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.

When you find a film with Charlie Sheen and Bill Paxton in the military, in 1990 (still the tail end of the 1980s),you might expect some crazy antics and some smooth pimping. But if these are the things you're looking for, you should watch "Top Gun" or "Hot Shots", because this film is nothing more than a cheap knock-off.

Sheen plays a loose cannon who will talk aggressively to women, steal his own car, jump off bridges for no reason, wake up hungover in the ocean, throw golf clubs and wear bold shirts. But he's also a member of the Navy Seals, who must rescue a powerful weapon from Lebanon and keep it away from terrorists who want to shoot down airplanes.

With Sheen and Paxton, you'd expect humor and some good fights. But the Paxton character is not a major one, and the other two guys that get focused on are very bland and no one really has a memorable name so the whole time I just thought "There's those guys again". The romantic undertones are weak and never really amount to anything, even though the film opens with a wedding.

The only thing that kept me entertained was the fact this took place in Lebanon and there was some mention of Hezbollah. Watching this in 2006, the film had a certain relevance it might not have had for me five years ago. And if I watched it in 1990 I would have way too young to understand the politics of it.

I don't recommend this film, as it's bland, drags and has nothing lovable about it. Maybe it would make a good recruiting video if you played Godsmack over the top of the sky jumping scene.

Oh, and unless I'm mistaken it seemed that Charlie Sheen's stunt double was played by an Asian man. Which, um, seems a bit of a stretch.

Lt. James Curran (Michael Biehn) lead a team of Navy SEALS that includes Charlie Sheen, Bill Paxton, and Dennis Haysbert. On a mission to rescue a Navy helicopter crew from terrorists, they find a cache of Stinger missiles. They fail to destroy the missiles before evacuating. Subsequently, they go on missions to search and destroy those missiles.

Two things that struck me as cheesy manufactured storyline. First is the frat house atmosphere of the team. Charlie Sheen is an especially wild loose cannon. It feels like a Hollywood manufactured character. Second is that Curran extracts the intel from reporter Claire Varrens (Joanne Whalley). Again it feels very manufactured and fake.

What goes right is the more realistic portrayal of combat. It's not perfect but it's a far improvement from Sly or Arnold. They do things that are within the real SEALS. It's still ridiculous how a handful of SEALS takes on a ton of terrorists in the middle of a hostile city. But at least, they're not bulletproof. If the story had an ounce of realism, the action wouldn't have been wasted.