Review of Act of Valor (2012) by Bruce722 — 29 Nov 2012

I thought this movie was absolutely fantastic and by far the most realistic military movie I've ever seen (and I've seen just about all of them). The movie does a great job of using the little details to separate itself from most others and the acting is a lot better than the critics claim it to be. Act of Valor also does a good job of reinforcing the idea that the Navy Seals is an elite operating unit, not a fake one-man band. As for this movie not receiving good reviews from the critics, remember, these are the same good-for-nothing movie goers that think their opinion equals reality and who thought a gay cowboy movie and some cheesy silent film deserved Academy Awards. If you want the most realistic portrayal of the military and are tired of needless overdone action, this movie is for you. If you want "artistic" bullcrap, don't waste your time because this movie doesn't cater to people looking to ignore reality.

Upon reading other's reviews of the movie, there're a few more comments I absolutely must make.

1) For people who think cliche equals fake and unoriginal: How do you think things became cliche to begin with? Almost all cliches have a foundation of reality and being that this movie is all about reality, that's to be expected.

2) For those who were bored with the movie because there weren't enough bullets and explosions: Go back to playing Call of Duty and watching unrealistic action movies.

3) Speaking of Call of Duty, for those who think the movie copied Call of Duty by using first-person views for a few short sequences: Why do you think most shooters are done in a first-person perspective? Video games use first-person to try to make the experience as realistic and immersive as possible. If a movie wants to make the viewing experience as realistic as possible, it makes sense that this is a film tactic they would use.

4) For those who thought the acting wasn't great: I agree, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale were not the leads for this movie. The acting of the SEALs was not fantastic but to say it was terrible would be inaccurate. Also, if you actually expected Navy SEALs to have Oscar worthy performances, you're a fool.

NOTE: After seeing this movie again, I thought it was even better than I did before. Considering that I rated it a 10/10 the first time around, obviously I think very highly of this film. Something I didn't mention before that needs mentioning is how overwhelming I thought the ending was emotionally. This movie shows how much our soldiers sacrifice for our everyday freedoms that we take for granted. Their sacrifice is not lost in my eyes.