Act of Valor, the Hunt for Bin Laden, and Higher Expectations ARFCOM EDITION April 25, 2013

FILM CLASS LAST PAPER

Mike McCoys and Scott Waughs Act of Valor (2012) is a very successful war/action movie and is one of my personal all-time favorites. With a budget of only $12 million and a box office of $80.4 million, its success and popularity stems from a variety of reasons including unique first-person cinematography, the recent celebration of Osama Bin Ladens death, and the movies highly authentic action using real U.S. Navy SEALs, real tactics, and real bullets. Act of Valor is an important contemporary film not only because of its political significance, but because of what the film does differently compared to the countless other war/action films out there. However with a 25% approval rating from critics from Rotten Tomatoes, I believe film critics have missed (once again) the big picture of a big movie. The cinematography of Act of Valor is really something special. The camera work captures the raw action of the movie and the variety of environments offer a very visual pleasing experience. The jungle scene the movie opens up with is rich and greenie, and the dark, nighttime operation the movie ends with begins quiet, spooky, and uses a balance of ambient light and night vision to successfully capture the stealthy nature of the action.

Act of Valor, the Hunt for Bin Laden, and Higher Expectations In addition to this, the film utilizes a first person point-of-view at certain times, helping to immerse the viewer into the action. Overall, the mixture of traditional film point-of-view and first person is done well and done in a tasteful manner so the viewer never finds it redundant or as a detracting quality. Voice acting aside, the sound in the movie is incredible. Because the equipment, weapons, and ammunition seen in the movie are real, Act of Valor possess a very true-to-life sound that is distinguishable to anybody familiar that sort of stuff and really enriches the experience of those who can appreciate it. The soundtrack is also well done featuring a variety of popular country artists. However the biggest complaint of the film is found here in the sound the voice acting. The film uses current and retired U.S. Navy SEALs, not actors. There are a few corny lines throughout the movie, and while I can see the typical Hollywood critic labeling the movie garbage after the first sentence out of the main characters mouth, the narration intentionally takes a backburner to the action and I honestly did not found it to be distracting. The story would also be what I consider another weak part of the movie. Its merely just an excuse to get you into the action and is very forgettable. Basically an act of terrorism takes place and the SEALs go in to play cowboy. However in the films defense, it never advertises itself as a story and instead sells itself as an action movie showcasing real operators, real tactics, and scenarios based on true-events. If you go into the movie knowing this as I did, you really wont care. On May 1st, 2011 the worlds most known terrorist, Osama Bin Laden, was killed in Pakistan by Navy SEAL DEVGRU and most likely Army Delta Force. Coming up on the 10th year anniversary of the terrorists attacks of 9/11, the United States and possibly the world was revived with energy and a feeling resolution upon the announcement of UBLs death. I

Act of Valor, the Hunt for Bin Laden, and Higher Expectations personally can remember surfing the internet late at night, seeing the good news come in, and hearing gunshots and firecrackers of celebration in our rural community. I can also recall the next day an online retailer of tactical and shooting sports equipment featuring a 25% off entire store coupon on their main page labeled, SUCKIT. To say the country was revived with energy perhaps would be an understatement. It was a feeling of unity not felt since almost a decade ago immediately after 9/11. With Act of Valor releasing February 24th, 2012, the movie was able to fuel off of the countrys newly found energy and featured a topic relevant to the interests of many Americans. Myself favoring realistic war movies and always being partial to the SEALs out of the U.S. Special Forces, I was very eager to see it and could not believe the adrenaline of happiness I got watching it. My friend, a non-U.S. resident, experienced the same rush of adrenaline as we watched it on the big screen. This year marking the second year anniversary of UBLs death, The Hollywood Reporter has noted The Big Bin Laden Boom in Hollywood with Legendary Pictures Act of Valor and Sony Pictures Zero Dark Thirty released last year, and Universals Lone Survivor based on the memoir of retired U.S. Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell slated for release later this year (McClintock, 2011). In Elizabeth Monk-Turners and a variety of others A Content Analysis of Violence in American War Movies, they propose and confirm that there is more violence in recently released war films, as well as more graphic violence, compared to those released earlier (Turner, 2004). Agreeing with this, I propose to take the argument one step further and say that the audience has become more intelligent and have higher expectations. While it is true that violence in general does sell, I believe it sells better if it is authentic. How many times do we find ourselves, guys especially, sitting with friends watching a movie and saying or hearing, Oh that isnt realistic, instead this would happen? Whether it is how the person dies or how

