Battle: Los Angeles - Cinema Review

'there's 'ooh-rahs' by the bucket-load, patriotic speeches by the shed-load and propaganda for the US Marine Corps by the platoon-load'

In a World where the greatest threat appears to be from an over-saturation of science-fiction blockbusters, Battle: Los Angeles has had its fair share of negative press. It's hardly deserved. The trappings of the genre are all here; there's 'ooh-rahs' by the bucket-load, patriotic speeches by the shed-load and propaganda for the US Marine Corps by the platoon-load. If you think you're going to have a problem seeing past all that then no, you're not going to enjoy the film, which is unapologetically US-orientated and distinctly more action-packed than your common or garden variety cinema release.

If you can cope with all the accepted negatives - and they really should be 'accepted', there's no point in going in to this if you don't like lots of action in your alien flicks - then there's fun to be had in Jonathan Liebesman's film. Aaron Eckhart as protagonist Nantz is likable and more than adequate, proving that as an actor he can do pretty much anything; from indie-drama husband in Rabbit Hole, to nemesis in The Dark Knight, to hero here. The other 'names' in the film, Michael Peña and Michelle Rodriguez, are under-used and in Peña's case miss-cast (he surely should have been one of the squad members), but their presence is welcome and Rodriguez in particular shows more depth and vulnerability than her standard 'tough-but-sexy' character archetype.

The rest of Nantz's squad largely merge in to one. There are a couple who stand out come the end but if you can remember their names at the final whistle then you've done a better job than I. The fact that this is the case despite the ridiculous opening, which introduces each squad member individually with added subtitles to make doubly sure, is symptomatic of the fact that to the film makers, it really doesn't matter. This is a film about Marines doing good and who those Marines are individually is really beside the point, not that that helps an audience to connect with the characters on any real level.

Equally, the script doesn't do Liebesman any favours in selling this to the sceptical crowd. Christopher Bertolini, whose last major film was the similarly patriotic The General's Daughter, occasionally grinds in to full on exposition gear and when the dialogue isn't doing that, it's clunking along in near meaningless Marine-speak.

So, that's a not-great script, non-distinct characters and only one hero you can really root for then? Despite this though, on a really base level, watching people in fraught situations, shooting aliens with big guns is still fun. It might not have the brain power of a Moon or the humour of an Independence Day but it does look great, sound great and on more than one occasion it delivers great action goods of the highest pedigree.

Look further...

'There is nothing worse than watching a blockbuster that seems to reaching for something greater only to descend into brainless violence and ineffective thrills... Battle: Los Angeles rapidly becomes an exercise that is neither smart nor entertaining' - Movie Reviews By Tom Clift