User reviews

"Navy SEALS" is a fun escapist Hollywood testosterone rush packed with action and built around a thin story about a SEALS team which goes after some Stinger missels which have fallen into the hands of mid-East terrorists. The film features some great stunts, lots of pyrotechnics, and firefights galore as it shows SEALS in a variety of combat missions including high altitude and undersea insertion platforms. A critically panned flick but a great watch for military action junkies.

This is a rah-rah, gung-ho actioner and as long as that's what you're looking for, you'll have a good time watching this fast-paced story of the white hats versus the black hats.

Sheen, Biehn, Whalley, Kadi, and Paxton do workmanlike jobs with stereotypical roles. The plot is all formula but treated in a slightly unusual way and the action sequences are excellent. U.S. Navy SEALS (The good guys) stumble on a cache of weapons in the hands of mideastern terrorists (the bad guys.) The first attempt to get the goods fails, and in the process of tracking down the cache, everybody's best buddy dies (see if you can guess who THAT would be!) There are more tragic deaths before the finale, which, of course, includes hand-to-hand combat between boss baddie and our hero.

This is very definitely a promo for the U.S. Navy, with terrific shots of U.S. weapons, heroic depictions of our boys in action, and simple, demonized baddies. But if that kind of thing sets you off, it should be pretty obvious that this is not the film for you!

Like the previous person's comments, this was like the "Top Gun" on the ground. He just forgot to also mention that it was also done in the Sea and in the Air. I feel that it was similar also to Chuck Norris' Delta Force; however, it was alot more realistic. Well, the actors in this film did a wonderful job of portraying the actions of the elite Navy SEAL teams. This movie should serve as a testament to the courage and valor displayed by all of the great Special Operations and Special Forces teams of the Armed Forces. The characters were really believable and the script was top-notch. Those who are from the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (like myself) will definitely notice many of the stateside locales. You could definitely watch this movie over and over again! It definitely provides a boost of adrenaline to all couch potatoes and action junkies, not to mention any of those who have either served in the military or were born in military households like myself!

Michael Biehn's character said during the movie in a training montage that only 10% of recruits get to become Navy Seals. Remember that 90% of Navy Seal candidates are not good enough and fail the training.

In this movie there are three actions scenes. The first they are required to go in silently and extract some hostages and get out quietly without a shot fired. They are successful in doing this. Until Charlie Sheen's Character pulls out a pump action shotgun and shoots down a door with three shots for no other reason than he wanted everyone outside to hear them for a gunfight to kick off as he was craving an adreniline rush.

He causes directly a fellow Navy Seal to be shot and killed in this op. But because this was an unknown character at this point nobody seems to care and its just next day who cares.

Second mission, once again they need to silently extract someone without anyone hearing. This is all going to plan until Charlie Sheen's character wants a gun fight again so walks up to the enemy shooting him. He directly causes a second Navy Seal to be killed. Now cue 15mins of everyone being full of sorrow and teary eyes for this guy dying as he was known in the film up until that point.

Third mission, they need to quietly blow up a building. Charlie Sheen's character decides to shoot someone with the loudest hand gun he takes from his back pocket - when he has silenced gun on him already - and ruins that op too as everyone hears it and starts shooting. The main leader gets shot and is down for dead and Charlie Sheen disobeys further orders to just blow the building and to go in and get him out so they cannot blow the building till he does this.

This is meant to be the Navy Seals. And he is somehow the second in command of the team and any Navy Seal wouldn't want this guy coming within 500 miles of them as he seems to want to get killed everyone of his team mates and never follows orders. And yet he is deemed the hero of the movie. This guy ruined the movie for me as he was so annoying. It would have been a good movie with all the others but his character in it.

First off, I'd like to correct the poster below me who said that God "Had a sniper rifle that fired tiny grenades." God was armed with a Barrett M-82A1 .50 caliber BMG. It is a current special forces rifle and is fully capable of (and often used for) putting a bullet all the way through a truck's engine, a foot of solid metal plate, or, as often shown in the movie, wimpy little concrete or cement block walls.

Anyway...

This movie is certainly not a feast for the brain, but neither is it intellectually devoid. The issue with the journalist in the movie is startlingly relevant in today's world, for example. I doubt it was intentional; it's likely that it was put in as a weak attempt at adding conflict and depth to a flat script. But hey, take what you can get, right?

The real strong point of this movie, for me, is the set design. This was shot back in the old days, when neat backdrops couldn't just be drawn in with computers over a bluescreen. The Beirut scene at the end of "Navy SEALs" has some of the best *real* urban combat sets I've ever seen, right up there with the Hue scene at the end of "Full Metal Jacket"... though not quite as good.

