know the photographer/site, it was the first place to pop up.

http://www.waynemoran.com/blog2/2012/02/26/tecumseh-poem-from-act-of-valor-movie/

Sent using Tapatalk.

[NETim]

This flick is out on Blu-Ray and DVD now. Part of the proceeds from the sale goes to Operation Homefront. (http://www.operationhomefront.net/)

Naturally the discs contain extras. Great things like interviews with active duty SEALS. Director's commentary. Keith Urban's music video. Deleted scenes.

Supporting OH makes the purchase worthy in and of itself. The interviews with these warriors are priceless.

Worth every $$$$ and then some.

[Odin Bravo One]

Finally watched it.

Acting was pretty bad. But knowing all but one of those guys, I can attest that they are very good at their day jobs.

Also worth noting, each scenario faced in the movie was loosely adapted from actual events over the past ten years. I suppose it's easier to see when you know what the actual event was and how they tweaked it. It was intended to be a recruiting movie, not a Silver Screen action blockbuster. It evolved, and Act of Valor is where it ended up. Hopefully it will ignite a spark in the next generation who looked at all of that shit and said "Hell yeah, that's what I wanna be when I grow up".

And while none of the men whose names scroll through before the credits roll can ever be replaced, we still need to find quality individuals to go and do what others can't, or won't do.

[da6dspanburg]

Acting was pretty bad. But knowing all but one of those guys, I can attest that they are very good at their day jobs.


And that right there, says it all.

[NETim]

And that right there, says it all.

Absolutely! And I'm glad they're so good at it. (And it's nice to see at least some of my tax dollars accomplishing something worthy.)

Watching the flick again last night with the director's commentaries "on", it was immediately apparent how much they, the directors, respected these men. They would tell the SEALS what they wanted done and then let the SEALS set it up and go with it. They commented over and over again at how difficult it was to keep up with the team.

Fantastic chemistry and that is what makes the flick so great.

[TCinVA]

Recruiting films work. When I saw Top Gun I wanted to fly fighter jets...at least up until the volleyball scene. After that it was pretty much EJECTEJECTEJECT...

[Kyle Reese]

Reading the reviews on Amazon.com is always a hoot. Apparently some folks in San Francisco were offended by this movie. :rolleyes: As a result, I ordered a copy for my old man fo r Father's Day.

[JMS]

Just saw it and the boat exfil made my year.

Amen. We got into a scrap or six on the Euphrates, with SURCs instead of SOC-Rs, and weren't nearly as smooth (Light Armored Reconnaissance bubbas, shoehorned into a provisional mission...), but remembering how incoming fire from booger-eaters just....kinda...drops off....when a GAU opens up...much less more than one GAU...

Can't really call what it evoked a smile....it's all teeth, and doesn't touch the eyes.

[SGT_Calle]

Recruiting films work. When I saw Top Gun I wanted to fly fighter jets...at least up until the volleyball scene. After that it was pretty much EJECTEJECTEJECT...

Right before I left my job to be a detailed recruiter I was given advice from a 11B Ranger who was OJT-ing with us. He says, "Just show 'em that Ranger video the recruiters have, they'll join! Worked on me!"
Never did a Ranger contract but helped some great young people serve.
Back on topic, I loved the movie. I'm probably going to pick up the Blu-Ray.

[JHC]

Right before I left my job to be a detailed recruiter I was given advice from a 11B Ranger who was OJT-ing with us. He says, "Just show 'em that Ranger video the recruiters have, they'll join! Worked on me!"
Never did a Ranger contract but helped some great young people serve.
Back on topic, I loved the movie. I'm probably going to pick up the Blu-Ray.

Are you recruiting now? PM about to be sent.

We loved the film too and it's a definite "own".

[SGT_Calle]

Nope, I was recruiting in Pocatello, ID most of 2004-2005. Tough times to be a recruiter, lol.

[jwperry]

I read the book before watching the movie.

I didn't think the acting was that bad. Some of those guys are way better actors than Nicholas Cage and better than some of the other meat-head action flick guys as of late.

I guess, in the end, I was a little disappointed that it didn't follow the book a bit more. The movie was a great recruiting flick, with nonstop action, etc., but as far as creating the same emotional investment with the story and character development that the book did, I guess it just fell short for me. I'll admit at the end of the book, even I got a bit choked up. At the end of the movie, it just seemed like a progression of the story line.

[seabiscuit]

Just watched it with my wife. It upset her quite a bit. Not sure what to do about that, since I can't promise her I'll always come back.

[Odin Bravo One]

So don't promise.

All of my wives had the same option............don't like my job? Quit.

Of course, that leaves me on the eternal search for the next ex-Mrs. Sean.

[seabiscuit]

Yeah, not going to promises. Just wish I could. We talked about this on our first date a couple years ago, but I think it's getting a lot more real for her now.

[Al T.]

Yeah, not going to promises. Just wish I could.

While it's certainly true for inherently dangerous professions, it's true for everybody. Nobody guarantees you tomorrow or even the rest of the day.

One rule that seems to work is never leave mad at each other.

[jstyer]

While it's certainly true for inherently dangerous professions, it's true for everybody. Nobody guarantees you tomorrow or even the rest of the day.

