Honestly there are few movies that center around military realism. American Sniper, 13 Hours, Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers- the primary difference between those movies and this one- is that all the "acting" is not acting- it's the real deal. These aren't actors reloading, jumping out of airplanes in HALO jumps, fast roping off helicopters, clearing rooms, breaking the water of the river, and establishing 360 degree security, these are former Navy SEALS. Their body language, the way they walk, and carry themselves ooze realism. That's why I love this movie more than any in this genre. The gear, the tactics, the vehicles, the explosions, tracer effects, and use of lasers and NVG's were no better than any of the aforementioned movies. The key difference is who was "playing" the characters.

A lot of people complain that the story and acting wasn't great but they're looking at from the wrong perspective. If you've ever met special forces- they're generally a low-key bunch (Unlike Black Hawk Down for example). Veterans aren't the Steven Seagull, Clint Eastwood's, or Charlie Sheen's of the world. Nine times out of ten those people are fakes. Real professionals have nothing to prove- and prefer to stay out of the spotlight (except when it comes to inter-service competitiveness) especially once they're out of the service. About the only thing criticism, I would say is the comedy and brotherly camaraderie were a bit understated and could've been more rowdy and less politically correct. However, obviously expecting them to say lines and not act a bit rehearsed and expecting Tom Hanks level of performance is asking a bit much.

What this movie aims at and succeeds at is portraying what the Navy SEALs typically do on a developing series of missions. Think Modern Warfare 2 or Rainbow Six Las Vegas. The movie is portraying a tiny portion of the actual experience- the downtime, the traveling, or the lack of sleep are all glossed over to point out the ACTS OF VALOR that they have shown since 9/11 on the Global War on Terror. There doesn't need to be a cliche love story, nor memorable one liners. It's about the mission and what they do.

The authenticity and realism is what makes this movie so enjoyable. Of course I can't really tell people how to enjoy movies- but that's why I enjoyed it. My favorite parts of the movie were [spoiler]when he was leaving his wife and subsequent funeral and when the Swift Boats came in for a hot extract. As a former 240 gunner there's nothing sexier then watching 6 machines guns laying down a suppression of fire so devastating and destructive it basically melted a car into shred in seconds and kept over 15-20 armed aggressors from even attempting to shoot back for a good minute (which in combat is a LONG time). Besides that watching the tenderness and the attempt to be strong for each other while really not being that strong was a really touching scene.[/spoiler]