BATTLE: LA -- Review

There is something about invasion films that always seem to bring in scores of movie go-ers, regardless of the quality of the film.. Over the last few years we have had a few great alien invasion films like District 9 and even Cloverfield, if the handheld cinematography did not cause motion sickness; but we have also has some really bad invasion films, such as Skyline, which gave the appearance that it would be good though in reality, it had NO point). Two weeks ago I Am Number Four came out, and although, not technically an attack on Earth, it is an invasion film that takes place on Earth while searching for aliens who inhabited our planet. Granted the film could have been better but it had its shining moments too. Please keep in mind I am strictly speaking Earth invasions so please, do not think of Avatar or Predators as neither took place on Earth.

That being said, Battle: Los Angeles can be classified as a decent film for what it is and will most certainly bring in the crowds this weekend. Just viewing the trailers, the film looks like a cross between Independence Day and Saving Private Ryan or perhaps a mini-series like 'Band of Brothers' or 'The Pacific'. I realize that sounds a bit like a "DUH" statement, but if you decide to see the film this weekend you will be hit over the head with that visual just as I was. Although the cinematography choices are similar to Cloverfield, providing such a bumpy ride that it almost distracts from the overall story as you tilt your head left and right in an attempt to figure out what visual is on the screen, and there is little else that the sci-fi end of the story brings to the film. I only wish that the story had been better developed, giving the viewer a better idea of what these aliens are like, but then again, the story is about humans and not the aliens.

Battle: Los Angeles is a high stress war film between humans and aliens. The filming adds to this particular aspect of the film in a way that will make for another successful sci-fi invasion film for the movie industry. I only two real issues I would like to make about this film, the first being how the 'Band of Brothers'/'The Pacific' vibe provided when introducing the characters, clearly providing the audience their names by showing text in the lower third of the screen, but honesty, the film moved so fast this added information was almost an insignificant piece of information.. I’m suspecting that there wasn’t other way for the viewer to catch the names of the character during the dialog, it being inaudible. The second issue, if you're going to make a war film, whether it be based in reality or sci-fi world, you had better make it believable. Now, granted I am not a soldier and have never had to experience war (or anything war like), I have watched a lot of TV and films involving war and every one that I have seen has shown these brave men and women swearing under pressure, however, now that the censors have been hard a work to make life merry, either the studio felt that Battle: Los Angeles to be so violent that to keep the rating of PG-13 they needed to leave out the profanity... OR the writer decided to make these boys - and girl - so righteous to not piss off their maker by using inappropriate language, as their world is being turned into a living hell.

If you are a fan of games like Call of Duty than, overall, I’d say this is the film to see as you will be able to follow the action much better than those that do not fall within this group. If, however, you have never played a first-person shooter game, you may have a difficult time keeping up with the momentum of the film. The story, for what it is, delivers, but fails to provide what is needed to raise it above any other alien invasion film. The visual effects are decent, but since the aliens are rarely seen up close and personal, I question how well they were developed, thinking perhaps that the individual’s creative ability does not provide him with enough imagination to develop aliens unlike any others that have come before. I found the best part of the film to be the joy of watching Aaron Eckhart (Dark Knight) and Michelle Rodriguez (Resident Evil, Fast and the Furious) take down so many aliens. The cast was most definitely the biggest highlight of the film. So if you are looking for a movie to see this weekend for pure entertainment, Battle: Los Angeles will do, but if you are looking for an amazing film to see, you might want to check what else is playing.

I give Battle: Los Angeles a 2.5 out of 5.