Act of Valor

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with narration by Dave speaking about the code of a soldier. Dave says every man has a code, an ethos that he lives by. The code allows him to do his job and get home. He always tries to get home.In San Diego, Seal Team 7 is doing a test jump out of an airplane.The Philippines. A man in an ice cream van, Abu Shabal (Jason Cottle) is quickly driving through traffic trying to reach his destination. He wears a surgical mask to hide his identity. In the back of the van is a young woman. She is sweating but it has nothing to do with the heat.We see a school full of children. We see a black car with U.S. diplomat plates come inside. Shabal is able to get the ice cream van into the school and the kids run towards it, screaming for ice cream. Shabal jokes with the kids while the woman tries to serve ice cream. The U.S. ambassador is met with by his son and asks if he can get ice cream. His father agrees and moves towards the group. Shabal sees this and nods to the woman. He begins to walk away. The truck explodes, killing the Ambassador and his son, numerous other innocent children and a nearby guard. A burnt child is briefly seen emerges from fire, screaming while running away.Cut to a bar in the United States. Lt. Rorke and SOC Dave are sitting down enjoying a drink when Rorke mentions his wife is pregnant with their first child and he wants to keep it quiet. Dave is understanding, and then proceeds to tell the entire bar that Rorke is having a kid. Rorke shakes his head and tells Dave that he wants him to bring his family down to the beach (Dave has a wife and 5 kids) and they can have one last get together before they have to ship out again. Rorke will even teach Dave how to surf.Costa Rica. A young woman named Morales (Rosalyn Sanchez) is giving a small child a shot in a medical tent. A convoy of cars show up. In one is Christo (Alex Veadov), who runs up to the group of children in the clearing, giving them candy. Christo sees Morales and she gives him a smile.Morales meets with Walter Ross (Nestor Serrano). Morales is in actuality CIA as is Ross. They have been watching Christo because he is a major drug lord. The problem is, Christo gives back much of his wealth to the community for housing, medical centers, and schools which make the people extremely loyal to him.Morales and Ross are at her hotel room playing scrabble, waiting for Chinese food she ordered to arrive. There is a knock on the door and Ross opens the door thinking it is the delivery man. Two men are at the door. They shoot Ross in the head. Morales reaches for her gun and kills one before she is subdued. They knock her out, cut up the carpet and roll her in it, carrying her out. They place her in the back of the truck and drive off.Back in the U.S. Rorke and Dave got to the beach with their families. Rorke attempts to teach Dave how to surf. Later during the night, we meet the rest of the squad. Remy, their sniper. Ray, their communications man. Sonny, their EOD operator. Ajay, a former muy thai fighter. Mikey, a 20-year veteran. And finally Miller, their senior chief who commands them all. Rorke talks to his squad telling them whatever they need to fix in their lives, they need to do it now before they ship out. They need to be completely focused on the mission, so they can all come home together.The next morning, Rorke says goodbye to his wife. He mentions that if they have a boy, he thinks James is a good name. When he leaves, his wife falls to the floor and cries, afraid once more that this will be the time he won't come back.In Mexico, Morales is hung up by her hands, beaten within an inch of her life. Her right eye is swollen shut. Her torturer comes in with a phone. Morales pleads with the voice saying she is just a doctor. Christo, who is in the Ukraine tells her he knows she is CIA and she better start talking. Christo tells his man to keep Morales alive and to only call back when she talks.The Seal Team is briefed by Miller about Ross' murder and Morales capture by Christo. What makes it more interesting is that Morales had been investigating Christo's link to Abu Shallah, a high value target who is responsible for the school bombing in the Philippines. Their mission is to extract Morales from her captives and find out what she knows.The squad is on