Another reviewer from another site summed it up perfectly: this is, in a world, "Call of Duty, the Movie." (Call of Duty, for those unaware, is a popular video game series).
I fully expect my review here to be voted down by the sort of people who don't like hearing the following truth: this movie is a triumph of marketing over movie-making. Specifically, it is aimed at the people who write reviews like: "I am a military mom / retired military member and think it's great that Hollywood finally has honored our heroes by making a realistic movie where actual SEALs were used to show how it really is. SEALs keep America free and we HONOR THEM by watching this movie." Actually, this movie is NOTHING like what SEALs do. This is real-world seals poorly acting in showcasing tiny tidbits of their training in a plot that bears as much semblance to reality as the Flintstones did to caveman life.
If you're the sort of person whose knee-jerk lionization of the US military virtually guarantees that within 10 years from now 3 or 4 "red states" will have SEALs or other special forces members of congress despite more qualified candidates being available, then this movie is for you. If you're the sort of person who can be suckered into watching a very standard Hollywood-type action movie and convince yourself that it's realistic because it's badly acted by real SEAL team members, then this movie is for you. If you are the sort of person who will make the logically dubious jump from "this movie has real SEALs as actors" to "therefore, this movie must truly represent what SEALs do" in a self-regenerating cycle of fawning, then this movie is for you. Congratulations! You have been successfully marketed to.
I have served our country in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. I have some sense of what our military, including our special forces, actually do. Much of it is brave; but at the same time a lot of it is dirty and confused and does not really further US interests in a positive way.
So, see the movie? If you like cheezy unrealistic action movies with cardboard characters, then, sure. But please don't fool yourself that you are either "honoring the troops" or seeing something realistic with this movie. You very much are not.
If you want to see an excellent, much-underrated movie about recent US wars, see "Home of the Brave" instead.
I fully expect my review here to be voted down by the sort of people who don't like hearing the following truth: this movie is a triumph of marketing over movie-making. Specifically, it is aimed at the people who write reviews like: "I am a military mom / retired military member and think it's great that Hollywood finally has honored our heroes by making a realistic movie where actual SEALs were used to show how it really is. SEALs keep America free and we HONOR THEM by watching this movie." Actually, this movie is NOTHING like what SEALs do. This is real-world seals poorly acting in showcasing tiny tidbits of their training in a plot that bears as much semblance to reality as the Flintstones did to caveman life.
If you're the sort of person whose knee-jerk lionization of the US military virtually guarantees that within 10 years from now 3 or 4 "red states" will have SEALs or other special forces members of congress despite more qualified candidates being available, then this movie is for you. If you're the sort of person who can be suckered into watching a very standard Hollywood-type action movie and convince yourself that it's realistic because it's badly acted by real SEAL team members, then this movie is for you. If you are the sort of person who will make the logically dubious jump from "this movie has real SEALs as actors" to "therefore, this movie must truly represent what SEALs do" in a self-regenerating cycle of fawning, then this movie is for you. Congratulations! You have been successfully marketed to.
I have served our country in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. I have some sense of what our military, including our special forces, actually do. Much of it is brave; but at the same time a lot of it is dirty and confused and does not really further US interests in a positive way.
So, see the movie? If you like cheezy unrealistic action movies with cardboard characters, then, sure. But please don't fool yourself that you are either "honoring the troops" or seeing something realistic with this movie. You very much are not.
If you want to see an excellent, much-underrated movie about recent US wars, see "Home of the Brave" instead.