This is one movie that I had no expectation for and am very glad for that. I thought that anything beyond absolute crap was going to be a stretch for a movie based off of a board game BUT the screenwriters, Jon and Erich Hoeber (Red), and the director, Peter Berg, (Friday Night Lights) did an excellent job of creating a coherent and not completely unbelievable script. To me, it felt more like a love story to the Navy than it did a propaganda movie for the military; which is what I expected when I saw all the military cooperation involved in the shoot.
The actors throughout the film were also stellar. This also holds true for Rihanna, believe it or not. She did a wonderful job of fleshing out her character without gratuitous shows of her flesh. The first 30 minutes are packed with alum of HBO series', and of course several from Friday Night Lights which Peter Berg both directed and wrote for.
The introduction was really strong, and included pretty much everything that it need to include. It made me laugh, connected me to the place, the main characters, the love interest, the goal, EVERYTHING. Very textbook but interestingly done with the multiple camera angles and did I mention funny. Best scene in the whole movie by far.
The only questions that I had for this movie were: 1 - How does a 26 year old fuck up enter the Navy and become a captain in a year? 2 - Did Subway sponsor the movie?
Bottom Line: Bar none better than anything by Michael Bay and better than most comic book/action hero movies. Great job for an action film! (Especially one based on a board game).
I paired it with: Pumpkin cider and a Caesar salad from Solstice.
