Starring Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan
Directed by Jonathon Liebesman
Plot: When aliens attack earth with the intent of wiping out humanity, a group of marines attempts to stop them in LA.
It may only be March, but Battle: Los Angeles has all the ingredients of a summer movie. Explosions? Check! Overblown special effects? Check! Cheesy dialogue from poorly developed characters? Check!
In Battle: Los Angeles, we follow a platoon of Marines as they attempt to defend LA from a massive invasion by aliens intent on killing off the human species, since they want our water supply. The rest of the Western seaboard has fallen, so LA is the line in the sand to hold off the attackers. Aaron Eckhart is Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, a war veteran on the eve of retirement when he is he pulled back into active duty to lead soldiers into an occupied zone to rescue civilians.
Right from the start of the movie, I knew the character development was in trouble. It's never a good sign when the director feels the need to put on screen the name of each character as they are introduced. After an initial scene of the team heading into battle, the movie jumps back twenty-four hours, and we see a small vignette of each of their personal lives. While this is fine, the vignettes are too short, and there are too many characters introduced too quickly. When they start to fight, with the exception of Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, and rapper Ne-Yo, I have no idea who's who. When some of the men are wounded or die in battle, it's hard to remember who was who and therefore it is hard to feel any real emotional investment in their sacrifices. That being said, there is a scene toward the end where they successfully manipulate the audience into feeling something. It only succeeds because Aaron Eckhart is such an amazing actor - way too good for fluff like this.
There are two major problems with the movie. (I don't consider the lack of character development to be a major problem, because in this type of movie, who does?) The handicam work is really jarring at times. I don't normally have a problem with handicam footage, but in this movie it bugged me a little bit. I think it was because they kept switching in and out of it. Even Z mentioned he found it a bit overwhelming. The other problem? Even though this movie isn't based on a video game, it really feels like one. In fact, a lot of times it feels like you're sitting there watching someone else play - which if you've done that, gets old pretty fast. This would be the perfect audience interaction film. Give us all controllers and let us play along.
Good, not great, special effects. The aliens themselves are decent enough. but lack originality. Mostly they are seen in suits that allow them to move freely about in our atmosphere (shades of Independence Day). The space ships are mostly drones, which gives the movie a Transformers vibe - there are definitely enough explosions here to fulfill a Michael Bay wet dream.
Did I enjoy the movie? Yes. It was about what I was expecting. I was pretty much right on the money that it was basically pulling from every alien invasion movie that came previously. I doubt there is an original shot in the film. But I got what I paid for, a fun popcorn movie that should tide me over until Thor comes out May 2nd.
well stated post. I don't get the handicam thing, I had to stare at the wall of the theatre occasionally to keep from getting sick.
ReplyDeleteObviously movies like this need some suspension of reality-like how creatures that have mastered inter-stellar travel have not developed defensive systems that humans would be unable to defeat.
But agreed, twas a good popcorn flick.