First and foremost, I feel it necessary to state that I’m not affiliated with any studio. Fact is, I generally don’t have a whole lot of great to say about movies that shuffle forth from this genre. However, I became immediately curious about Battle: Los Angeles when the legal stuff hit the fan upon the release of Skyline. Add to my curiosity the fact that I have a son who turns 13 in less than a month, and the fact that I was asked to attend an industry screening and I was happy to settle into my plush chair with no expectations.
I expected bad writing–altogether a bad script. Within the first three minutes, I could see that my expectations would not be met. The story wasted no time getting right to the meat. No salad, no appetizers–meat. And a hearty steak it was. Of course, the script had its moments of “oh, c’mon” dialog that were briefly laughable, but all in all, the corn is mixed so well with morsels of lean ground beef that you can swallow it, and then turn your attention back to the steak.
Aaron Eckhart. Even in the paycheck jobs he takes to sustain his preferred lifestyle, he commits, goes there, and gets the job done. I love the guy. Battle: Los Angeles is a wonderful vehicle for him to strut as a man’s man, and provide enough reason for women to accompany their best man to a flick that was born for a long, enjoyable run on Spike TV.
Playing the role of Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, Eckhart thunders through with enough edge to easily convince you that he could have served in Uncle Sam’s USMC, and with enough depth to carry you through the obstacles of a script that is trying too hard at a couple pivotal moments.
In all fairness, I would say the issues belong to the producers who had final say in what went to print, as opposed to an issue with the writer. Overall, the story cooks.
A pat on the back goes to director Jonathan Liebesman. It’s not often that you can see a Sci-Fi action flick and still pick out few nice moments of film craftsmanship. Much of the early action was reminiscent of some of the work done in Saving Private Ryan–Cinema Verite within a hostile battle zone. The film possesses some really slick edits that pull you into the disjointed nature of fighting an unplanned battle vs. and unknown enemy, and then there are explosions. Lots and lots of explosions. Well done explosions.
If you enjoy action and well justified thrashings of alien forces, you won’t leave the theater unsatisfied. I feel safe in stating that the United States Marine Corps should see an increase in enlistees after a viewing of this sweet ride of war glorification.
Photo via: TriStar Marketing Group
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