Act of Valor

One of the subtle joys of modern life is watching the Right scramble to match Michael Moore. It’s hilarious watching conservative backers try to out bullshit Moore, especially with a agenda filled with such hate and fear. So somebody finally got a good idea, “let’s not pretend our agenda needs to be positive; let’s just couch our collective paranoia in story form!” Hence, Act of Valor, a film with real Navy Seals doing real Navy Seal stuff which may or may not be actually true.

I’m quite sure there was a conscious decision here to make actual military men the heroes of this film. You can see the powers that be insisting we stay away from those liberal Hollywood elite. Those pinko Hollyweirdos can’t be trusted. And it works for the most part, so long as none of the men and women soldiers involved are actually asked to do anything but their jobs. I couldn’t tell a single Navy Seal from another. They really did look alike to me. Sorry, fellas. Does make for an easier review as I don’t have to name any of them. Good for me.

When you see so many films, you can grow immune to the death of a soldier. Just another grunt, just another bullet. You might forget that some men and women are awesome soldiers; real professional instruments of extraction and death. I loved Act of Valor for reminding me of this lesson. There is some good stuff here – watch the Seals slip silently into the river, as they approach the dock where the enemy guard is on lookout, hands rise above water. Perfectly timed, a sniper bullet pierces the forehead of the guard, who stone drops into the water, but makes no sound – the upraised hands catch him before a splash. No splash, no alarm. No alarm, no warning. Element of surprise is still in tact. These are details that save lives. Do you think Navy Seals actually discuss how a guy will fall when you kill him? Of course they do. Probably have seminars and guest speakers on the subject.

Yes, it’s staged. This is not a documentary. Real Seals performing a fake mission, however, does have a much greater appeal (to me at least) than watching Sly Stallone or Jason Statham do so. This is what these guys do; they’re not actors, quite clearly. The highlight of Act of Valor is the action; it contrasts greatly with two-dimensional terrorists, and the neocon position that our hands are clean. From a political POV, it makes it so much easier to justify our role when terrorists act the way we need them to.

Check out the juxtaposition of two consecutive shots: we end one scene with a tight close-up of a bikini-clad ass on a luxury yacht owned by a terrorist sympathizer. We know the girl on the yacht ain’t the wife or the daughter of the terrorist. Very next frame we get the worried look in an American household of a Navy Seal’s pregnant wife. The message could not be clearer, could it? Terrorists believe in sex-for-pleasure, we good guys believe that intercourse is only for procreation of more true-blue American heroes. I’m not sure there’s any other way to read that. And who would care to send such a message?

Now compare two other moments – in one, the bad guys take an electric drill to a chained female CIA agent. In another, the American interrogator unbinds our terrorist sympathizer’s hands, plays good cop/bad cop by himself and then insists that the questioning will not cross any lines. The idea that Americans in charge are above torture is beyond laughable. And there it is, another weirdly placed message stating how we differ from the bad guys. And again, who would care to send such a message?

I guess I liked Act of Valor in spite of myself, much like I raved about 300. If you can get around the propaganda feel, this film might be worth the effort.

Rated R, 110 Minutes
D: Mike McCoy, Scott Waugh
W: Kurt Johnstad
Genre: Real life fiction
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Navy Seals
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Terrorists