a plane, waiting to jump out. Dave jokes that jumping out of the plane is only 2nd worse to changing a diaper. Rorke tells him he is looking forward to it actually. They jump out and land safely. They set up nearby and wait for morning to come so they can strike.In the morning, two U.S. helicopters carrying boats head for the water. They drop the boats with men and race off. They will help the squad extract Morales.Morales has been tortured further and can hear a drill being readied. She finally seems ready to break, pleading for the torture to stop. Her torturer doesn't listen and drills more holes in her hands. The squad hears her screams and Dave makes a call. They are going in before it is too late.Rorke and three men head into the water while Remy and a spotter stay behind. In a cool sequence, one of the men peers out of the water near a enemy on a dock. Remy shoots the guy in the head, and the solider catches the body into the water, not causing any alarm. Remy shoots several other cartel men and Rorke's men continue to search the buildings. A few cartel men find them and a panic forms in the camp. Mikey is shot and goes down while Rorke and the others clear the camp, with Remy providing backup. They find Morales and kill her torturer. They prep her for transport while another SEAL finds a cell phone on the torturer.Remy and their spotter realize that backup is arriving to the camp so they need to move Morales and Mikey now. Rorke's group jump into a truck outside and race off for the extraction. They call the gunboats telling them it will be a hot extract. Remy and his spotter are able to catch up with the group and destroy one of the trucks with a M72 LAW. They continue to race for extraction. Mikey, presumed dead, finally awakens and is shocked by the wound on his head. The cartel soldiers are firing on the truck and SEALS returns fire, killing several. They finally hit the river and drive straight into it just as their backup arrives. The gunboats utterly destroy two trucks with GAU-17/A miniguns and cause the rest of the cartel men to take cover. The squad gets themselves and Morales on the boats and escape.Abu Shabal goes to the Ukraine and goes to meet a contact who is making their explosive vests. The contact explains they are lightweight, concealable and use 500 ceramic ball bearings that cannot be picked up by metal detectors. The contact goes on to suggest a single vest used in a crowded stadium could cause an economic collapse.Christo and Shabal meet. Christo explains that the CIA is looking at him and he has to go underground. Shabal is enraged, saying he has trained Christo's men for a year and now Christo is failing to hold up his part of the agreement. Christo says that is not true; he is keeping his word but he will not be directly involved with Shabal's plans. Shabal will have to use Christo's associates. Shabal still thinks Christo is going back on their plans.The USS Bon Homme, U.S. Coast. Miller is told Mikey will live but he will lose an eye from his wound. Miller reveals that the phone they found when they rescued Morales opens up a powder keg. They have just found the Christo/Shabal link. Miller clarifies that Christo is more of a smuggler and Shabal is a terrorist who recruits bombers. Miller thinks Shabal will use Christo to smuggle suicide bombers over the U.S. border to hit them at home. They need to stop them before it's too late. Miller tells he will be sending AJ and Ray to Somalia, Africa to do recon on a supposed drop off for Shabal. The rest will stay on the boat in case they have to go to Mexico. As for Miller, he needs to track Christo down since he has tried to disappear. Rorke gives Dave a letter he wrote for his kid just in case he doesn't make it and Dave jokes he will turn it into a paper airplane.Ray and AJ jump out of plane with a boat. They meet up with a submarine and travel to Somalia. They take a submersible the rest of the way. They stake out the airstrip and see Shabal there. AJ notices a group of Flipinos praying and realizes they must be the suicide bombers. Down on the ground, Shabal is briefed how his people will be taken to Mexico to travel into the U.S. via tunnels. The planes take off and Ray and AJ pack up getting the photos and audio they needed.South Pacific seas. Christo is on a boat with several ladies and an armed escort.
