Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Went to see Act of Valor at a matinee...

Some thoughts:
  • So none of the SEALs is Sir Anthony Hopkins. So what? I'll bet the Screen Actors Guild doesn't mail dues checks from Stallone and Schwarzenegger back un-cashed.

  • The plot is not Hitchcockian: Some bad guys are going to try and do bad things to America. A bunch of SEALs are attempting to stop them, mostly by shooting them in the face. They don't sit around and anguish over the deep meaning of shooting terrorists in the face, either; they make like a Nike commercial and Just Do It.

  • Wow.

  • By the time the lights came up, you could hear a pin drop. It was a full five-Mississippi before anybody in the theater so much as moved to grab their coat.

  • I am so used to watching gun handling in movies and thinking "You're Doing It Wrong!" that it was refreshing to see one that made me think "Huh. I'm Doing It Wrong."

  • I will be going to see it again on the big screen. This is a big screen movie.
@

25 comments:

  1. Frank W. James4:30 PM, February 28, 2012

    My thoughts EXACTLY!...

    All The Best,
    Frank W. James

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  2. Stuart the Viking4:43 PM, February 28, 2012

    After reading Frank's review yesterday, and reading your review today, BOTH saying that this is one that I really need to see on the big screen. I'm going to see what the showtimes are tonight!

    I was in the USMC, and as much as we kid that the Navy is just the mule that we ride to where ever in the world the fun is happening. There are two parts of the Navy that almost to a man we respect above all others. Those being Navy Seals, and Navy Corpsmen. Those guys are just bad-ass!

    s

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  3. Themadlemming4:46 PM, February 28, 2012

    I really liked it and will probably see it again while it's in theatres.

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  4. John Venlet4:59 PM, February 28, 2012

    Tam, your's is the second review I've read that noted that at the end of the film "you could hear a pin drop.", and I've only read two reviews. There must be something more to the film than just shooting bad guys in the face.

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  5. montieth5:12 PM, February 28, 2012

    As I said elsewhere.

    New Drinking game for Act of Valor when it comes out on Video....


    Take a drink every time a Tango takes a shot to the head.

    In some scenes that might present some timing issues....

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  6. NotClauswitz5:32 PM, February 28, 2012

    Might be movie-enough to get me into a Theater...

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  7. Keads6:29 PM, February 28, 2012

    Well I have not been in a movie theater for oh a decade or two but your review will get me there tomorrow.

    Are the floors still sticky? Inquiring minds want to know!

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  8. Irish6:29 PM, February 28, 2012

    Thanks for the review, It will definitely be a must see :)

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  9. Mad Saint Jack6:53 PM, February 28, 2012

    Go.

    Go Now...

    Why are you still here...

    The SEALs are not acting, they are working.

    Tam did you ID the sniper rifle? Imfdb seems to think it was not an SR-25.

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  10. Will Brown6:56 PM, February 28, 2012

    Tam,

    Saw AoV on Sunday and and wish to compare thoughts/recollections. I'll try to keep the spoilers down.

    In the initial hostage recovery (the CIA Officer/Mexican Dr.), did it also appear to you that the overwatch/sniper shot the SEAL that took one in the face? If so, do you think the film would have been improved with a brief(ish) scene covering the AAR and corrections made that most certainly would result from an actual battlefield incident of that nature (or would all that have bogged the movie down too much?).

    In the night assault scene later (the island off the Mexican coast) do you think they deliberately left/made their helmets and other gear shiny so they would show up on camera better? :)

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  11. Gun Shy Tourist8:24 PM, February 28, 2012

    I guess we're both cheap Tam. I saw it at a matinee today too. :)

    I wrote my impressions here:

    http://aroundotown.blogspot.com/2012/02/act-of-valor-brief-review.html

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  12. Mad Saint Jack8:43 PM, February 28, 2012

    Matinee ain't as cheap as it use to be...

    Will I did not get that impression.

    The only complaint I have is there where a few times I thought to myself " an M203 would be nice to stop that truck." (they did have a LAW.)

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  13. Aaron9:56 PM, February 28, 2012

    Yep, it was a darn good movie and its opening weekend receipts put all the Hollywood anti-American military movies of late to shame.

    I saw it on Sunday and yes, and the end the audience was very quiet indeed.

    Those of you who haven't seen it, considering that you're reading Tam's blog, it is a pretty clear indicator that you're going to enjoy the movie, a lot.

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  14. Larry10:55 PM, February 28, 2012

    We saw it Sunday and there was about 4-5 seconds of silence at the end, then someone started applauding, and it ended with a standing ovation. I love Texas!

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  15. Bubblehead Les.12:22 AM, February 29, 2012

    Let's see. I can go watch a French-Made Silent Movie about the Golden Age of Hollywood, or I can watch Terrorists receive their Just Rewards. Hmmm, decisions, decisions....

    Oh, FWIW, that Submarine that delivers SEALs? I used to call that Class of Sub "Home."

    Too bad I'm shaving with it's siblings.

    "41 for Freedom!"

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  16. GM12:40 AM, February 29, 2012

    Saw it Saturday it blue Oregon, the entire theatre clapped at the end.

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  17. Fred1:06 AM, February 29, 2012

    There certainly was a lot of shooting them in the face too.

    Manda actually said something not nice about the people that got up when names started scrolling across the screen at the end (which was sadly most of the theater...) I think it was along the lines of "These aren't the credits..." It may have also been just loud enough for everyone to hear too. I love her.

    As for the rest of the audience, I'm glad I saw it out of town. I'd be embarrassed as hell if I lived with those kind of people.

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  18. Angus McThag3:54 AM, February 29, 2012

    Just one place: LT, Chief, put on your masks before you pass out.

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  19. global village idiot12:57 PM, February 29, 2012

    I was gonna wait until it came out on video but your review convinces me. I will go to the theater and watch it there.

    Thanks!

    gvi

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  20. DaddyBear4:29 PM, February 29, 2012

    I am so used to watching gun handling in movies and thinking "You're Doing It Wrong!" that it was refreshing to see one that made me think "Huh. I'm Doing It Wrong."

    OK, I really need to see this.

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  21. Drang9:50 PM, February 29, 2012

    DaddyBear. Yes, you do.

    My take: "Act Of Valor"

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  22. Spud6:22 AM, March 01, 2012

    I am so used to watching gun handling in movies and thinking "You're Doing It Wrong!" that it was refreshing to see one that made me think "Huh. I'm Doing It Wrong."

    This statement alone has convinced me to see the film. As a rule I don't do "Hollywood" or TV for that matter. Yet one must always be willing to be enlightened.

    Thanks for the tip...

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  23. Stuart the Viking9:11 AM, March 01, 2012

    Finally saw it last night...

    Wow... just...

    wow

    s

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  24. Anonymous5:57 PM, March 01, 2012

    Also very nice to hear proper radio procedures.

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  25. Matt G1:10 AM, March 03, 2012

    I saw it tonight on your recommendation. Glad I listened. The EXACT same thing happened after the lights came up. We all just sat there, taking it in.

    Whoever wrote that "Daddy letter" to the kid hit me right where I live.

    ReplyDelete

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