I don't know if the sets alone make this movie worth watching, but they do for me. It's generally mindless action, but that doesn't mean that it's without substance; just because "Navy SEALs" doesn't meet the standards of a "great" movie, with well-developed characters and all that junk, doesn't mean it's awful. "Navy SEALs" doesn't include much script depth because it really doesn't need to. That isn't the point. Do you think that real Navy SEALs would make well-rounded characters in the Hollywood sense? These soldiers *can't* have strife within the team, *can't* have little internal conflicts that, in most movies, would be considered interesting. That just isn't realistic.

OK, I'll try to comment mostly on the music cause enough has been said about this movie. I think it's a very watchable action movie (despite some flaws). Yes, it's not too realistic, but such a movie would most probably be boring (check how it worked out in The Finest Hour). Yes, it's not too deep, but come on, which action movie is (e.g. what's so deep about characters in Die Hard? nobody complains about that and they shouldn't)? Please take into consideration some other action movie involving the SEALS e.g. The Rock - the unwatchable Michael Bay/Nicholas Cage exploding blockbuster escapade which somehow has over 7.0 rating.

The most positive thing about this movie are the great action scenes which look pretty realistic (the gunfights in Beirut, for example). Nice use of the camera (although it looks a bit 'TV' in some places) and very authentic looking scenery (with some nice details, e.g. like that destroyed Israeli M113 in the background).

But the amazing thing is (personally) one of the best music scores in an action movie ever (which unfortunately I can't seem to find anywhere). I mean, Sylvester Levy really did his job right. Every time they head for action, they are followed by excellent instrumental scores which give this film and the scenery much more depth (my favorite one plays when they are running for the shore). Unbelievably good.

So, must have seen it a couple of dozen times and still like to watch it for the above reasons. It's not a deep movie, just good war action and great music. I enjoy(ed) it. Maybe you will, too. Personally, I'd rate it as 6, objectively at 5, IMDb 7 at least (should have more since atrocities like The Rock get 7.3 average).

1st watched 4/7/2010 -- 4 out of 10 (Dir-Lewis Teague): OK action navy movie about a group of Navy SEALS that find some missiles at a location where a terrorist was holding an American hostage. They get the hostage out but fail to blow up the missiles which causes them to have to do a few other missions to accomplish this major task. The movie stars Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn as members of a small Navy SEAL group. Sheen's character is a little more rambunctious and tends to make quick decisions while the leader, played by Biehn, is the one that follows the book. Biehn's character is the one that decided to not blow up the missiles initially despite Sheen's character wanting to. Sheen later makes some bad decisions as well that makes them even and they both carry a little guilt into their next assignments. That's really about it for this movie. There are other characters like one member who is about ready to get married, reluctantly(but it never happens) and a part-Lebanese reporter, played by Joanne Whaley-Kilmer, who helps provide info for the cause but otherwise doesn't provide much for the movie, unfortunately. Pretty bland characters overall despite some good action sequences. The lack of character development doesn't make you care much for the characters and that's where it fails. An OK waste of a couple hours if you like these kind of movies and don't mind the cardboard characters.

As far as some action films go, "Navy Seals", the 1990 film directed by Lewis Teague, doesn't deserve most of the criticism that some contributors to this forum have expressed. While it doesn't add anything to the genre, it is a movie targeted to a certain audience, who will no doubt react to it.

On the other hand, watching it on cable the other night, it proved to be the entertainment it's meant to be and nothing more. Let's hope the real Navy Seals will be more selective in picking someone that is as misguided and egocentric as Lt. Hawkins, who disobeys his orders and causes the death of a man that shouldn't have died.

This film appears to be a vehicle for Charlie Sheen who was at the height of his intense period. Michael Biehn plays the man in command, Lt. Curran with flair. Joanne Whalley is seen only briefly. The rest of the cast, notably, S. Ephata Merkerson and Dennis Haysbert contributed to make the film better than it is.

All in all, this is a film for action fans with not a lot of expectations.

'Navy SEALs' receives a fair amount of undeserved hate. It doesn't try to be anything other than a fairly mindless and entertaining action movie - surely it can't be criticized for that, can it?

Michael Biehn and Charlie Sheen play the commander and 2IC, respectively of a US Navy SEAL team. The movie starts with them having to rescue some Navy pilots who were captured by the bad guys. Correction - it starts with Charlie Sheen jumping off a bridge from a moving car. Anyway, when the SEALs go in, they discover a terrorist cache Stinger-missiles and find one of the world's most wanted men. After rescuing the pilots, our heroes spend the rest of the movie chasing these missing missiles and the terrorist leader, all while blowing stuff up and killing lots of bad guys. What more do you want?

Character development? Not likely. There is very little among the good guys, and the bad guys are barely even introduced, but thats probably because they spend so much time getting blown up and shot-up. I can live with that, even if I can't remember anything about the terrorist leader.

Check out 'Navy SEALs' if you're up for some mindless action and entertainment - 6/10.

Watching it all these years later I realize I fell for the fake intrigue. Horribly fake laughs at end.