Back on the USS Bon Homme, Rorke uses a Sat Phone to call his wife. His wife tells him to be careful. They exchange "I love you's" then hang up.Back at Christo's boat, one of his girls brings him a drink while he talks to his daughter. The boat begins to shake as several helicopters and boats surround the boat. The U.S. soldiers get on the boat and kill Christo's men and disable the men on the other boats. Miller comes onto the boat in a crisp suit and begins interrogating Christo. Christo explains that he and Shabal were childhood friends and their lives took different paths. He doesn't agree with Shabal's ideology but he agrees in the goals. He uses a pendulum as a metaphor. He is the first ball clacking forward, the last one is Shabal and in the middle taking the hits is the United States. Miller gets pissed and pushes it off the table. "You think this is a game!" Miller screams.Miller calms himself, and asks Christo about his family, his daughter. Christo says he hopes to see her every day. Miller shows him surveillance footage of him and his daughter playing in a pool. Miller lays into him with that. As of this moment, Christo's life is over. He will spend the rest of his life in a box. His wife will divorce him and get a new man. His daughter will get married one day and he won't be there. He will miss everything. Miller lets that sink in for a moment. Christo makes him swear that his family won't be harmed, and Miller gives his word.Christo explains that Shabal is smuggling suicide bombers into Mexico so they can go over the border to bomb U.S. targets in order to make 9/11 look like "a joke." Miller asks how he can stop it. "I can't," Christo says. Miller asks when it is happening. "It's happening as we speak," Christo says.Rorke, Dave and the rest of the squad travel to the border in the Baja California Norte state capital of Mexcali on Intel of Shabal's men being there. They land and covertly search a village for the men. However, they enter the wrong building and a woman alerts the entire village to their presence, causing a huge firefight with the drug runners. They are able to repel the attack with mass firepower though not without some close calls. Dave is hit in the chest with a RPG that luckily turns out to be a dud and overall, the SEALS suffer no casualities and take out a few of the suicide bombers and cartel members. Finding some of the vests, they realize the severity of the situation. However, they are briefed mid mission that they didn't get all the bombers. Shabal has already moved with the rest of the bombers.Shabal is on a boat handing out targets to his bombers. One says the Las Vegas Strip. Shabal looks at them and says they are truly a family now. Shabal and his bombers are herded onto a bus by a coyote who will take them to the tunnels.The SEAL squad rendezvous with the Mexican military who knows where Shabal is taking the bombers. However, the squad leader of the Mexican military warns that the area is protected by the drug cartels and they will protect Shabal at all costs. The men need to be ready for the extra enemies they will face.The SEALS, along with the Mexican military travel to the tunnels via small dump trucks. They break into the tunnel system compound where Shabal and his bombers are about to leave. A large firefight ensues where the SEALS and Mexican military fight the cartel to get to Shabal. Rorke, Dave, and a few others go searching while the others decimate the cartel foot soldiers.Near the tunnel entrances, Shabal orders one of his suicide bombers, a woman to stay behind and try and kill some of the SEALS, saying she shall meet her husband again in heaven.Rorke and Dave clear the rooms until they reach one with the woman. A lone tear rolls down her face. "BOMB!!!" Rorke screams and pulls Dave back as the woman pushes the button. She blows up, throwing ball bearing everywhere, killing a cartel member in the process.
Rorke, Dave, and the squad cautiously continue onward. They enter another room where in the rafters a man pulls the pin of a small grenade and throws it at them. Rorke sees it and having no time to get rid of it otherwise, makes the ultimate sacrifice. He jumps on top of it, shielding the others with his body. It explodes, mortally wounding him. The others look on in shock and Dave screams in horror. Ray tells Dave he's got Rorke and Dave moves on to kill Shabal and the bombers.At the tunnel entrance, the cartel coyote says he will cover Shabal and his men. Dave enters the room and kills the coyote and several of the bombers before being peppered with multiple bullets by Shabal. Dave's vision goes blurry and red. He sees one last bomber trying to run for the tunnel. He is able to use the last of his strength to raise his pistol and kill him. Shabal sees he is down, and approaches him to finish him off when another of the SEALS enters and fires multiple rounds into Shabal, instantly killing him. The man checks on Dave. One of the other men radios command telling them that Shabal and the suicide bombers are all dead, and that Rorke and Dave are down. We see Rorke, bleeding out as he blinks his eyes. He stops blinking and dies.Back in the U.S., they have Rorke's funeral. Dave survived his multiple gunshots but is in a wheelchair due to his injuries. Rorke's wife is presented with a flag, along with his father's flag, which Rorke carried with him every mission. Rorke's SEAL brethren stamp their Tridents into his coffin and salute him. Dave stays at the coffin of his friend in silence.We hear the narration of Dave. It's a letter to Rorke's son. He tells him he has the blood of warriors in him and he should live his life with no fear, and do his best to be a good man. Rorke's wife reads the letter and breaks down. She looks at her son and gives a sad smile, knowing at least her husband will live on through their child.The last scene is Dave at the beach alone with a surfboard. He stares at the waves, before going in, trying to finally surf.Title cards dedicate the film to the numerous U.S. SEALS that had given their lives since 9/11 in fighting the Islamic anarchists and suicide bombers. A text scrawl lists them all.

