An elite team of Navy SEALs embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.An elite team of Navy SEALs embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.An elite team of Navy SEALs embark on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent.
- Awards
- 1 win & 7 nominations total
- Lieutenant Rorke
- (as LCDR Rorke)
- Chief Dave
- (as SOC Dave)
- SO1 Sonny
- (as SOC Sonny)
- SO1 Ray
- (as SO1 Ray)
- SO1 Ajay
- (as a different name)
- Senior Chief Otto
- (as SOCS Van D)
- Admiral Callaghan
- (as Admiral Callaghan)
- Captain Duncan Smith
- (as Captain Duncan Smith)
- SWCC Boat Senior Chief
- (as SOCS BIlly)
- Directors
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Personally, I have actively served in the military and the thing that really bothers me is the non- realism of military roles that I see in movies. Directors and crew blatantly cut corners, hire no nothing actors and extras to portray military roles. Actual direction to the actors and extras that I have heard straight from their lips: "just to pretend because the audience doesn't know any better and doesn't care." Well WRONG, we do care...
There are of course directors that DO care for realism such as Ridley Scott & Oliver Stone. Directors that care hire people like Dale Dye or equivalent to produce such realism. It is a very hard thing to do when the "sides" or script simply say "insert tech talk" or "insert military maneuver" and your movie doesn't even have the technical adviser.
For someone who has been there and done that it is excruciating to see actors do everything wrong, shoulder rifles wrong and hear stupid and unrealistic dialog. 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. Some say they were not real active duty. Well I can't vouch for that but what I can tell you is that everything they did and said were extremely accurate and I have little problem in doubting that statement.
See/view the film as you want, some will see it as propaganda... Well, anyone showing pride in something is going to show everything at it's best and only the people who have never been there will confuse pride with propaganda. Freedom It is the right to be able to question and doubt everything, but it is the soldier that actually fights to provide this very freedom that everyone else takes advantage of. Sure others will see this film as a recruitment tool. Sure, and again when pride is shown in a cool way of course the young may choose a career in the military. The same being said with movies with doctors, firemen or policemen.
See this movie as a statement to reality in a technical way, pay attention to how things are spoken, how weapons are suppose to be used, held, fired and reloaded on the fly. When you use real military there is an automatic understanding of positioning. I understand that Hollywood need to be in there to actually film things and understand the need to make changes to do so but I could not find very much wrong with what I did see.
To mention live rounds... this is unheard of in film just because of the danger level and would never be accepted in civilian North America. That is why the movie was shot where it was and on live fire ranges. I am impressed.
I very much liked it and the portrayal of the soldier. I felt pride, technically things, were accurate and as they should be. Good Job!
Inspired by true events, the premise is an action packed illustration of the cogs and wheels behind the fight for freedom; or in this case, anti-terrorism. After undercover CIA operatives go missing in Costa Rica, a rescue mission by Navy SEALs leads to the discovery that a Chechen defector turned Jihadi terrorist is plotting an attack on America with such magnitude, it could make 9/11 look like a walk in the park. 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. Whereas, it is totally different when watching seasoned soldiers do what they have trained so hard to do. This is all too obvious from the way these protagonists talk, to the way they handle a weapon, and by their inherent swagger makes the "A-Team" look like Teletubbies. That said, our heroes are in their element when geared up for the mission at hand, be it stealthy eliminations or running and gunning or jumping off a high altitude aircraft. But like fish out of water, you can't really expect immersive acting when they are void of camouflage, burst frequency radios, or anything related to battle mode. Dialogue sounds cheesy and read, especially during sub-plots that try to reveal they are also ordinary men with dependent families. Mainstream critics have expressed that the story is packed with propaganda, rather unkindly suggesting Uncle Sam's invincibility and far reach. While I did feel the SEALs seemed rather invincible towards the end of the movie, I also felt a strong vibe of patriotism instead of the misconstrued propaganda. Perhaps that has something to do with the screenplay coming from Kurt Johnstad, the same person behind the very patriotic ethos in "300". If I have to nitpick, it would have to be the overdone first-person perspective of having the camera mounted onto the laser sights of assault rifles. One or two scenes would have been acceptable, but this gets so repetitive, it appears to be borrowed from a Tom Clancy page-turner or a PlayStation 3 "Call of Duty" game.
If "G. 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. Just before the end credits, McCoy and Waugh also show us the price paid since 9/11 by SEALs who have given up the American way of life, so that the rest of America does not have to. Essentially, Patriotism, not propaganda, is a philosophy other countries should rekindle to keep terrorists out. With that message radiating from the Prologue and epilogue, including acceptable elaboration in between, first time directors McCoy and Waugh have brought out a decent action movie with relevance to the genre as well as the ongoing 'war on terror'.
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film stars actual, active-duty US Navy SEALs and SWCC. According to conditions set by the U.S. Government, their real names and identity are not revealed.
- GoofsIn the beginning, there are GPS coordinates for the Philippines. It says 30 degrees North on the super. Philippines lies between 11-17 degrees North latitude.
- Quotes
[last lines]
[letter to Engel's infant son]
Chief Dave: Live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about his religion. Respect others in their views and demand that they respect yours.
Lieutenant Rorke: Love your life, perfect your life. Beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and of service to your people. When your time comes to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song, and die like a hero going home.
- Alternate versionsThe patriotic tone of the film has been toned down for the international version. For example, in the original US version the letter says "Before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that other men stopped seeing you as dangerous." In the international version it reads "Just before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that it gets harder to protect the things that matter." Another example is the text at the ending. The US version shows the line "This film is dedicated to the following warriors of Naval Special Warfare who have made the ultimate sacrifice since 9/11." while the international version reads "This film is dedicated to all of the men and women who have sacrificed for their countries as guardians of freedom against forces of terror and tyranny."
- ConnectionsFeatured in Oh, We Review!: 'Act of Valor' Review (2012)
- SoundtracksTe Vi
Written by Jesus A. Perez-Alvarez
Performed by Gregorio Moya
Courtesy of LMS Records
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $12,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $70,012,847
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $24,476,632
- Feb 26, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $82,499,399
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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