Navy Seals 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Navy Seals 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"God? Come in, God..."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown June 18, 2024

I'm just gonna say it. Navy Seals is better than Top Gun. There. Fight me. I mean it. Zero irony. In fact, it's strange to me that director Lewis Teague's tactical actioner isn't held in higher esteem. Yes, it was my first R-rated movie (at least the first one I had actual permission to watch), so it holds a special place in my cinematic development. Yes, I watched it constantly, etching it permanently into my impressionable little mind; scene by scene, shot by shot, line by line, music cue by music cue. (I'm hearing the theme song as I type.) And yes, I've been passionately defending the film ever since Kevin Smith's Clerks first took a forever quotable shot across its bow. ("Oooh! Navy Seals!") But let's all take a breath. For me, it's a film that's been unfairly branded by meme-ists, tragically forgotten by fans of '90s action flicks, and lost in a flood of lesser but somehow more celebrated "classics". So imagine my surprise when along came Vinegar Syndrome to right old wrongs with a proper release of a movie that defined at least one kid in a generation.

"There's no reason to thank us because we don't exist. You never saw us. This never happened."

Stop me if you've heard this before. A group of highly skilled military specialists have to overcome personal and professional conflict to save the good ol' US of A, even as a hotshot maverick's arrogance threatens to upend the status quo. Sound familiar? Top Gun? God no. Take your '80s love ballads and Danger Zoning elsewhere. This is all about Navy Seals. Hooyah! Whereas other films of the era celebrating maverick-esque insubordination, Navy Seals takes a more realistic approach, casting rebellion not as sexy, leading man material but as a detriment to a brotherhood that relies on one another to survive. Enter Charlie Sheen and Michael Biehn as elite soldiers Dale Hawkins (Charlie Sheen) and his commander, Lieutenant James Curran (Michael Biehn). Hawkins flies by the seat of his pants, a fact that ruffles Curran's feathers and leads to more than a few close calls alongside their fellow SEALs: chief William "Billy" Graham (Dennis Haysbert, ensuring everyone is in good hands), corpsman James Leary (Rick Rossovich), communications officer Ramos (Paul Sanchez), explosives expert Homer Rexer (Cyril O'Reilly), and the best sniper in '90s cinema, Floyd Dane (the late Bill Paxton), code name... God.

It's well-oiled business as usual on and off the carrier until extremist Ben Shaheed (Nicholas Kadi) and his organization, Al Shuhadah, are discovered to be in possession of a stolen shipment of US Stinger missiles. The call goes out to the SEAL team, who race to track down the missiles before they can be used in countless attacks overseas. But with shaky intelligence, more red tape than Curran and his team can stomach, a hothead in their midst, and a Lebanese-American journalist named Claire Varrens (Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) who's reluctant to share information with representatives of the military, they have a tough road ahead. Survival isn't guaranteed either, a fact that causes stress among family members like Graham's wife (S. Epatha Merkerson). Directed by Lewis Teague (Cujo, The Jewel of the Nile) and written by real-life SEAL Chuck Pfarrer (Darkman, Arlington Road) with rewrites by Gary Goldman (Big Trouble in Little China, Total Recall) and Angelo Pizzo (Hoosiers, Rudy), the film was stuck in development hell from 1986 to 1989, before being rescued by the studio. Alas, it was released to poor reviews, dismissed as "military recruitment propaganda" because, in 1990, we thought that was the definition of government overreach. (Even though SEAL life isn't portrayed remotely as appealing as Pete Mitchell's career in Top Gun. Sigh.)

Admittedly Navy Seals bobbles a bit between authenticity and good God that's cool action-moviemaking. But the action scenes are tight and the tactics tighter, and despite its '80s swagger and early '90s machismo, it actually has characters you'll come to care about long before tragedy strikes. Moreover, the baddies aren't comical stereotypes, nor are the politics simple. Pfarrer and company went to great lengths to infuse realism and matters of the day into Navy Seals, not to mention a laundry list of conflicts common to those who serve. The "propaganda" charge no doubt comes from how few viewpoints are explored (keep in mind it is a movie written by a SEAL about the SEALs), but apparently those same critics completely overlooked Whalley-Kilmer's journalist, who raises legitimate questions that the movie then deals with in a reasonable, even comprehensive manner that considers multiple sides of each question. All of it makes the SEALs less of a movie machination and more of a team of military men wading through numerous challenges long before they set foot on the ground or fire a single round. In many ways, Navy Seals is a subversive action film, turning trope after trope on its head and distancing itself from the run-n-gun actioners of the era.