Tags: realism, violence, suspenseful, action, murder

Review:
Since my service ended I have been working in film and TV myself to somewhat try and make a difference in this manner.This movie may not have Oscar winning acting, but it gave me a true chilling effect of realism.
Act of Valour set out to create a film with 100% authentic and realistic action sequences and promote the lives of US Navy Seals.
The advertisement of using real navy seals as the main characters creates a level of military authenticity and accuracy that I have not seen in a film for a long time.
What little is lost in the SEALs' lack of acting chops is more than made up for by honest performances from the men who actually do this stuff for a living and the film's gripping battle realism.
If you've ever wanted to know what Call of Duty: The Movie would be like then look no further than Act of Valor, the action packed war film featuring active duty Navy Seals as some of the main characters.
It feels more like a recruitment video than a film, and I think it might have been better off as one instead.Act of Valor is a film that wants to be intense, super cool, and also profound.
I said before that the film stars actual Navy Seals, so it should be expected that the acting will be dreadful...
The script is beyond awful with incredibly cheesy and lifeless dialogue and a terribly empty story that most certainly, perhaps even deliberately, takes a back seat to the visual spectacle aspect of Act of Valor.All in all the story is practically non-existent here and the only thing this film has going for it is it's patriotism and firefights.
I won't deny that Act of Valor is pretty cool and it certainly makes one proud to be an American, but I cannot say that it's a good film.
The brutality of war is masked in the "awesomeness" of war machines, brothers in arms clichés, and heavy duty shooting action.At times you're not sure if you indeed watching a US army recruitment video, as some have said here.At times you feel like it's a B-class action flick.At times you feel like it's an adrenalin filled CGI-effect demovideo, or maybe even like playing Call of Duty on your XBox.As I am someone who likes movies a lot, especially action movies, who has been in the army, and who lives in Europe, it doesn't make much sense..
For those that have voted this down because of the acting, you knew going into it who the actors are, also this is not a movie about acting, it's a story about the lives of Navy Seals, it just so happens that they get to show you great action clips of what things are really like..
You get to see the real trials a Navy Seal faces, not portrayed by Hollywood producers and actors who have never seen real action!
I was actually rooting for the terrorists 3 minutes into the movie, hoping that they would kill all the SEALs and end my pain.I'm honestly worried about people who enjoy this movie because they clearly don't have the wherewithal to understand what a cliché is and why story tellers shouldn't use them.
"Act of Valor" proves that soldiers aren't actors and that if you're going to make a movie out of a gimmick you should ensure that someone has the common sense to stop the project before it becomes a colossal waste of time.
I can't go into the premise of this movie without informing you of the biggest flaw of the movie: the stunts and characters of this film are performed by actual active duty Navy SEALS.
I half expected Rorke to tell us that he was retiring after this last mission and that he hoped to reconcile with his son whom he hadn't seen in ten years and the villains to be gay child molesters on top of terrorists and drug dealers.The cliché storm is not limited to our heroes, this film goes out of its way to throw in cardboard cutouts for our heroes to fight in the form of Generic Brand Bad Guys.
It's a terrible movie that I can only "recommend" if you are yourself an active Navy SEAL, you haven't seen a movie in so long you can't remember what acting is like and you are not able to access any war/shooter video game movies.
Considering a lot of people in the film weren't actors, they did a good job.Loved it, and this movie could serve as a recruiting film for how awesome the Navy is.
Lead by SOC Dave and LCDR Rorke, a team of seven Navy Seals are re-deployed to prevent Abu Shabal (Jason Cottle) and his undetectable weapons of devastation from reaching highly populated American cities.Before addressing the reasons behind why this movie was received with mixed reactions, let me first dwell on what makes this movie different, and in my opinion, worth a watch.
First and foremost is the obvious casting of real life Navy SEALs. It's one thing to watch seasoned action movie stars blow stuff up because you expect them to.
I. Jane" (also Ridley Scott) is about the level of intensity and determination put into becoming a Navy SEAL, then this movie succeeds in showing the world why average paid, low profiled individuals risk their lives so that freedom remains a birth right in America.
- it does however work, and it works pretty well.The film is split into two parts - in both parts the SEALs (played by real SEALs) go on an operation - we get to see the insertion, action, extraction, the cost - I would have liked more planning and briefing - but I'll forgive it as there was also no obligatory bar scene.
