Alright I'm back, it was good. I'd give it a 7.5/10 overall. Now just to be clear, this is getting a 25% from the critics because in terms of classical film-making there isn't much there. The plot is loose, the characters are only mildly developed. So what makes it good?
I think overall the best thing about it is the portrayal of the SEALs. Given that they're actually using real SEALs I also imagine much of the dialog was legit. The movie overall just feels very real, and the lack of theatricality actually adds to that. I've never been in the military so maybe I'm not the best judge, and I'm sure some of the scenes were pure Hollywood (there's one scene where one SEAL is on the deck of an aircraft carrier, at sunset, while a fighter takes off not 30 feet away, without hearing protection, so he can have a talk with his wife), but I know it got a few things right.
Example: In the climax the SEALs bust into a room and one of them ends up in hand-to-hand with a bad guy. The camera goes all over the place and everything's a blur right up until you see the SEAL draw his side-arm, shove it against bad guy's neck and bang. Then they snap immediately to "all clear" and move onto the next room. As professionals of SEAL caliber would.
There's no hollywood emphasis on the moment, no slow-mo/silent breathing picture of shock on the SEAL's face, no slow deaths, just "bad guy down, moving on". The shoot of the fight itself is also quite accurate as to how hand-to-hand combat feels from what martial arts experience I have. Especially under extreme stress in a strange environment, everything is instinct and it's all a blur at first glance right until the endstroke, which is typically violent and sudden.
The whole movie is stuffed full of scenes like that. You feel like you're watching professionals doing their jobs, not actors performing a scene. And the disjointness of the shooting, which would mess up typical movies, tends to add to the feeling of watching real combat. In an actual combat environment, you are only aware of your small part of the picture. There are few nice clean overhead shots like Black Hawk Down. Here most shots are close in, even first person at times.
Overall, not a great classical film, but a good movie IMO. There were a bunch of marines behind us who looked supremely satisfied and were praising the movie as we walked out. That's enough to assure me of its validity, and even without their endorsement, it was a highly entertaining action picture and I would have regretted not seeing it.
