It seems weird to be using the word realistic to describe a film about an alien invasion, yet that is the word that best sums up Battle: Los Angeles. See this isn’t another trumped version of Independence Day, no this is an alien invasion filmed in the style of a war film… if you think of Black Hawk Day or The Hurt Locker then you are in the right ballpark.
Staff Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart – Rabbit Hole, Love Happens) has just made the toughest decision of his life – he has decided to bring his Army career to an end. Nantz finds all the young recruits cruising past him on a beach run and while he doesn’t like to admit it he is haunted by the fact that some of his men were killed on his watch in Iraq. However his move into retirement doesn’t go smooth. Just hours after he makes his decision he is called upon to join 2nd Lt. William Martinez’s (Ramon Rodriguez – Harlem Hostel, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen) squad as they are called into action when a group of meteorites head towards Earth. This leaves squad member Cpl. Jason Lockett (Cory Hardrict – TV’S Dark Blue & Accidentally On Purpose) fuming as he blames Nantz for the death of his brother in Iraq. But then the stakes are raised again when the ‘meteorites’ turn out to be an invading Alien Army and Martinez’s squad are on the frontline.
Director, Jonathan Liebesman (The Killing Room, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) needs to be congratulated for giving this film such a ‘real’ look, his step-up from making a B-Grade horror film is beyond extraordinary and he really shows Hollywood that he has the skills to become a top director. The early on scenes where we see the squad searching through residential Los Angeles looking for survivors is eerily realistic and certainly builds the tension for the audience. Unfortunately though, Liebesman is let down by screenwriter, Chris Bertolini (Madso’s War, The General’s Daughter) who despite a good basic storyline fills important scenes with some awful, lame, action-film lines. It’s probably best if you don’t try and think about the sci-fi elements of the aliens either… it’s obvious Bertolini certainly didn’t, because there are more flaws then you can keep count of. Still, for the most part the film does hold up, thankfully the script doesn’t allow for child-characters like Hector (Bryce Cass – Cool Dog, TV’S ER) to become annoying, and it plays up the ‘hatred’ between Nantz and Lockett well, without over doing it.
The clear stand-out in this film however is Aaron Eckhart. He was harshly done by when he failed to receive an Oscar nod for Rabbit Hole but he shows here that even if you put him in a sci-fi film he brings his A-Class acting skills to work each day. The other acting success from Battle: Los Angeles is Michelle Rodriguez (Machete, Tropico de Sangre). She is the actress that just keeps giving, and even a jail stint didn’t seem to damage her career.
Battle: Los Angeles is a big step-up from the disappointment that was Skyline. The cinematography is spot on and despite some script slip-ups (and some glaring goofs – night turning to day within seconds) this is one film that does the War genre proud.
Year: 2011
Director: Jonathan Liebsman
Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Ramon Rodriguez, Cory Hardrict, Michelle Rodriguez
Classification: M
Runtime: 116 mins
Rating: 