'We wanted to showcase their ability to think on their feet and plan for any contingency,' McCoy says.Īs it opens across the country, Act of Valor is taking heat as a recruitment film for special operations forces. This makes the movie more exciting, sure, but also focuses on an oft-forgotten part of military planning: preparation for anything. The rescues and raids in the movie do not go as planned-they end in firefights, chases, and improvised rides in stolen vehicles. When we show someone shot 27 times, with his hand blown off, and still fighting, that happened.' 'And everything that happens in the movie happened to a SEAL in real life. Everything that was happening was happening for real,' co-director Scott Waugh says. When you see SEALs on screen riddling trucks with punishing minigun fire, that was a live-fire exercise. That meant there were many one-take moments-the submarines and underwater SEAL Delivery Vehicles would not stop for a second shot. 'Once they had their op plans, we would form our camera plan,' McCoy says. The SEALs who served as leading men crafted realistic operations plans with the directors, then had to shoot as it happened. Here's another difference between this film and other action movies: While most movies have action scenes, Act of Valor has full operations plans. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
