Act of Valor

Many of you probably know that there is a new movie out now called Act of Valor.  While the movie itself is not fact, the events that take place, the action, and basically the entire movie could be true and could happen.  Many people might find themselves disappointed with parts of it.  This isn't like some of the movies or tv shows where people are doing things that could obviously never happen in real life or they have impossible endings.  In many ways, this is real.  This is what happens.  This is what the men and women of our country do for us in our fight against terrorism.  And to make it even more realistic, the actors in it are actually active duty Navy SEALs, cast because as the filmmakers went about making the movie, they realized that no actor, regardless of training, could realistically portray these men.

Some of you might be thinking that this is a bit of a random topic, but I've been thinking about this ever since I decided to go check out a few movies on Plugged In, just to see what the reviews said about them.  Act of Valor was at the top of the page so I decided to check it out.  Now I won't deny what was said about the movie.  It is very violent, hence the R rating.  There's some cussing too.  It's definitely not a perfect movie, but its a pretty true representation. At the end of the reviews, the author always sums up his or her thoughts.  This author was no different and concluded by talking about how his grandfather was a naval officer and as a kid he would ask to be told stories of the war, but his grandfather never really did.  My grandfather was the same way.  He was never willing to talk about his time in the service, though he did write me a letter detailing some parts of what he went through before he passed away.  The author ended the review by essentially saying that, yes, the movie's good and its worth watching, but because of the obscenity and bloodshed and all, he felt that his grandfather's approach of not talking about and therefore not watching it is good too.

And that is where I disagreed.  These days, a lot of military movies or shows are either far enough off base as to make them unbelievable or they end with everyone happy or throughout there is just a constant impression that this is fake.  Act of Valor isn't like that at all.  In a country where too often we forget about those fighting for our freedom and the freedom of others in places around the world, this movie very realistically shows us the sacrifices they make for us and the sacrifices that their families make too.  Yes, it's bloody.  Yes, there's obscenity.  But that's real life.  There are times when we don't need to see things like that.  But there are other times when we need the wake up call.  To see it up close and personal instead of from a distance where we can remain aloof and unaffected.  If there's not something on the news everyday or in the paper about what's going on with a war, we start to push it to the back of our minds, to make it less important.  And while we're forgetting, there are those out there risking their lives for us.  And too many of us repay them by looking the other direction.  Look what these people are doing for us.  Look what they're sacrificing, what their loved ones are sacrificing.  The events of this movie aren't going to happen every day, but they could, and in some ways they already have.  Remember that.  Don't forget them and all that they do us, because they certainly don't forget who and what they are fighting for.

This post was originally published on Saturday, March 10, 2012.