US Marine Staff Sergent (apparently abbreviated SSgt.) Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) has a severe case of Roger Murtaugh Syndrome.
He's getting too old for this shit. |
Yeah. I know. Aliens. Shit. |
Oh, and they have alien technology, which kills lots of people. And it turns out that they have an air force, too, which negates the whole air strike plan. With his team decimated and humanity quickly approaching extinction, what is SSgt. Nantz to do?
With all the explosions and aliens, I wasn't really expecting much from the actors in this movie. They didn't give me much, but I was surprised that the acting was decent. Aaron Eckhart was fine as the conflicted lead, even if this part was written more for someone with the acting range of Jean-Claude Van Damme than a Golden Globe nominee. Ramon Rodriguez was predictable as the cocky noob leader that loses his composure when things start to go wrong. Michelle Rodriguez (no relation) played against type by taking the part of an Air Force strategist (or something); of course, it turns out that she's a total bad-ass. The rest of the cast is pretty inconsequential. Michael Pena was okay as a concerned father, Bridget Moynahan was a tough lady veterinarian, and Joey King cried a lot as a frightened little girl. The military
Does this mean that Two-Face was a result of PTSD? |
I was shocked to find that this film was directed by the incompetent Jonathan Liebesman. While this isn't French New Wave or anything fancy like that, I thought this movie was shot well enough to tell a story. That might not sound impressive to you, but being mediocre was far from his grasp in the last film of his I watched. No, the acting isn't great, but it suits its purpose. This is a movie with mostly unemotional soldiers being attacked by aliens. Do I need feelings and fancy camera work, or do I need cool-looking alien stuff and lots of explosions? You're damn right (assuming you went with aliens and boomsplosions)! The special effects are solid, the action is dirty and gritty, and the aliens don't make me laugh. There aren't many moments that will wow you, but it's still a solid sci-fi flick.
For what it is, Battle: Los Angeles is a surprisingly decent movie. It's not intelligent, ground-breaking, or totally awesome, but it tells a story and provides some brainless entertainment, especially for fans of military movies. Battle: LA spends a lot of time on the bond of trust between soldiers and their leaders, and even if some of it is a little cheesy (and it is), it is effective, in a testosterone-filled, never-speak-your-feelings sort of way. Maybe I just came into this one with super-low expectations, but I'm going to say this was better than average.
Was it just me or did it seem like there were about 12-15 people in their group, 20+ died and a handful survived? The math did not seem to add up.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree. They did get a refill on their expendable characters after the initial fight, but it seemed like there were a lot more casualties than characters. Still, better than Transformers.
ReplyDeleteI didn't expect much from this movie but I have to say it's just totally AMAZING, in my opinion much better than for example the Independence day. The alien technology looks a bit obsolete in some scenes which is a great idea I think, the whole movie is a non-stop action without deaf places, just the way this style movie should look like
ReplyDeleteThat's a good call on the alien tech. I would call it "amazing," but it is definitely much better than I expected.
ReplyDeleteIf this movie had our greatest president, Bill Pullman, deliver a damn fine inspirational speech, I could see it almost contending with ID4.