One rule that seems to work is never leave mad at each other.

My fiance and I are going through this right now in regards to Military service... and the "true for everybody" line doesn't work at all for her. In her view, it's not the odds... it's the stakes.

She just gets that it's something I have to do.

[seabiscuit]

While it's certainly true for inherently dangerous professions, it's true for everybody. Nobody guarantees you tomorrow or even the rest of the day.

One rule that seems to work is never leave mad at each other.

True that.

[Corlissimo]

I read the book before watching the movie.

I didn't think the acting was that bad. Some of those guys are way better actors than Nicholas Cage and better than some of the other meat-head action flick guys as of late.

I guess, in the end, I was a little disappointed that it didn't follow the book a bit more. The movie was a great recruiting flick, with nonstop action, etc., but as far as creating the same emotional investment with the story and character development that the book did, I guess it just fell short for me. I'll admit at the end of the book, even I got a bit choked up. At the end of the movie, it just seemed like a progression of the story line.

Thanks for this post. I think you've saved me a bit of a let-down. :cool:
I read the book a while back and thought it was a great read with good character development and the story definitely had me emotionally invested. Maybe in a while I'll see the film but for now I think I'll just keep the mental images created by the book instead of diluting them with the film, as good as it may be. :)

[Suvorov]

Saw it on a flight the other day. The little 5x7 screen didn't do it justice, but I enjoyed it anyway. The acting is what it was, but those guys are 10,000 times better actors than a guy like Charley Sheen is a SEAL. Something about me really wants to be convinced that the guy on screen can really do the things he is doing in the movie. I guess that is why I may be the only guy who thinks George Lazenby was the best 007 and can't watch the current fraud based on the fact that Daniel Craig can't dive a stick.

As a recruiting film, I think it will probably hit its mark. As an action film, it did pretty well, especially for guys who like gun porn or guys who serve or have served. I agree it definitely could have used more character development, but just like any other movie of its sort, there just isn't enough time to do that and make it a popcorn movie. It definitely shows the caliber of men we have serving in the Special Ops as well as other branches, which is worth something in today's world.


Reading the reviews on Amazon.com is always a hoot. Apparently some folks in San Francisco were offended by this movie. :rolleyes: As a result, I ordered a copy for my old man fo r Father's Day.

As someone who has a home about 20 miles South of SF, I pretty much am offended every time the wife cons me into heading up into that city.

[TCinVA]

Finally saw the movie the other night. The best part, IMO, was the interrogation of the billionaire playboy bad guy. The rest...well...I don't think it really did justice to the topic they were trying to get at. If you're going to make a movie with AD guys from NSWG then really invest in it. That means a good script, etc. That horrid "Battleship" movie probably had a bigger budget for 3 minutes of CGI footage than AOV had for the whole movie.

A better script and a little more work on the visuals would have made for a better movie and would have been more effective at getting the point they were going for across, IMO. More on-screen time for the minigun wouldn't have hurt either.

[LOKNLOD]

More on-screen time for the minigun wouldn't have hurt either.

I think 90 minutes of quality minigun footage could make a standalone box office hit.

[JHC]

Yeah, not going to promises. Just wish I could. We talked about this on our first date a couple years ago, but I think it's getting a lot more real for her now.

My service was long ago in relatively placid times but I've got one son on AD now with a unit that deploys a lot and another working on his admin for enlisting 11B/Abn. Mom has seen this coming for YEARS as they been tracking this way a long time but is still struggling with it.

Personally, speaking for me, I believe NOT thinking long and hard on the worst case is a mistake. Without obsessing on it however. "Acceptance" does NOT mean avoidance. However the decision to do that is a personal one. IMHO.

[98z28]

Finally saw the movie the other night. The best part, IMO, was the interrogation of the billionaire playboy bad guy. The rest...well...I don't think it really did justice to the topic they were trying to get at. If you're going to make a movie with AD guys from NSWG then really invest in it. That means a good script, etc. That horrid "Battleship" movie probably had a bigger budget for 3 minutes of CGI footage than AOV had for the whole movie.

A better script and a little more work on the visuals would have made for a better movie and would have been more effective at getting the point they were going for across, IMO. More on-screen time for the minigun wouldn't have hurt either.

Fully agree. Just watched it the other night. Knowing that you are watching true warriors do their thing makes a difference, to me. If it had been actors, it would have been terrible. Watching the interviews with the SEALs and directors involved in the movie made it better as well.

[NickA]

Knowing that you are watching true warriors do their thing makes a difference, to me. If it had been actors, it would have been terrible.
Watched it this weekend and I agree. I found it more moving knowing that these were the actual guys that do these things, especially in the more emotional scenes that didn't involve combat. I'd say they did a heck of a job getting through those scenes without choking up.
It just made it a more powerful reminder of what these warriors go through, what they give up to do it, and how little they get (or expect) in return. As they say in the movie, Damn few. All I could think was Damn right, and I'm glad they're out there.
Oh and the boat exfil was awesome. Depending on which end you're on, the sound of those GAU's has to be the most beautiful music, or absolutely terrifying.


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