Set in present day Los Angeles, Battle: Los Angeles follows a platoon of marines playing their part in defending the city against a large scale alien invasion. Granted, not for everyone's taste. Imagine Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day with all the usual war movie cliches thrown in and then some for good measure. Credit should be given to the screenplay for not giving in to the usual expletive filled rants so typical of marine films. This allowed the film to be rated 12 and I'm sure was appreciated by younger cinema-goers. The almost-documentary style filming of the aliens arrival and initial platoon movements work and the film is capable of developing a pretty reasonable level of suspense as the platoon encounter the first aliens. The special effects are fantastic and result in several visually intense action sequences. Bryan Tyler should also be praised for producing a big epic score that fits well with the scale of the invasion and the task faced by the characters. Ultimately though, the cliches win the day and the film pays for not providing any real human aspect for the viewers to relate to, with the exception of Eckhart. Saving Private Ryan remains the outstanding reference for how war movies can engage the viewer through character emotion. Sadly this is lacking in Battle, but the film will definitely appeal to sci-fi and action fans without a doubt.
Monday 12 March 2012
FILM: Battle: Los Angeles (7/10)
Set in present day Los Angeles, Battle: Los Angeles follows a platoon of marines playing their part in defending the city against a large scale alien invasion. Granted, not for everyone's taste. Imagine Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day with all the usual war movie cliches thrown in and then some for good measure. Credit should be given to the screenplay for not giving in to the usual expletive filled rants so typical of marine films. This allowed the film to be rated 12 and I'm sure was appreciated by younger cinema-goers. The almost-documentary style filming of the aliens arrival and initial platoon movements work and the film is capable of developing a pretty reasonable level of suspense as the platoon encounter the first aliens. The special effects are fantastic and result in several visually intense action sequences. Bryan Tyler should also be praised for producing a big epic score that fits well with the scale of the invasion and the task faced by the characters. Ultimately though, the cliches win the day and the film pays for not providing any real human aspect for the viewers to relate to, with the exception of Eckhart. Saving Private Ryan remains the outstanding reference for how war movies can engage the viewer through character emotion. Sadly this is lacking in Battle, but the film will definitely appeal to sci-fi and action fans without a doubt.
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