Battle: Los Angeles

Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

Image From IMDB

I’ve never understood the hate this movie gets. While there’s nothing in Battle: Los Angeles to make it iconic or beloved, there’s plenty to enjoy within the moment from the more realistic approach, to the junker design of the alien ships, and that Gears of War vibe throughout. The shaky cam adds to the immersive experience in my opinion, and so does the smoke, both giving the invasion a more claustrophobic feel and setting the film apart from other big invasion flicks. I like it.

Battle: Los Angeles follows the story of Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) A marine staff sergeant who unwittingly ends up in a situation to redeem himself when aliens invade the Earth. On the verge of quitting after losing men in his last mission, he must now gain their trust and respect as he leads the charge against the relentless invaders intent on destroy Los Angeles… and the world. (But mostly in this movie, LA)

I like the simple structure as we move from set piece to set-piece, but with those quiet moments in-between where we get to know the characters a little. And while there’s no massive character development due to the nature of the movie being in the middle of a war zone and taking place within a day, we do get to see some of the procedure side of things and how the soldiers think. It’s also a chance to slowly introduce different elements of the aliens too from their design to their weapons and capabilities.

The world building is interesting as well, As the invasion happens instantly we’re put in the middle of it and learn about the aliens as the soldiers do. We see them properly for the first time when the regiment does. We learn their weaknesses when they do. We see their technology as they do. There’s little clips in the background on TV as they go, but nothing to exposition heavy. The reveals are all within the main story.

The aliens look cool and different in their robot/flesh appearance and I love the wrecked looking ships and drones. Their instant attack on the Earth was a great way to start things especially with that opening presentation of the battleship being blown up and the aliens emerging from the sea.

I didn’t mind any of the performances. Everyone done what they needed to within their roles without anyone really sticking out. It just isn’t that kind of movie which is perhaps where some of the criticism comes from. Of course it would have helped to care about the characters more, but I was fine with what I got. The effects looked great, the set pieces and action where cool, and I really did like the atmosphere of the film.

Overall I think Battle: Los Angeles is a great action military sci-fi. It leans on hard sci-fi’s more realistic aspects than the likes of the incredible fun and dumb Independence Days but that’s fine. Nothing is Independence Day. For me, it was a good watch with and interesting approach. It’s ratings clearly suggest its not for everyone, but it’s a movie I go back to every now and then.