Yet the movie can be discussed on another level. Assuming that the characters described as SEALs were being played by real SEALs, all I can say is that they were convincing and weren't asked to do any dramatic stretching they weren't capable of. We don't get to know the characters as individuals, they don't have personality traits, they have no back stories, they don't speak in colorful dialogue, and after the movie you'd find yourself describing events but not people.

Much of the movie consists of pure action, punctuated by terse dialogue and few subtleties. Rorke, so I am reduced to describing the experience and not the performances. The official cast listing is a baffling mixture of characters without names and names with 'uncredited' roles, and doesn't include either Chief Dave and Lt.

Rorke are played by SEALs whose real first names are Dave and Rorke. I learn from Rebecca Keegan's article that the characters named Chief Dave and Lt. This makes it difficult to write the ordinary kind of review, because none of their real names are revealed and indeed some of the characters seem to have no names at all. The central characters are played by actual Navy SEALs, who were apparently on active duty during the filming and still are. 'Act of Valor,' however, centers more on action and much less on the human elements involved. I am reminded of the initial impact of films like Oliver Stone's ' Platoon' and Kathryn Bigelow's ' The Hurt Locker,' which both told convincing and authentic stories. In the film, Perry plays a CEO controlled by his domineering mother until a friendship with a woman on the office cleaning crew inspires him to rebel.The details in both of these scenarios seem realistic - although how would I know? The co-directors and their team have produced an accomplished, riveting action movie. Perry's 'Good Deeds' finished in line with projections from distributor Lions Gate Entertainment. The studio acquired the film for $13 million and had projected opening weekend sales of up to $17 million. The movie attracted a 71 percent male audience, and 60 percent of filmgoers were older than age 25, Relativity said. 'You don't get a consistent reaction like that unless the movie delivers,' he said. Some scenes used live fire rather than visual effects.Īudiences liked the movie, awarding an 'A' grade in polling by survey firm CinemaScore and providing high marks in studio exit polls, said Kyle Davies, president of worldwide theatrical distribution for Relativity Media, the independent studio that released the film. Navy SEALs alongside professional actors in a fictional story about a mission to rescue a kidnapped CIA agent. 'Act of Valor' stars real-life, active-duty U.S.

Act of valor based on a true story