It is reminiscent of British and American war films - John Wayne would be proud - but it brings some modern sensibilities to the filming.It's shot in a basic action format with some nods to documentary - though more would have been good - and the camera looks and feels quite similar to Arnie's action films - Predator and Commando - and it even borrows some tricks from thriller movies - over- shoulder, heavy breathing, etc; There's nothing new, but it is a good solid, easy to watch, approach.
But thats not something that makes a movie better.I'm sure if this where real actors everyone would be like: "crap this movie sucks" *I'm not criticizing any thing associated with American military or politics in the first place.
I'm rather criticizing the makers of this movie for letting us pay money to watch an over length navy commercial in which real soldiers give them self's away to act real war business so it appears cool.WAR IS NOT COOL!
Casting real soldiers for action scenes is one thing, but to ask them to carry a movie and take an audience with them seems like hubris.
"This film is based on real acts of valor." Moreover, I love that the filmmakers drafted actual Navy SEALs to star in the film to realistically portray and physically fill the roles they had written and that the SEALs' names are not in the film's credits.
They are all socialist and hate America...they would rather, as this current President has stated, see us be "More like China" What is very heartening is the Public reception with this movie beating all others out at the box office the first weekend it showed....the American People know a good American Story when they see it and this was one of the most Encouraging American Movies of all-time along with "American Sniper" and "Lone Survivor" our War movies of this decade have finally hit the same quality of patriotism as those from the 50's and 60's such as "A Bridge too Far", "The Great Escape", "The Longest Day" and "Patton" just to name a few.I believe the current and ONGOING WAR ON TERROR which is NOT OVER and has never stopped folks....will be more defining to our way of life and freedom than either of the so-called BIG WARS we're ever in danger of becoming.The movie is based on true events and uses real, active navy seals and their families to depict the actual capabilities of today's 21st century special operations warriors....completely blew me away and left a lump in my throat and great food for thought with the ending monologue and Tecumseh poem....it truly made me re-evaluate my life.
While it was definitely obvious that the soldiers in this movie (who were actual SEALS) were not the best actors out there, and some scenes were perhaps a little bit overdone because of it, what I absolutely love about this movie is the clean and accurate depiction of modern warfare (in as far as my experience has gone).
I think anyone who likes war and action movies will appreciate the outstanding action scenes and details this film indeed has.
I enjoyed the movie and found it, in some ways, scary that military like these Seal teams are what stands between terrorist and another threat to the United States.
These men and women are amazing and to finally allow them to be shown on TV is an enduring credit to the director and crew that had to go against everything Hollywood currently stands for to do it.Real life military personnel and their families are not what the Oscar critics are going to want to see so don't expect it to get any acclaim this year or the next.
Although the acting was probably not as top-notch as some cinema buffs would be used to, the fact that they are not paid actors but actual Navy SEALs means it's more than good enough.
Up front, I have to say that although none of them will likely win an academy award for their acting, their effort in an unfamiliar landscape was heroic and a good deal better that other attempts we've all seen to use "real" people in film roles (with the possible exception of Audie Murphy).
I was honored to see a screening of Act Of Valor following Navy SEALs on a typical stretch of their lives at home with their families, through actual missions in defense of my freedom.
They don't actually need to be SEAL qualified, just enough to perform the correct actions, because that's what movies are all about: making what's on the screen look believable.What Act of Valor has instead are real-life SEALS pretending to be actors.
The film takes you literally all over the world, and it's one heck of a ride, it truly broadens the scope of what these men do, and as an American, it truly makes me proud to be one, but not only of these SEALS, but of our branches of Militaries in general.The action scenes are stunning, they are efficient, brutal, and to the point, i've never gotten so many chills in my life.
But with all that there is still the emotional side present with this film that rounds out Act of Valor to a fantastic movie that is worth going and seeing.
The acting in a few of the beginning scenes was kind of sketchy but during the action scenes (75% of the movie) it was the same that would be expected of Hollywood actors.
The overall story of the film is pretty basic, but knowing that those are actual Navy Seals on screen really drives it home.
Act of Valor has accomplished what the entertainment industry alone never could: create a blockbuster, heart- pumping, breathtaking, tear-jerker film with a wholesome message and unmatched authenticity, all without the help of big-named professional actors.The Bandito Brothers were invited by the Department of Defense to make a movie featuring the elite Special Operations Forces (SOF) known as the Navy SEALs. They were given unprecedented access.
