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jakerod

Act of Valor (film)

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I'm pretty much done with those 'America, fuck yeah!' kind of movies. Still, if they get this done without resorting to over the top Hollywood action and 'oh we are honorable warriors fighting for freedom against the world of nonbelievers' I might watch it. Might.

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I'm pretty much done with those 'America, fuck yeah!' kind of movies. Still, if they get this done without resorting to over the top Hollywood action and 'oh we are honorable warriors fighting for freedom against the world of nonbelievers'

I gave up on expecting honest war movies from anybody. I mean, the Pentagon-funded ones are obviously going to be mostly propaganda, but some producers can try and appeal to the more 'patriotic' crowds :p Since plenty of big-budget pictures tend to be US, that's the crowd they're aiming for. Of course, lately, it's gone from the 'America, fuck yeah!' side and shifted to the 'Yeah, fuck America!' side, but still.

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When another country gets off their collective asses and becomes the new hero or go to military force then you can bitch and complain if you ask me.

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Looks pretty awesome to me, if unrealistic.

How is it unrealistic? The plot or the technical side of it? The story might be unrealistic (it's fiction), but technical stuff is correct, such as the way they operate, the terminology, the technology, the fact that there's no CGI, it's all real, etc. If the Navy Seals say it's technically accurate and realistic, then I take their word for it. Although, yeah, at the end of the day, it's still an action movie. It's still hollywood, so it will be dramatized. Still doesn't stop me from wanting to go see it.

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How is it unrealistic?...

Again probably the part where guy catches falling body from in the water.... thats straight out of chapter ten of the navy seal (Stallone) play book - Wait for guard to stand at edge of pier, frog guy swim under water and position himself for catch.. take the shot, body falls over the edge into hands of underwater frog guy who then gently eases him into water :bounce3:

Hollywood! fuk yea :yay:

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How is it unrealistic?

The part where it all looks like a Rambo movie, but with a full SEAL team instead of one guy? The part where the plot is ridiculous?

Like I said, I'll gladly see it and probably enjoy it, but the realism factor is dumb.

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So, has anybody seen it yet, a thread was made over at armaholic and it seems to have gone down well, compared to black hawk down by some.

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I saw it the other night. It was pretty good. I had a few problems with it but for the most part I didn't find it too unbelievable. The opening scene was done kind of weird in my opinion too but after that I thought the editing and directing aspect was pretty good. I feel like the opening scene was just in there for the "look! guys doing cool crap you'll never do" effect.

Spoiler about movie's ending.

I realize the movie was about Navy SEALs but I wish the Mexican guys got to do a bit more. It became pretty obvious that they were only there to die and I wish you could've at least seen a few of them take some guys out. I just don't like it when there are two parties involved and only one of them actually does anything and the other is just there because they can't kill off main characters.

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I was watching a review and just at the part where they talked about the realism, they played Law clip. You know, the one with the glacially slow smoke-trailing BF/CoD-style rocket that makes the car explode in a huge napalm fireball and somersault into the air. Riiiiiiight...

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Bad-ass movie (by which, I mean, "It was awesome!!" - for the non-native English speakers who might not get that. . .), I saw it on Sunday. I can't wait for the DVD!

Edited by Anguis

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I just got back from seeing it, its an amazing movie had one tear on my face towards the end.

Yes their is some Hollywood going on but for the most part its pretty authentic.

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How is it unrealistic? The plot or the technical side of it? The story might be unrealistic (it's fiction), but technical stuff is correct, such as the way they operate, the terminology, the technology, the fact that there's no CGI, it's all real, etc. If the Navy Seals say it's technically accurate and realistic, then I take their word for it. Although, yeah, at the end of the day, it's still an action movie. It's still hollywood, so it will be dramatized. Still doesn't stop me from wanting to go see it.

So, by that logic every movie that is not using CGI is realistic, and everyone which does isn't? Because i am pretty sure ALL the explosion effect are exaggerated, and the lads are still using Hollywood-grade explosives and bags of blood, and the weapons were still shooting blanks.

Anyhow, i have seen it the other day, and while i might not be the most hardcore military buff out there, and still found everything very very "propagandistic" and at a lot of times far fetched. I fit it in my "blockbuster" drawer...

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their gear

the fact that Night vision is distorted and very dark unlike other movies I've seen

All their movements they didn't pull off any silly stunts

Seriously do you have to be military to know right from wrong?

I dont recall any of them shooting more bullets then what would be in their clips either usually Hollywood loves to do that.

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So, by that logic every movie that is not using CGI is realistic, and everyone which does isn't? Because i am pretty sure ALL the explosion effect are exaggerated, and the lads are still using Hollywood-grade explosives and bags of blood, and the weapons were still shooting blanks.

Anyhow, i have seen it the other day, and while i might not be the most hardcore military buff out there, and still found everything very very "propagandistic" and at a lot of times far fetched. I fit it in my "blockbuster" drawer...

