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Battle: Los Angeles – Review

By Original Sharp on | From filmshaft.com

It’s a war for “our land, our families, our lives” and, for some reason, it’s failed to make any real impact among film critics. But is Battle: Los Angeles actually any good?

I was asking myself this question on the way into the cinema with a handful of friends for one main reason, no not because of the 32% Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but because, our side of the ocean at least, the studio were completely unwilling for anyone other than carefully selected print media outlets to review this film prior to release. Now for a big budget genre film, that’s practically unheard of. It’s a tactic normally reserved only for the crappiest of movies and the horror genre as a general rule, for fear of negative reviews. So why was it employed here and more importantly, should the studio have been that concerned in the first place?

Well to cut to the chase, I think the studios have shot themselves in the metaphorical foot. By only hosting one screening, and by allowing only the most discerning of film critics review Battle: Los Angeles prior to release, they’ve actually shut out the very market they’re trying to reach – the fanboys. Had the print media been shut out in the cold and the geeks of the online film community been allowed entry, that Rotten Tomatoes score could be looking quite different right about now…

Battle: Los Angeles is anything but perfect; let me get that out there right now. The film is detrimentally long and many of the scenes are very much alike, but get past that, leave your watch at home, and you may actually find yourself having a good time!

Led by all-American-hero, Aaron Eckhart, a group of marines are dropped on the front line in a war like no other. The enemy is unknown, they’re extraterrestrial in nature and they’re here to colonise.

It’s the same alien invasion story that has been told time and time again, only this time there’s a little bit of “Black Hawk Down” thrown into the mix too. This film’s one unique selling point is that it tells the classic alien invasion story from and angle never seen before – that of the grunt, the frontline military. In everything from Independence Day (with the exception of our central characters) to War of the Worlds, the military are sidelined, left in the background, barking orders and ushering our protagonists to safety, here they are our protagonists.

The aliens themselves, while quite boring and bland in design, actually succeed in being quite intimidating on screen, particularly when they pull out the big guns, or should I say big gun? The effects employed in Battle: Los Angeles seem to focus mainly on the alien ships and weaponry while the actual invaders themselves are almost a clumsy afterthought.

Returning for a moment to Eckhart, he plays the Staff Sergeant close to retirement, why? Because “marines have a shelf life” and Ssgt. Michael Nantz is still haunted by his previous tour of duty in Iraq, a tour which saw him as the only man from is platoon to return alive, carrying the heavy weight of the dead on his shoulders. His character, while entirely derivative of scores of war movies long past, is actually well suited the story, and as the film progresses, his character arc becomes more and more engaging. His squad also do an admiral job, with 2nd Lt. William Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez), Cpl. Lee Imlay (Will Rothhaar) and TSgt. Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez) all carrying their fair share of the film.

Also chipping in and lending their support to our military heroes are the civvies. Played by Bridget Moynahan, Michael Peña and the wonderfully talented Bryce Cass, their own story arcs do not seem out of place in a film where, in all honesty, they’re secondary characters.

The scenes between Cass and Eckhart for example are wonderfully touching and I completely bought into the idea that this young boy have provided both the motivation and the inspiration for Eckhart’s character to continue on and lead his men to safety – what was left of them anyway!

So all in all it’s safe to say I was quite impressed with the film, it’s not game-changing, whatever that means, by a long chalk, but it’s a noble effort from Jonathan Liebesman and stands up against other films in the genre. So if you’re looking for an evening out with your mates and your liver cannot take another pint, it might be just the ticket!

Rating: ★★★½☆