It’s hard to tell much from the trailer for Act of Valor.

The story could go either way: as a fictionalized “based on true missions” tale, the fictionalization will either make or break it. It could fall prey to jingoistic urges, or it might let just enough gray slip into the frame to ring true. The fact that the Navy reserved the right to approve footage for security reasons and apparently gave the filmmakers its approval will probably lean many peoples’ guesses one way or another, depending on their own political leanings.

The stateside dramatics might fall into too-familiar territory, or they could add a little extra dimension. The fact that the films stars non-actors is both interesting and worrisome.

So in light all these wild cards and nothing else really solid to go on, let’s just look at this purely as an action movie for a second and take note that the footage looks really freakin’ cool:

Act of Valor stars Alex Veadov, Roselyn Sanchez and Nestor Serrano. The film was directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh and hits theaters on February 17, 2012.

For a little more background about the film, this Wall Street Journal article goes into a fair amount of detail.