Among the highly publicized and greatest hook of this would-be potential blockbuster is none others than casting actual active-duty Navy SEALs as lead roles -- the first of its kind ever seen in Hollywood movie.
excellent movie, actions scenes are well done actors does a great job story reminds me of modern day video game, in my opinion this should have been a mini series with more to the story , after you watch the movie it feels like they rushed itI recommend if you have the chance to watch the movie watch it,it's pity it hasn't been released oversees i had to watch it onlinemy only question is some say the actors were in service navy seals is that true or false, i don't think the military would allow that10 out 10 :) PS English is my second language so excuse my spelling :) and it would be great if they make a sequel.
The seals acting when it comes to normal dialog isn't at strong as the actual actors, but that doesn't take much away from the movie.
These men are integral to telling the story, and as one would expect, the movie comes from the point of view that the team's actions in the film and in general are noble in cause.
My husband and I just finished watching this film and BOTH really enjoyed it,there is of course strong language and some torture but you must expect that from this sort of film.I would perhaps compare it to a BLACK HAWK DOWN type of movie and cannot criticize the acting because they made us believe they were Navy Seals and they were!!
Not only does this film use real Navy Seals (US SAS) and their families, it is "based on real life acts of valour." It makes other action films ridiculous because this is showing it for real, these guys know about ops and shooting and some of the moves are just incredible.
The action is, in places, incredible and it's great seeing how it should be done compared to films where the actors have had training but are "pretending;" there's such a smoothness and togetherness with how the SEALS work - like they are fluid and symbiotic.
We admired films like Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan but finally, a movie that truly honors the troops, the finest action military war movie ever made has finally arrived in ACT OF VALOR.
Starring six active duty Navy SEALs, so from the get-go, ACT OF VALOR intends on taking you to the heart of how it's all done, because you're not dealing with actors trying to be soldiers.
ACT OF VALOR is military action movie at its best I'm not sure if every print released in theaters would have the intro by the directing team but the screening that I attended, did.
I have to give mad props to the six real life Navy SEALs who are stars of this film, they may not have acting backgrounds and it's more than obvious when you see their performance on screen, but you can tell that they did the best they could and it's full of conviction, these are guys who really want their stories told so that people could get a better understanding of why they do what they do everyday.I as an action fan, am very pleased with ACT OF VALOR's high intensity, and I'm not talking just about the masterfully choreographed combat sequences and the advanced battlefield technology that will leave you in awe, but I also enjoy the film's first person shooter point of view that keeps you on the edge of your seat, it's better than any found footage method could ever hope to get, the way ACT OF VALOR handles it is more effective, more engaging, it doesn't need to go IMAX or 3D just to get you in the jungle and feel like you're part of the mission.
Throughout the film, I had pretty low expectations upon watching it and thought it was going to be one of those mediocre action movies that you would expect from Hollywood, but when I was captivated by it's story, I said to myself, "This is a very original movie.
Act of Valor was a good attempt by the first time directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh with real-time army men doing some wonderful action sequences.
It was a bold attempt by the first time directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh to recruit the real-time war heroes in a military movie and the result was in form of a good action flick made on a shoe-string budget (12 million).
In essence there are only character actors, and the dialogue is kept simple, especially for the SEALs. These facts give the movie a very different feel than something like Mission Impossible.
And while Act of Valor may not be a work of art, it is an excellent action film which gives us a sense for the real heroes who are out there working in the US military..
But one of the big things that makes the movie great to me is that because they used real SEALs they couldn't give them a credit.
So the only thing you know about the people playing these roles is they're real SEALs and the only time you've seen them is in this movie.Also great action scenes with a lot of impressive filming locations like them being on the top of real subs and aircraft carriers at different points in the movie, to add to the realism.
Basically all the movie does is showing the one shootout or action scene after the other, with in between some horrendous dialog and acting by its non-actors.
Real Navy SEALs or not, this movie is nothing more than a propaganda tool made to look like a video game in order to appeal to the 20-something Call of Duty generation.
I was a bit apprehensive about watching this movie at first knowing that the roles in the movie were played out by real-life Navy Seals.