Battle: Los Angeles is a war movie first, science fiction second. It's got it all: a burned-out retiring sergeant who gets drawn back in because, dammit, the Marines need him; the guy who's about to get married; the guy wh... more »o's still a virgin; the guy suffering from shell shock and who just might crack; the newbie officer with a lot of book learning who you just know is going to freeze under pressure and have to be shepherded by that burned-out sergeant, who learned his lessons on the battlefield? and so much more. There's not a moment in this movie you haven't seen before--the only twist is that the enemy is alien, so whatever shred of concern you might have for raining heavy artillery on a fellow human being can be cheerfully cast aside. But clichés are clichés because they are efficient and effective, and despite the profound familiarity of Battle: Los Angeles, there's no denying the movie rips along (though two-thirds of the way through you may have forgotten who was the virgin and who was the shell-shocked guy--but really, does it matter?). The look owes a debt to District 9, a hand-held, vérité grittiness, with most of the CGI carefully given a dingy, dirty look so that it meshes with the urban landscape. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) does an impressive job of spitting out ham-fisted dialogue like he really, really means it, while the rest of the cast is suitably generic. This is an unrepentant love letter to the military; many viewers, faced with the unsettling chaos and moral ambiguities of real wars, will find this mythologizing not only soothing, but even moving. --Bret Fetzer« less
I thought it was pretty good. Contains standard elements, as other reviewers remarked, but done very well. I also liked that they fought in a real city - I know, because I used to live a couple of blocks off that stretch of Lincoln Blvd in Santa Monica/Ocean Park. I am tired of actors in front of green screens who never interact with their environment because there isn't one there. I class it as one of those entertaining movies that is better than it had to be.
Not to be confused with Battle OF Los Angeles, which was much less satisfying to me.
1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Robert M. (ambiant) from WILLOWICK, OH Reviewed on 10/4/2013...
OK...at first I thought, oh no, lots of talking that makes no sense and a meaningless plot. But things got better. Much better. Aliens are attacking the earth, city by city, and in this video it's Los Angeles the military is trying to protect from alien attack. Sure, you've seen this plot before ("Independence Day," for example), but once we finally get to see the alien creatures, it's not all that bad. Interesting creatures. We get some nice close up looks of them. There's even a little drama as amazingly courageous Marines (including one requisite female Marine) show those stinkin' alien creatures that they're no match for good old American courage and ingenuity.
Sure, it's a grade B typical alien invasion sci-fi flick. But after some difficulty getting started, it caught my attention.
No academy awards here for acting or special effects or originality or CGI. But reasonably engaging for a second tier sci-fi flick.
3 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.
Chad B. (abrnt1) from CABERY, IL Reviewed on 3/15/2012...
A pointless, boring and cliche filled mess. This movie combines elements from countless films together and doesn't have a single original moment throughout it. Bad acting, a cheesy script (that almost seems ab-libbed at times) and bad cgi.
2 of 4 member(s) found this review helpful.
Weston S. from CROSSVILLE, TN Reviewed on 7/23/2011...