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Richard Corliss, Time: FAIR "...vigorous, amateurish.... The picture ends not with a parade but with a funeral. And that may be the toughest, most lasting image in this cockamamie, Pentagon-approved war adventure." (Read the full review...) 1,152 words, 02/25/12 Jake Coyle, Associated Press: WEAK (cg) "Sissy things like plot and character development aren't worthy of the mission. It's as though they've been chased out of the theater by a barking drill sergeant." (Read the full review...) 708 words, 02/23/12 Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (cg) "...attacking with ninja stealth, jumping out of airplanes, and tracking down terrorists doesn't leave much time for acting lessons.... The plot is video-game simple..." (Read the full review...) 158 words, 03/02/12 Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: POOR (cg) "...it's hardly the fault of these commandos that their acting deserves no salute. In truth, they're a lot better than Charlie Sheen was in the 1990 crapfest that was 'Navy SEALs.' " (Read the full review...) 107 words, 02/24/12 Claudia Puig, USA Today: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "Employing Navy troops as stars is a clever idea for an action thriller. But the soldiers' awkward line readings are glaring enough to distract from the potency of the story." (Read the full review...) 333 words, 02/24/12 Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...contains hard-hitting combat footage, relentless and effective.... It was once intended as a recruitment film, and that's how it plays." (Read the full review...) 993 words, 02/24/12 James Rocchi, MSN Movies: POOR (cg) "...a dead tangle of clichés and nonsense." (Read the full review...) 796 words, 02/22/12 James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "It isn't a movie in any real or meaningful sense. What is it? A hybrid perhaps?... I was never bored, although I was never overwhelmed, either." (Read the full review...) 716 words, 02/22/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: WEAK "...plays like a pumped-up recruitment commercial... the archipelago of maneuvers, however jaw-dropping, never coheres into a real movie.... why not make a documentary?" (Read the full review...) 316 words, 02/24/12 Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR (cg) "...a big-screen recruitment film infused with a hero worship SEALs typically shun.... you have, to quote one SEAL after his pal loses an eye, 'a bum deal for Mikey.' " (Read the full review...) 349 words, 02/24/12 Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...once you see the SEALs in action, you may feel that a certain amount of lionizing is in order... [but] these total warriors can't really act..." (Read the full review...) 811 words, 02/24/12 Kyle Smith, New York Post: MODERATE (cg) "The overall feel is not that of battle-tested hard men chewing over war stories, but of outsiders sucking up in an effort to be granted honorary membership in a club they can never understand." (Read the full review...) 568 words, 02/24/12 Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: MODERATE (cg) "...plays like a highly favorable SEALs tribute placed atop a vaguely bogus storyline.... contains shots and parts of entire sequences that feel different, and truer, than the average war picture." (Read the full review...) 475 words, 02/24/12 Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: MODERATE (cg) "As a piece of filmed entertainment, 'Act of Valor' will never be mistaken for 'Top Gun,' but it's a heck of a recruitment video." (Read the full review...) 318 words, 02/24/12 Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine: MODERATE "As a no-holds-barred recruiting video, 'Act of Valor' kicks all sorts of ass. As an actual movie, however, it barely coheres." (Read the full review...) 532 words, 02/26/12 Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...contains hard-hitting combat footage, relentless and effective.... It was once intended as a recruitment film, and that's how it plays." (Read the full review...) 993 words, 02/24/12 Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...the most lavish recruiting tool the armed forces have deployed to theaters in memory... It's all about you-are-there adrenaline injections..." (Read the full review...) 525 words, 02/22/12 Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: WEAK (cg) "...while subtleties and pacing are MIA, the filmmakers know how to shoot action and they make the most of it... Collateral damage takes out the plot, but the SEALs save the day." (Read the full review...) 462 words, 02/24/12 Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE (cg) "All hail that flag-waving moment, when the deal is really Sealed: How sweet and fitting it is to die in defence of a movie cliché." (Read the full review...) 573 words, 02/24/12 Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR (cg) "...slick, superficial and entirely forgettable, and dramatically it's just embarrassing." (Read the full review...) 290 words, 02/24/12
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post: MODERATE (cg) "...gripping when it focuses on procedural details. But whenever the movie goes Hollywood, its celebration of steely competence softens into macho sentimentality." (Read the full review...) 446 words, 02/24/12 David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: WEAK (cg) "...lacks the most basic filmic technique of personalizing the battle. Sound meets fury. In a neutral setting. Shouldn't our SEALs at least get home-screen advantage?" (Read the full review...) 353 words, 02/24/12 Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: WEAK (cg) "...these real-life action heroes deserve a better movie... As a combat film, it's fine. As a social and historical document, it seems certain to generate bad feelings on all sides." (Read the full review...) 461 words, 02/24/12 Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...the strategy sessions for raids are fascinating, and the action itself is outstanding. But it would benefit greatly from having real actors in the major roles." (Read the full review...) 