Act of Valor - 2 1/2 smiles

It’s hard to be too critical of “Act of Valor,” which uses Navy SEALs in lead roles, but it does come across as an elaborate recruiting film. Directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh have enlisted real SEALs to play themselves in a movie that’s pure Hollywood fiction. The action, involving Chechen rebels, Mexican drug cartels and assorted terrorists, is staged, but it does prove that SEALs can stay cool under fire and have faultless aim. Initiated in a Pentagon PR office and starring a half-dozen SEALs identified only by the first name and rank – Lieutenant Commander Rorke, Special Warfare Operative Chief Dave, SPO First Class Ajay and others called Weimy, Sonny and Mikey – establishes that these proud warriors are also fierce friends, devoted husbands and, well, rather stiff actors.

And there are any number of clichés that are intended to provide character insight, such as one SEAL carries his grandfather’s American flag in his uniform pocket and is expecting his first child, another has five kids. Where the directors get it right is with the complex planning and execution of battle scenes, including night parachuting, maneuvering silently under swamp water and creeping unseen toward an enemy compound. Fighting is a learned skill and these SEALs are exceptional. Where they stumble is when they’re expected to deliver impassioned lines of script. But it’s possible to be so impressed with their other skills that you’ll forgive them their stilted delivery. These guys are the real deal and they deserve any hero worship given to them. 2/24/12