Battle : Los Angeles (2011)

Whether you like it or not Battle Los Angeles fairs better than the disastrous Skyline. Even though there lays an inherent appreciation for the action depicted within the movie, in general the story fails to engage. Looking forward to character development was way too far fetched; still it was required to break the momentum of continuous fire fights. Battle L.A. works well as a war movie but placing it among the science fiction genre is an insult to the fraternity. Being the first movie on alien invasion this year I was anticipating it to be better if not good. Regrettably, this movie narrows to dumb down experience. Enough explosions try to keep the surreal plot under control before everything falls apart.

Prologue starts with news footage detailing about a world wide meteor shower which seems to slow down once it enters the earth’s atmosphere. It doesn’t take time to realize from the newsreel that the world was under attack from an unknown alien race; their intension was to wipe out the indigenous population before they started colonization. When aliens start amassing off the coast of Santa Monica, divisions of marines get mobilized. We are introduced to Marine Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz who was about to retire gets reassigned to a new platoon. Once flown to the forward operating base they are instructed to help in evacuating trapped civilians at a nearby police station within the alien controlled territory. To make matter worse they get three hours before the Air Force started barrage on the infested zone. What follows from there is what this movie is all about.

Jonathan Liebesman doesn’t waste time with sub plots or character development. He takes us directly into action which would gratify hardcore action junkies. Aaron Eckhart as Staff Sergeant Nantz tries to deliver from overly stripped script; surprisingly the rest of the casts try to keep up with Eckhart’s performance. Nothing much is told about the extra terrestrial invaders & with shaky camera they too are kept silhouetted & distant. Couple of known faces likes Michael Pena & Bridget Moynahan serves right in their undemanding roles while the remaining casts blur altogether. Putting aside the explosive action there is nothing much for us to figure out. For those who are only interested in witnessing the visceral carnage this movie has to offer, Battle Los Angeles aptly suits; rest of you can skip it without remorse.

My Rating : 5/10