This is one of those action films I can watch with any of my guy friends and everyone's happy. It's a good, old-fashioned action-adventure movie. Michael Biehn delivers the same kind of reliable performance he always does and Charlie Sheen does just fine as well. (I won't comment on the director except to say that I've also seen his previous claim to fame, "The Lady In Red," a simply abysmal film starring Pamela Sue Martin and Robert Conrad.) Thanks to the stubbornness and tenacity of the cast, though, "Navy SEALs" went through a lot of revisions (which you'll see if you ever see any of the script drafts, reader's coverage, or the novelization) and actually came out as a straightforward, enjoyable actioner that's still watchable after more than 10 years.

Pure nonsense. A waste of time, energy and money. Besides the film being predictable from the first frame, it is also unrealistic, embarrassingly juvenile, and highly racist, a piece of anti-Arab propaganda whose only redeeming factor is to remind us that the anti-Arab thing is deeply embedded in our so-called culture. The plot makes no sense, the Great SEALs are depicted like a bunch of frat boys, the journalist is not a journalist, not a self-respecting one at any rate, she is what Hollywood thinks journalists are like, or the way it would like to think of journalists.... Hollywood, oh when will you ever come up with an original idea?

If you're interested in seeing Charlie Sheen in one of his most coked up, one-liner driven performances, I highly recommend this film (if not you have problems) Also, behold the greatest, and only action-movie/golf-course hijinks scene of all time. This of course leads directly to Sheen in hot pursuit of his towed convertible while riding a Schwinn. Pure NAVY Seal adrenaline.

Charlie wakes up from a drunk in the surf. He steals a bicycle. He steals a car. He rips up a golf course. Beer cans thrown around. Carts dumped in the water hazard.

This is the way our fighting men are portrayed on their days off.

Charlie shoots a man who is holding a gun to the head of a woman. Charlie makes a joke. Charlie is asked what is happening during combat. Charlie makes a joke. Later in another battle, Charlie is asked to assess the situation. Charlie makes a joke.

This is the way our fighting men are portrayed during combat.

I like Charlie. But I'd slap the stuffing out of him for his part in this movie.

Navy SEALS is a personal classic for me. If you can ignore things like plot, character development, and just be content to watch a bunch of explosions and macho gun fighting, than you can do no better than SEALS.

Yes, the movie is intelectually devoid (just like Randall says in Clerks), but it's supposed to be that way - it's an action movie. Go rent it, and do not feel ashamed, hell everytime I go into the video store I always grab the video off the shelves and in a real loud, nasal voice, I say "WOW, NAVY SEALS!"

A Navy Seals team is sent to rescue some Americans who are being held hostage (middle east somewhere). During the rescue, a few dozen Stinger missiles are discovered but not destroyed. So the team is sent back in to destroy them.

Ordered to let their hair down first, they play golf, Boy these guys know how to have a good time. Then it's out again in search of the missiles. They seek out an attractive female journalist who seems to have more accurate information than the CIA. And I sort of lost interest after that.

In an interview, Michael Biehn stated that working on this film was "probably the worst experience of my life". Was watching it one of mine? When I was 14 I would have loved this and related to the 14-year old mentality of the leads. A few decades on, and not being part of this culture, I found little here I could watch easily, and lots that I found annoying. There was no problem with the technical side of the film, and the actors were good. The problems are more fundamental and are due to the script.

Somehow I never saw this 30 years ago, A really good cast, but with a weak and very predictable plot. Best bit was Charlie Sheen paraphrasing Han Solo. Okay to pass the time, but this movie is a lot worse than G.I Jane, which has a worse rating on IMDb.

This movie is absolutely terrible... Definately a bull***t story and even worse acting. Too bad Charlie Sheen is involved in something like this since he is a decent actor and has done a couple of really good movies.

The special effects are 'A-team'-standard with the classical car gets shot and then flips over with a little fireball under the hood.

Of course the enemy are portrayed as total idiots and die as fast as they can say '-Die evil Americans'.

Unless braindead movies are you game, don't spend 113minutes of your life on this rubbish. Pick up 'the Platoon' or 'Apocalypse Now' instead.

Be very afraid of anyone who likes this film. They probably inhaled too many paint chips as a child. Its so awful I refuse to relive a plot. O yeah, there wasn't one! This movie is a true definition of what Hollywood creates for people who don't want to think at a theatre. Do the bad guys win? Do the good guys win? Who cares!

Lewis Teague has made a bunch of average movies. This movie doesn't offer anything new, but as an action flick, it might be a legend for somebody. It's a great story about " America's secret weapon", Navy Seals. Casting is very impressive, including stars like Michael Biehn, Charlie Sheen and Bill Paxton. character development is minimal which is very understandable, after all it's all about action and little humor. Michael Biehn makes the most realistic performance from the cast, as a tough lieutanent. On the other hand, Charlie Sheen concentrates on joking in his role. Bill Paxton has got sadly only a minor role with hardly no lines at all. Movie is all about action, but good kind of. Worth watching.

***/*****