594 words, 02/24/12 Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: VERY GOOD (cg) "...a roller-coaster ride.... there is beauty in this movie that you'd never experience in any film starring Chuck Norris or Michael Dudikoff.... You applaud the rigorous theater." (Read the full review...) 850 words, 02/24/12 Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "These guys are the real deal. And any hero worship given them -- badly done or not -- is still deserved." (Read the full review...) 552 words, 02/24/12 Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE (cg) "The grittiness of the movie, the thud of its bullets and the thrumming energy of its covert ops - these are its strong suits... but the film gets snagged by its own narrative convention." (Read the full review...) 303 words, 02/24/12 Soren Andersen, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD (cg) "Although not trained actors, the SEALs handle their roles with impressive competence. Their line readings are convincing and, as you'd expect, they performed their own stunts." (Read the full review...) 369 words, 02/24/12 Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD (cg) "...a laudable tribute to servicepeople... [but] despite having a simplistic script to perform, these folks barely make it through their scenes..." (Read the full review...) 265 words, 02/24/12 Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "...on a tactical basis, 'Act of Valor' hits the bull's-eye.... Within this limited perspective, the movie has no room to scrutinize the policies for which the brave SEALs are fighting." (Read the full review...) 319 words, 02/24/12 Steve Persall, Tampa Bay Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) (cg) "I'm thankful to have such brave, selfless warriors on our side in any fight. But that won't convince me that 'Act of Valor' is a good movie." (Read the full review...) 498 words, 02/23/12 Rick Bentley, Miami Herald: MODERATE (cg) "Navy SEALs are amazing when they stick to what they do best. Acting isn't one of those skills.... this reality movie is less of a theatrical release and more of a recruiting film." (Read the full review...) 421 words, 02/24/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...the most lavish recruiting tool the armed forces have deployed to theaters in memory... It's all about you-are-there adrenaline injections..." (Read the full review...) 525 words, 02/22/12 Sean O'Connell, Cinema Blend: VERY GOOD (cg) "...the closest you can come to experiencing a military mission from the perspective of a Navy SEAL without actually enlisting." (Read the full review...) 566 words, 02/24/12 Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: WEAK (cg) "...wallows in cliché. Worse, the filmmakers shoot and edit with such incoherence that the action will frustrate even fans of the video games they emulate." (Read the full review...) 150 words, 02/29/12 Keith Phipps, AV Club: POOR (cg) "...claims to be inspired by 'real acts of valor'... But is using their sacrifices as material for an action movie -- and a bad one -- that much of an honor?" (Read the full review...) 518 words, 02/23/12 Cynthia Fuchs, Pop Matters: POOR (cg) "As a story, it's ludicrous, and even as an immersive ride, it's not news. But as a self-admitted recruiting film, an effort to introduce young viewers to a mythology, it's a little disturbing." (Read the full review...) 808 words, 02/24/12 Michelle Orange, Movieline: WEAK (cg) "...an elaborate branding exercise for the U.S. Navy SEALs... this country is not a movie we are watching, and people really do die in the end." (Read the full review...) 892 words, 02/23/12 Andrew Schenker, Slant: POOR (cg) "A movie whose cinematic ineptitude is matched only by its ideological rottenness..." (Read the full review...) 630 words, 02/23/12 Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: POOR (cg) "...slick, superficial and entirely forgettable, and dramatically it's just embarrassing." (Read the full review...) 290 words, 02/24/12 Edward Adams, Atlanta Creative Loafing: MODERATE (cg) "...has in its core a fascinating and thrilling action movie... but its weak premise and blatant clichés work against it and slightly derail the integrity it sought to illustrate." (Read the full review...) 797 words, 03/01/12
Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: WEAK "...plays like a pumped-up recruitment commercial... the archipelago of maneuvers, however jaw-dropping, never coheres into a real movie.... why not make a documentary?" (Read the full review...) 316 words, 02/24/12 Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...once you see the SEALs in action, you may feel that a certain amount of lionizing is in order... [but] these total warriors can't really act..." (Read the full review...) 811 words, 02/24/12
Robert Koehler, Daily Variety: FAIR "A mechanically efficient yet soulless dramatization of the U.S. Navy SEALs in action... ultimately misses its target: The hearts and minds of American audiences." (Read the full review...) 739 words, 02/23/12 Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...the merging of dramatic re-creations and on-camera 'performances' proves less seamlessly executed than the masterfully coordinated land, sea and air missions." (Read the full review...) 347 words, 02/23/12 Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...once you see the SEALs in action, you may feel that a certain amount of lionizing is in order... [but] these total warriors can't really act..." (Read the full review...) 811 words, 02/24/12 Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: FAIR (cg) "...editing by Siobhan Prior, Michael Tronick, and Scott Waugh tries to put some order and sense into a barely comprehensible narrative." (Read the full review...) 551 words, 02/22/12 Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: WEAK "...plays like a pumped-up recruitment commercial... the archipelago of maneuvers, however jaw-dropping, never coheres into a real movie.... why not make a documentary?" (Read the full review...) 316 words, 02/24/12
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