That said, there's a lot of fun to be had here. "The Boys Are Back In Town", the golf cart duels and those pink short shorts will forever live in the sillier parts of my fondness for the film. And there's nonsensicalness -- jumping from a moving car off a bridge (last I checked that'll kill or cripple ya) or chasing a tow truck down with a bicycle to retreive a car -- when said boys aren't on a mission. But these moments only enhance the differences that come when a mission begins. When Hawkins dares to bring his juvenile behavior into the line of fire, it ends horribly for the team, and the movie quickly shifts away from the sort of things that litter other action films of the '80s and '90s. The performances deliver too, with Sheen revving up with enough adrenaline to drop a horse and Biehn gritting his teeth while spitting out lectures and commands, and even the supporting cast comes across as genuine rather than screen-chummy. Even Paxton goes low-key for his outing as "God," letting his rifle do most of the heavy lifting. (As he should. Is Dane my favorite? I think he is.) And how often to you get to laugh at someone calling a terrorist a "cheese dick"?

Long story long, Navy Seals deserves a chance. You probably won't love it like I do. You probably won't come away ready to defend it so passionately, or slur Top Gun to elevate it to the head of the era's genre pack. But there's more here than you think and far more to enjoy than critics and audiences realized at the time. Or maybe it's just me. So it goes. You can complain and criticize all you want. I'm going to go watch Navy Seals again and eat up everything Vinegar Syndrome has done to make the film look and sound better than it ever has.

Navy Seals 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

You might think I'm in the bag for this entire release, calling my evaluation of Vinegar Syndrome's AV quality into question. But it's quite the opposite. Because I love Navy Seals, I prepared myself for the disappointment of a middling remastering and a shoulder-shrug presentation. Imagine my delight when I was able to toss those fears aside and embrace everything VS had in store. Quite simply, Navy Seals has never looked better than it does here thanks to a striking, beautifully restored 4K UltraHD transfer that leaves no stone -- or speck of grain -- unturned. Even the accompanying standard Blu-ray (minted from the same 4K master) looks great, despite the fact that the vibrancy of its colors can't touch the strength of the 4K presentation's HDR10 enhancements. Skintones are lovely and nicely saturated, with flushed tones only pushing in mid-mission (as you'd expect from a person's face when they're huffing it several miles and engaging in firefights with armed militiamen). Contrast is dialed in perfectly too, with excellent depth in the image, plenty of crisp whites, and an array of deep, satisfying black levels. And detail? Terrific all around. Edge definition is exacting (without any haloing or other evidence of subpar artificial sharpening), fine textures are wonderfully resolved and revealing, and the aforementioned grain field is intact and preserved without flaw. Even nighttime sequences pop, lending the movie a fresh, modern aesthetic that still never betrays the original photography or filmmaker intentions. Add to that a complete lack of banding, blocking, crush and other such nuisances and you have a catalog transfer that wows. Granted, fans will be far more ecstatic than casual observers, but everyone will agree this is a presentation worthy of commendation.

Navy Seals 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

A good deal of attention had already been invested in the film's sound design from the get-go, but Vinegar Syndrome's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track somehow pushes everything an inch or two farther, creating a lossless experience as involving and immersive as the action erupting on screen. Dialogue is clear and intelligible at all times, even in the midst of a firefight. Yet prioritization is so precise that it never feels too "floaty" or pitch perfect when chaos ensues. (Yes, a few obvious ADR'd lines are present, as is par for the era course, but that's hardly the fault of the mix.) Dynamics and fidelity are excellent as well, with aggressive, chest-thumping low-end output that adds varying levels of kick to assault rifles, sniper rifles, grenades and more dramatic firepower. A truck chase near the end of the film is especially engaging, with everything the movie's got being thrown at every channel. The rear speakers remain assertive throughout, delivering plenty of enveloping scenes that really sell the illusion of space (be it a warehouse, cargo ship hold, or war-torn city), and directionality injects a lot of thrill into already intense sequences. I was thoroughly pleased, though, yes, it is still possible I'm biased. My advice? Check it out for yourself. My money is on you nodding in approval along with me.

Navy Seals 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary - Featuring film historians Jim Hemphill and Kelly Goodner.

• Real Seals (HD, 18 minutes) - Director Lewis Teague discusses injecting authenticity into Navy Seals, from the weaponry to the tactics, lingo, work-life balance difficulties, Pentagon debriefs, mission particulars and more.

• True Blue (HD, 11 minutes) - Screenwriter Gary Goldman talks about bringing the characters to life.

• A Touch of Patriotism (HD, 10 minutes) - Actor Nicholas Kadi chats about creating a convincing antagonist.

• Medal of Honor (HD, 15 minutes) - Author and film historian Walter Chaw digs into Teague's career.

Navy Seals 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eh, love it or hate it, Navy Seals is a late '80s, early '90s gem I'll defend till my dying breath. Maybe I just can't see it for what it really is, but good. I don't want to see whatever its critics see. I have a blast every time I watch it and consider it one of the best of the era. Vinegar Syndrome has really done a great job prepping it for fans too. With an outstanding video transfer, an exacting DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, and a solid batch of new extras, this is an easy one to recommend.