The CGI comment was actually in regard to the live rounds being fired during the SWCC scene. I should have clarified. It wasn't a generalization. I got a question. Can a grenade exploding next to or under a vehicle cause it to blow up? Or a grenade to an oil drum per say? How bout a projectile rocket to a moving truck? If you can answer those questions for me, that'd be great. Otherwise, I for one can't say what's exaggerated or not. Yeah, there were some blanks, but there was also live ammo being fired, and not just at that SWCC scene. Even when Chief Dave is firing off his sidearm at the end of the film, it was real bullets. Look on one of the featurettes (I think the 5 min one, "Making of Act Of Valor"), and you can see where they are filming that scene. He is shooting live bullets, and there's a person standing there with some kind of metal sheet or something to stop the bullets. Yeah, all the headshots (there actually were a lot) were all fake and all gunshots period. But that doesn't mean that it isn't realistic just because people didn't actually die. And it didn't seem that "propagandistic" to me. Yes, it was still Hollywood. No, it wasn't the same as a helmet cam capturing real combat. Yes, it was still a fictional story. I really haven't ever seen in real life the effects of a grenade on vehicles or what can happen when a rocket hits a moving truck head on. So, until I actually see that, I can't make a judgment on just how realistic that scene was, or the scene where LT Engel throws the grenade down the corridor, and it causes a truck to blow up, or the scene where someone throws a grenade into a building and it blows up (it could have hit an oil drum or something, I don't know). I'm just not quick to say what was exaggerated and what was not.

It didn't seem as "propagandistic" to me as a lot of people said it was. The focus wasn't on how good the U.S. Government is, or how good the U.S. Navy is as an institution. I didn't even get the impression that it was about how good DEVGRU is as an organization. The focus throughout the movie seemed to be focused on the operators, the SEALs themselves, and their sacrifice. If you call that propaganda, then oh well. It just didn't seem like that much propaganda to me. It seemed very focused on LT Engel and Chief Dave, which is very much individual-focused. But, then again, I guess you can see it as propaganda if your perspective going in is "I''m going to watch an action movie, that's about the action". I'm not saying that this is your perspective, but just that it's easy to judge it as an action movie and look at the level of realism and say that it wasn't overly realistic. But, if your perspective is to get a taste of what SEALs actually go through and a taste of how they operate, and even a glimpse of the sacrifice they and their families make, then I think you come out with a different perspective. Because, on the one hand, there's all the critics and their critiques of it as a movie, judging plot, and quality of acting, etc. And on the other hand, there's the reaction that people talk about, where everyone is quiet at the end, no one even budges for like the first 30 secs after it's over, some people actually cry a little, which is the same reaction I saw when I went yesterday (didn't get to see it last weekend like I wanted to). The people who had that reaction, I think, actually understood the purpose of the movie and the message it was trying to convey. The purpose wasn't just to be another action movie. It was supposed to give you a glimpse into the life of a SEAL.

and, @NoRailGunner: I'm not a SEAL, so I can't say from experience what is realistic and what is not. You can't either. And so, you have a valid question. But if the SEALs who were in the movie say that it is realistic and authentic and accurate, then I take their word for it. They have no reason to lie. They aren't getting any extra money from this movie. So if they say it's the real deal, then I believe them. THAT is really the only true guarantee that what we see on the screen is as true as possible to what they actually do and what they actually use. We can try to say what looks real, or what we think is real, but my only answer is that I believe it is "realistic" and "pretty authentic", not because the producers and directors say so, but because the SEALs say so.

Edited by antoineflemming

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I have fired a gun all of twice in my life, but I have absolutely no qualms calling bullshit on just what I saw in the brief trailer. And neither gasoline nor oil drums explode.

The movie is realistic because there were real soldiers using real tactics. You saw how they operated and react. The digital pyrotechnics they edited in afterwards aren't part of that judgement of realism, and aren't what the SEALs would have been commenting on.

And I wouldn't expect the movie to be propaganda. The word you are searching for is PR. Fairly benign PR, of the sort the Pentagon spends millions and millions of dollars on. If you want to use the P-word, perhaps this vast industry is what merits the label, given the ways its effects are felt in Hollywood and how it has seeped into American culture, from cradle to grave.

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I dont recall any of them shooting more bullets then what would be in their clips either usually Hollywood loves to do that.

I love when that happens (as in 95+% of the HLD movies). Anyways, besides the point.

I got a question. Can a grenade exploding next to or under a vehicle cause it to blow up?

Not like depicted in the movie, no. From my own experience with hand grenades, you have a higher chance to blow a vehicle like you see in movies only the is little to no room for the air to expand. Otherwise most frag grenades are designed for a different purpose.

Or a grenade to an oil drum per say?

Oil doesn't go kaboom. Petrol can but only if it's really under pressure.

How bout a projectile rocket to a moving truck?

The explosion is well exaggerated there if you ask me. It also depends on the rocket. Most modern hand held launchers fire armor piercing rockets, not HE..

and, @NoRailGunner: I'm not a SEAL, so I can't say from experience what is realistic and what is not. You can't either. And so, you have a valid question. But if the SEALs who were in the movie say that it is realistic and authentic and accurate, then I take their word for it. They have no reason to lie. They aren't getting any extra money from this movie. So if they say it's the real deal, then I believe them. THAT is really the only true guarantee that what we see on the screen is as true as possible to what they actually do and what they actually use. We can try to say what looks real, or what we think is real, but my only answer is that I believe it is "realistic" and "pretty authentic", not because the producers and directors say so, but because the SEALs say so.

Why do you feel the need to make such a fuss about everyone who doesn't agree with you? If the above are the reasons, well...

And I wouldn't expect the movie to be propaganda. The word you are searching for is PR. Fairly benign PR, of the sort the Pentagon spends millions and millions of dollars on. If you want to use the P-word, perhaps this vast industry is what merits the label, given the ways its effects are felt in Hollywood and how it has seeped into American culture, from cradle to grave.

Yeah, PR. I stand corrected.

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