
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 21, 1990                   TAG: 9007210227
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`NAVY SEALS' MISSES THE BOAT WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO ACTION

Certainly there is plenty of potential for a hair-raising action picture in the SEALS, the Navy's elite commando unit. But "Navy Seals" - shot largely in Norfolk - isn't it.

There's very little behind the muzzle flashes that hasn't been done before in war movies - and done better.

With the melting of the cold war, Arab terrorists have become Hollywood's new villains and they offer the small Seals team in this Lewis Teague movie plenty of opportunity to try out their state-of-the-art weaponry.

On a rescue mission in the Middle East, the Seals team stumbles on a cache of hand-held missiles. Leader James Curran (Michael Biehn) decides not to risk blowing the missiles in favor of protecting his men. Washington isn't pleased so the Seals team has plenty of opportunities for covert operations as it attempts to correct the situation.

These days, a movie built on cliches needs at least to be slick to get by. But this one has the look of cost-cutting from the number of extras on down to the film stock. Of course, it may have cost a bundle and just doesn't look it. But if Teague and writers Chuck Pfarrer and Gary Goldman are to be believed, there are only about six Seals in the Navy and Beirut is no larger than a sound stage.

The other principle players in the movie are Charlie Sheen as Hawkins, a reckless hot shot who gets a rush out of smoking it on down with the bad guys; and Joanne Whalley-Kilmer as a TV reporter who can provide the Seals with info the CIA can't. This is one of those movies in which good performers are sandbagged by the material. It's particularly sad in Whalley-Kilmer's case. A fine performer on her way up, Whalley-Kilmer doesn't need this kind of toss-off role.

This is also the kind of movie that signals its plot turns with the subtlety of a flare gun. It's recommended mainly to those who judge a movie by the number of automatic weapons in its prop department. VIEWER `Navy Seals' An Orion picture at Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219) and Salem Valley 8 (389-1234). 100 minutes. Rated R for violence and language.

by CNB