Let's be honest. Battle: Los Angeles is not going to revolutionize the sci-fi genre in any way shape or form. Keeping with that honesty though, let's also not deny that Spring 2011 is the best possible time to release this aliens vs. military in an "us or them" battle royal. This movie most likely would have been squashed had it come out anywhere near a Summer 2011 movie season of expected blockbusters featuring super heroes, Autobots, teenaged wizards, pirates, cowboys, and yet more aliens.
At the core of it all, Battle: Los Angeles is in my estimation, an attempt at a hybrid of science fiction and war films. I say "attempt" in the sense that only one perspective is showcased, that of human beings, the military soldiers and the citizens.The science fiction aspects are wisely underplayed, because the strength of this very basic plot, as written by Christopher Bertolini, is a tale of survival. Make no mistake in genre designations: ultimately this is an action film that, true to form, features sometimes groan inducing dialogue to accompany crowd pleasing special effects. Who are we under attack from? How do we overcome this challenge to life as we know it? Is there any chance of survival? As a culture and society, we have come to absolutely expect terrorism from other countries ...but what about an invasion from a technologically superior race of alien beings? If the example set by a flooded New Orleans and a disgraceful, incompetent F.E.M.A. tell us anything, it's that we have to hope true leadership will guide us through the darkest times that some of us have only glimpsed in the very worst of our night terrors.
Oh, screw it. Let's just shoot the bad guys already and blow some space ships up.
If there is anything to nitpick about the movie, aside from the paper thin "they must be here to take our natural resources" plot, it is in character development. People are going to die but when you build certain characters and then kill them before you have any real reason to care about them there's not much impact made on the viewer. The soldiers are mostly interchangeable uniforms and are cookie cutter predictable. This is not G.I. Joe by any stretch of the imagination. (Did I just pay this film a compliment?)
Battle: Los Angeles is entirely serviceable as 116 minutes of pop corn eating entertainment. Does it leave you begging for "battles" in Chicago, New York, etc. ? No. Does it have the political and emotional undertones of District 9? No, of course not. Different intents and different visions at work. That being said, with "the people of Earth vs. invaders from another planet" theme, was it an upgrade from the Will Smith vehicle Independence Day? Yup. Jonathan Liebesman, director of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, continues to solidify his reputation as someone who's not going to turn heads during awards season ... while simultaneously not leaving a ticket buyer feeling cheated. He is honest with his audience and has gone on record that this was his attempt at a war film featuring soldiers versus other soldiers who just happened to be of alien origin. Remember, this is science fiction.
Aaron Eckhart, while a far cry from his turn as the Dark Knight's Harvey Dent/Two-Face, does an admirable job in his role of retired Marine Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz who is clearly our heroic leader from the get-go. Actually, he was so believable, I was sitting there thinking this guy really could have pulled off a believable Steve Rogers/Captain America. As mentioned previously, the majority of the cast is given limited material to work with, aside from a somewhat endearing (though predictable) father/son angle.
When it's all said and done, Battle: Los Angeles is a well crafted film that is less fun than Starship Troopers but less depressing than Saving Private Ryan, so let your particular taste and mood guide you towards watching this film as a rental or on Netflix, preferably on a big screen television. One last note to the potential viewer ... beware the confusion with the ScyFy Channel release starring Kel Mitchell, Nia Peeples, and Theresa Jun-Tao ... Battle OF Los Angeles. Yes, that's right. Battle OF Los Angeles. Not sure who's piggy backing who, but it's no shocker that the big screen release is far superior. Let's sum it up like this: one movie boasts Michelle Rodriguez and Bridget Moynahan. The other one? A soldier doing a one handed cartwheel during an "action" sequence. 'Nuff said.
originally posted by contributor AsylumHost76
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