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Flick Flak: Battle: Los Angeles

Postiwyd gan neilramsden o Caerdydd - Cyhoeddwyd ar 15/03/2011 am 10:39
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Battle: Los Angeles
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
With: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez
12A, 116mins

I wanted to love this film. It resembles a good version of the recent alien invasion debacle Skyline, and harks back to Independence Day. The trailer is ace; it has a decent lead in Aaron Eckhart and remarkable special effects. Sadly, something went really wrong.

But first, the good: As you can see from the trailer, the special effects are amazing. Epic is the word for the best scenes in the film; sweeping shots of meteorites slamming into the ocean around Los Angeles, entire cityscapes laid waste, burning in the night as alien drone ships drop firework-like bombs, and gigantic extra-terrestrial craft emerge from the ground with seat-shaking realism. Each time these epic moments occur they don't fail to raise goosebumps.

Also impressive about Battle: LA is the alien concept. While Skyline's monsters looked pretty cool, their apparent reasons for invading Earth were baffling and plot hole-filled. Battle: LA pitches a fairly respectable idea - aliens look to colonise Earth because they need our water. After all, we are the only planet that we know of with such an abundant supply. As these aliens use the wet stuff for fuel I don't quite understand how they were able to reach us, but hey - every alien invasion needs some plot holes. The design of the aliens and their machinery is top-notch. Their ships, made up of individual drones which detach to search out and destroy communication signals, are very cool, as are the hover vehicles with hugely powerful cannons.

The film lives or dies on its action sequences, and I'm undecided on that topic. They are undeniably loud, tense and squint-inducing. However I found myself thinking a number of different things during the crash-bang-wallop-bang-bang scenes:

The film-makers have been playing lots of videogames, as most of the movie appears to be a collection of scenes from Gears of War, Halo and Call of Duty.
I could just be watching Black Hawk Down, which has everything this film does and much more besides.
*whispered* Isn't this the same scene we had ten minutes ago? Big machines, guns, explosions... isn't this a lot like *lowers voice again* Transformers?

The film has more negative than positive weighing it down, the most striking of which is the dialogue. After the first scene of the film it felt like we were in a parallel dimension where Tarantino had never introduced the idea of conversation for the sake of realism. "I can't fight any more General, I'm old now and my fight is done." "I know you feel guilty after losing your unit in Iraq, and leading another unit into battle now would be a great strain on you psychologically as well as physically, but you still have much you can teach the younger, less experienced Marines." The desperate plot exposition had us alternating between laughing and shaking our heads.

Another laughable point is just how stock and stereotyped the characters are. As well as the aforementioned guilty leader of men we have the young soldier who might not be fit to fight after suffering a panic attack, the inevitable soldier who holds a grudge against his commanding officer, the new commander eager to prove himself but who quickly finds he'll need the experience of the disgraced former leader. You can predict a stirring speech coming as easily as predicting when a song is coming in a musical. Then, just when you think all of the stereotypes are out in the open, Michelle Rodriguez arrives as a tough, no-nonsense Air Force girl who has a caring, sensitive side (think Avatar... and every other film she's done).

And then the patriotism of the film is fairly sickening. From the tear-jerking music which is grossly over-used, to the "Support our Troops" posters unsubtly displayed in the background, at times it felt a little like a long and expensive advert for the US Marine Corp. Scenes where Aaron Eckhart effectively indoctrinated a little Mexican boy into the Marines were decidedly creepy. "You have to be brave now son, because Marines don't quit! And you're the bravest damn Marine I've ever served with!" Just horrible.

All in all I had fun watching Battle: LA, but bear in mind I didn't pay to see it. If I had I think I would have been disappointed that it is such a step below the trailer. The action is diverting, so if you're desperate for a fix of alien/war action and can't rent Independence Day, Black Hawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, or basically any other film in this vein, then Battle: Los Angeles is a good substitute. Director Jonathan Liebesman's next film is Wrath of the Titans. Oh, good.

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