Act of Valor, the Hunt for Bin Laden, and Higher Expectations something works, the audience has been progressively becoming more intelligent and more demanding over the years. It is no longer generally acceptable for a bad guy to get shot and just have blood squirting out we all know there should be holes with organs exposed, nor is it acceptable for a guys gun to have unlimited rounds of ammunition, never once having to take a second to change magazines. It is partly because of this gain of knowledge that movies like Act of Valor are so appealing and appeal to the masses. Any viewer who has heard of the movie or seen the trailer knows that it features real U.S. Navy SEALs and that the vast majority of gunfire is live meaning real. That is the attraction absolute authenticity. Even recent action blockbusters that do not feature U.S. Special Forces and instead feature actors have to account for the higher realism expectations of the audience. The actors in movies like Heat (1995) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012) spent months working out and training with weapons so they can convince the viewer that they are a highly trained police officer or they are an elite soldier. The bar has been forever raised. Two likely reasons why the audience has a higher expectation of realism for movies lie in the video game industry and the shooting sports. The video game industry is still a very young one compared to media like music and movies. The 13 year-olds of years ago are becoming the 33 year-olds of today and they are still consuming video games. The gaming industry has been constantly growing over the years.*3 Many people dont realize how realistic these games are and with first person shooting

Act of Valor, the Hunt for Bin Laden, and Higher Expectations games being the most popular genre, it is again no surprise why action movies are being held to a lower tolerance of unrealism. Likewise, the shooting industry has been rapidly growing over the years.*4 Even in the wake of the recent tragedy of Sandy Hook, more people are getting into what were demonized 10 years ago as assault weapons. With the FBI concluding the Clinton Assault Weapons Ban had a 0% effect on reducing crime with these weapons and the ban failing to prevent tragedies like Columbine, more and more people are buying guns, becoming less ignorant of them, and becoming a more educated member of the audience desiring authenticity. Additionally, T.V. shows like Mythbusters have contributed to making the audience a more informed viewer on things like physics and the anatomy of the body, once again raising the expectations of authenticity in movies. This brings me to my final point discussing the Act of Valors critical reception. As I said before, the film received a 25% approval rating from critics from Rotten Tomatoes the lack of a strong story and poor voice acting being the major criticisms. However (once again) Hollywood has missed the point of the movie. It is a real demonstration of tactics and procedures that U.S. Special Forces use. It doesnt need a story or the best voice acting. You are watching it for the action, not like Sean Carney in The Rock real action. The more educated you are, the more enjoyable the movie is. The real explosions and gunshots are rewarding to the trained ears who have bared fake Hollywood sound effects over the years. The scene where one of the main

Act of Valor, the Hunt for Bin Laden, and Higher Expectations characters jumps on a grenade to save his teammates lives is based on the true event of Navy SEAL and Hero Michael A. Monsoor who dove on a grenade and gave his life for his nearby teammates and country when a grenade landed at his feet. Everything you see in the movie is true or based on true events and how you see it is often through an immersive first person point-of-view that is what makes the film so great. Mike McCoys and Scott Waughs Act of Valor (2012) is a blockbuster hit with a box office of 8-times its budget. The movies success and popularity stems from a variety of reasons including unique first-person cinematography, the recent celebration of Osama Bin Ladens death, and the movies highly authentic action using real U.S. Navy SEALs, real tactics, and real bullets. Act of Valor is an important contemporary film not only because of its political significance, but because of what the film does differently compared to the countless other war/action films out there. It is a demonstration of professionals showcasing tactics and real-life scenarios that have happened to them, and is a reminder that we dont need to create some preposterous action movie to tell the tale of a hero.

Act of Valor, the Hunt for Bin Laden, and Higher Expectations Works Cited: 1. Turner, E. M. (2004). A content analysis of violence in american war movies. Analyses of social issues and public policy, 4(1), 1-11. 2. McClintock, P. (2011, June 23). The big bin laden boom in hollywood. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-osama-bin-ladens-death-205165 3. (2008, June 24). United states video game industry (1995-2007) [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/File:Us_revenues_1995-2007.png 4. FBI, (2013). Total nics background checks. Retrieved from website: http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/total-nics-background-checks1998_2013_monthly_yearly_totals-033113.pdf