One thing is for sure if you venture to see “Act of Valor”; you will be seeing something you’ve never seen before. It is almost like a documentary, but it isn’t, but it’s entirely realistic. The actors in the fictional movie, based on actual Navy Seals operations, are real life seals and because of that, some of the acting is a little stiff, but on the other hand, because of that, the Seals operations depicted are jaw-dropping realistic.
On February 7th, retired Lt. Gen James Vaught confronted Special Ops Commander Adm. Bill McRaven about the recent openness of the Seals tactics following the killing of Bin Laden and in the forefront of the release of this movie. The seals rely on secrecy to prevail. They require anonymity to be who they are. So, does “Act of Valor” reveal too much about the tactics of Navy Seals? I would be naïve to have an opinion either way, but I do anyway. Navy Seals require all elements of a team working together. One comment in the movie was this, “One stick can easily be broken, but in a bundle, that stick is strong.” Seals are the best of the best. If our enemies learn anything from this film, it is that if the Seals are onto you, you better have been trained well.
“Act of Valor” as said to me by a veteran of Vietnam who was sitting nearby in the movie theatre, “should be required viewing in high schools and college.” It is plain and simple an inside look of the sacrifice that these elite men do to keep the world safe. There is evil in the world and as much as many try to deny it, it is true and these Navy Seals silently, secretly and without praise, defend us on a regular basis so that we can sleep at night and get up and watch the news and have opinions about what is going on in the world.
The bird’s eye view inside the Navy Seals is one of a kind and not to be missed. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the film. I felt the intensity of the operations first hand, understanding what was at stake and knowing that these men, although it was just a movie, are patriots and comrades to the 9th degree. “Act of Valor” is not only a good movie but an important movie.
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