In Hollywood, it's a normal thing to train actors in the fields of battle techniques and the correct use of arms when they are playing a role in a war movie. Since some of the trainers are former military officers who now found a new job, Hollywood continues to stash the realism in this genre. For Act of Valor they did the complete opposite: the actors are real Navy Seals who then had some acting lessons. The actor's skills are okay and fit to the dialogue which - outside the battle scenes - are quite short and simple. It becomes clear that all that counts in this movie is the action which there's plenty of it. All in all, the action is diversified and realistic.

When watching the movie you will definitively notice that it was meant to be a recruitment drive for the US army. Thus, the movie is not really critical of military actions. Especially the "philosophical" off-screen comments from one of the Navy Seals will find little enthusiasm outside the USA. Same goes for the flag of one of the other Seal's grandfather, who died during WWII.

The producers must have been aware of this, since some of thee footage was either cut out or re-dubbed for international markets which mitigates the movie's message. Sometimes you even have the exact same dialogue happening during an entirely different shot. During this report, both versions are confronted with each other. In some cases, there are only minor differences (e.g. "has" instead of "had"). These small changes won't be listed.

The scenes of Rourke's grandfather's flag were shortened and sometimes replaced with alternative sequences. Also, the title cards ahead of the credits are different.

For this comparison we compared the US Blu-Ray to the UK DVD.

Overall, the international version has 5 altered scenes and thus is 55 seconds shorter.

0:43 | 0:41
When the soldiers write letters, the shots are slightly different, while Dave's off-screen comment is very different.
No difference in time.

US Version	International Version
Before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that other men stopped seeing you as dangerous.	Just before my father died, he said the worst thing about growing old was that it gehts harder to protect the things that matter.
I've always remembered that, how being dangerous was sacred, a badge of honor.	Honour, freedom, justice and family. Those things are sacred.
You live your life by a code, an ethos. Every man does. It's your shoreline. It's what guides you home. And trust me, you're always trying to get home.

US Version	International Version

After the explosion in Manila - during which a lot of children died - Dave makes another off-screen comment:

US Version	International Version
Your father was a reader.
Churchill of course, but also Faulkner and books about Tecumseh.	He loved Churchill, Faulkner and books about other wise men.
He loved artists who painted people with bodies that looked like boxes. I'd give him hell about it. He'd just say, "You gotta look harder."	He loved artists who painted people with boxes for bodies. I gave him hell about it and he'd say "You gotta look harder."

In Costa Rica:

US Version	International Version
"Look harder," your father would say. I always knew he wasn't just talking about those boxy abstract paintings.
There's threats everywhere, and the world is draped in camouflage.	Order and chaos enwrapped the world. One often disguises the other.

Dave and Rorke are surfing.

US Version	International Version
Your father was my boss and I was his chief.
What we knew about each other strengthened our bond as operators.	We'd saved each other's lives more than once.
There was a brotherhood between us and we dependend on each other more than a family.
Techumseh said,	A wise man once said,
"Alltough a single twig will break, a bundle of twigs is strong."

The team at the beach.

US Version	International Version
Our platoon was headed downrange.
We had Weimy, our sniper. He grew up in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Most excitement he found as a kid was bowling frozen turkeys down the aisle at the grocery store.	Weimy, he was our sniper. Ten years ago he worked nights stocking shelves at a grocery store. Now he's another watchman standing guard while the world sleeps. He was a husband an a father.
[The rest of the team is introduced in almost the same way.]
You don't expect your family to understand what you're doing
You just hope they'll accept it.	You just hope they'll understand you're doing it for them.

14:16 | 13:40
Rorke packs his grandfather's flag - who died during WWII - in his bag.
US + 7s

US Version

62:03 | 59:23
In the US Version Rorke asks Dave how he could get such a badge from Dave's family and what he has to do for it. When he is in return asked what he has in his bag, Rorke shows Dave his grandfather's flag.
In the international verison they instead talk about Rorke's chance of maybe working a desk job in the White House. Far away from the battlefield. Or maybe they decide to carry around the briefcase which includes the codes to launch nuclear missiles.
US: 45.5s | INT: 38s

US Version	International Version

Dave's off-screen comment during the funeral was altered. It's also a little longer and can still be heard while the scene changes.

US Version	International Version
Your father was a good man. Growing up without him is going to be hard. It's gonna hurt. You'll feel alone, out to sea with, no shore in sight.
You'll wonder: "Why me. Why him."
Remember, you have warrior's blood in your veines.	Remember, you have your father's blood in your veines.
The Code that made your father who he was is the same code, that'll make you a man ...
he would admire, respect.	.
Put your pain in a box. Lock it down.	Your fathers will, his values, will live on in you.
Like those people in the paintings your father liked, we are men made up of boxes, chambers of loss an triumph, of hurt and hope and love.
No one is stronger or more dangerous than a man who can harness his emotions. His past.	No one is stronger than a man who can harness his emotions and his past.
Use it as fuel, as ammunition, as ink to write the most important letter of "your" life.	Use it as motivation to write the most important letter of "your" life.

97:32 | 93:19
Rorke's superior gives the woman a new flag in the name of the president in order to honor her husband's honorable death. Then he also gives her the old flag of the man's grandfather which he used to carry around all the time.
US: 42.5s | INT: 5s

US Version	International Version

100:50 | 95:93
The title cards at the end of the movie are different. Additionally, there's a zoomed shot in the US Version.

US Version:

This film is dedicated to the following warriors of Naval Special Warfare who have made the ultimate sacrifice since 9/11.

[List of names.]

And to all the warriors heading downrange in the future ...

Damn few.

International Version:

This film is dedicated to all of the men and women who have sacrificed for their countries as guardians of freedom against forces of terror and tyranny.

And to all of those who will be called upon in the future ...

No difference in time.

US Version	International Version