Kudos to the designer of the “Battle: Los Angeles” poster: Its vision of surfers gazing skyward as alien spacecraft zoom through the sky is truly evocative. I’d like to see that movie.
Unfortunately, “Battle: Los Angeles” is a stupid film that has little to do with surfers or spacecraft. This is a combat movie disguised as science fiction.
That’s not necessarily bad. Think of James Cameron’s “Aliens,” a terrific picture that also fit that description. But this film is so thick-headed and cliche-riddled it doesn’t deserve to be mentioned in that company.
A battle-hardened Marine sergeant named Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) is about to walk away from his 20-year military career. He’s had a Mysterious Disaster in his recent past, which haunts him.
He gets pulled back into duty — did we mention it was his last day in uniform? — when the aliens attack L.A., blasting the beach with deadly rays. Nantz is assigned to a unit whose commanding officer is (say it with me) fresh out of school and inexperienced at combat; their job is to evacuate civilians from Santa Monica so heavy bombing can commence.
It goes without saying that one of the soldiers in the unit had a brother who was killed during Nantz’s Mysterious Disaster, and so harbors just a bit of resentment.
Will this come to a head during the operation? Will the green lieutenant suffer a moment of hesitation but also an opportunity for redemption? Will Nantz confront the Mysterious Disaster?
Are we still really asking these questions? The most inadvertently hilarious thing about the film is that these personal issues occupy centerstage, and of course must be worked out.
Oh, by the way, extraterrestrials are attacking the planet and killing thousands. But, yes, absolutely, I hope Nantz gets over his angst. (This is the “Armageddon” syndrome, as epitomized by Liv Tyler’s hissy fit while the planet was about to be demolished by an asteroid.)
The action is relentless, I’ll say that. Director Jonathan Liebesman (who did a horror film involving the Tooth Fairy, “Darkness Falls“) keeps it all moving forward, no matter how moronic the dialogue or behavior might be.
Eckhart hasn’t done much action stuff, although he’s got the look for it. When someone compliments his character for a heroic deed by saying, “That’s real John Wayne stuff,” it results in the film’s only witty line. Offscreen, a voice asks, “Who’s John Wayne?” It’s probably just as well the question doesn’t get answered, under the circumstances.
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