"Act of Valor," Starring Navy SEAL Members "Act of Valor," unlike the men who populate it, has an identity problem. Part fiction and part documentary, the film grafts real-life members of the Navy SEALs - and real, live ammunition - onto a concocted narrative and hopes for the best. It soon becomes apparent, however, that whatever talents these warriors possess, acting is not among them. And why should it be? These are serious, highly trained individuals forced to deliver drippingly sentimental narration and to exchange manly but meaningful glances while weeping violins egg them on. A recent article suggests that their participation may not have been completely voluntary, but that has been denied by the film's publicist. Not that the filmmakers, Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh, seem to care much about their heroes" camera-ready discomfort. So enamored are they of the right stuff (the publicity notes overflow with paeans to authenticity) that scant attention was paid to Kurt Johnstad's cobbled-together script, complete with a kidnapped C.I.A. officer, a hook-nosed villain and old ladies sewing explosives into suicide vests. Unsurprisingly, the finished product plays like a pumped-up recruitment commercial deemed fit for feature length and multiplex viewing. On land or under water, in San Diego or the Philippines or Mexico, members of the SEAL unit dodge explosions and dog terrorists in impressive action sequences they constructed themselves. But this archipelago of maneuvers, however jaw-dropping, never coheres into a real movie. "We needed a vehicle that would allow us to tell the story of who we are and who we're not in an authentic way," Capt. Duncan Smith, a 27-year Navy veteran who is one of the film's stars, explains in the publicity notes. Leaving aside the obvious question - then why not make a documentary? - we can only recognize that for Captain Smith and his fellow specialists, the real act of valor was agreeing to be in this movie in the first place. "Act of Valor" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Boots to the face and a grenade to the guts. Act of Valor Produced and directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh; written by Kurt Johnstad; director of photography, Shane Hurlbut; edited by Mr. Waugh and Michael Tronick; music by Nathan Furst; production design by John Zachary; released by Relativity. Running time: 1 hour 41 minutes. WITH: Roselyn Sanchez (Agent Morales) and Jason Cottle (Abul Shabal), and with the Navy SEAL members Rorke, Michael, Dave, Ajay, Sonny, Ray, Duncan Smith, Van O and Weimy.