Presenting an alien invasion in cinema verite style - on-the-ground, follow-the-character, documentary-esque camera action and very little in the way of sweeping shots, Battle: LA is a genuinely fun, very action-packed, even slightly realistic view that the world is really, actually getting attacked by pretty darn advanced aliens. Whereas Independence Day was more a self-conscious super-huge blockbuster-type alien invasion film, Battle: LA attempts to give it a slightly more realistic bent with real (movie-real, anyway) Marines getting to the dirty work of finding out what it really means to fight alien nasties.
Aaron Eckhart's Staff Sergeant Nantz is the center of this movie. Not so much brooding, more thoughtful, at the end of a long career as a rank-and-file staff sergeant. He wants to retire because of the doubt surrounding his last tour in Afghanistan where 2 of his men were killed. He's basically done with the bullets, the blood, the guts.
Just as he's getting ready to bounce out of the service he's called up to lead a platoon on a rescue mission of civilians trapped in a police station in West L.A.. The aliens are attacking the coastlines, starting in major cities, attempting to cut off communication with other major cities, forcing us poor earthlings to the interior.
Working their way toward the station, they quickly learn what they're up against - sophisticated cyborg-eseque aliens with guns physically attached to their bodies. Several troops are almost immediately taken out. And, just when they think the aliens have no air power, they discover they do indeed have drones that track humans by radio signal. It goes from bad to worse, quick. The forces all along the coast of not just L.A., but every major city they've attacked, seem almost powerless to stop the onslaught.
We learn that Nantz follows the Marine's code to the end: Retreat, Hell (short for "Retreat, hell, I just got here!"). Never give up, never give in, never leave a man behind. He persists, doggedly, and adapts to the alien's method of fighting. He learns how to kill them, on-the-fly battlefield techniques to take out the drones and the alien infantry. It's tough fighting. Some make the ultimate sacrifice to win. Eckhart's Nantz sets an example that his men follow, even those who doubt him.
Battle: LA is a movie you would have thought had a larger audience and might have been more of a "blockbuster" type film, but it seems these days that Hollywood is inundating us with blockbusters. Movies like this - ones without big budgets a la "The Green Lantern" or "Cars 2" - get lost in the shuffle. Doesn't mean they aren't entertaining or fun or enjoyable to watch. They are. Battle: LA is.
All in all very enjoyable, action-packed, and good alien fun.
Aaron Eckhart's Staff Sergeant Nantz is the center of this movie. Not so much brooding, more thoughtful, at the end of a long career as a rank-and-file staff sergeant. He wants to retire because of the doubt surrounding his last tour in Afghanistan where 2 of his men were killed. He's basically done with the bullets, the blood, the guts.
Just as he's getting ready to bounce out of the service he's called up to lead a platoon on a rescue mission of civilians trapped in a police station in West L.A.. The aliens are attacking the coastlines, starting in major cities, attempting to cut off communication with other major cities, forcing us poor earthlings to the interior.
Working their way toward the station, they quickly learn what they're up against - sophisticated cyborg-eseque aliens with guns physically attached to their bodies. Several troops are almost immediately taken out. And, just when they think the aliens have no air power, they discover they do indeed have drones that track humans by radio signal. It goes from bad to worse, quick. The forces all along the coast of not just L.A., but every major city they've attacked, seem almost powerless to stop the onslaught.
We learn that Nantz follows the Marine's code to the end: Retreat, Hell (short for "Retreat, hell, I just got here!"). Never give up, never give in, never leave a man behind. He persists, doggedly, and adapts to the alien's method of fighting. He learns how to kill them, on-the-fly battlefield techniques to take out the drones and the alien infantry. It's tough fighting. Some make the ultimate sacrifice to win. Eckhart's Nantz sets an example that his men follow, even those who doubt him.
Battle: LA is a movie you would have thought had a larger audience and might have been more of a "blockbuster" type film, but it seems these days that Hollywood is inundating us with blockbusters. Movies like this - ones without big budgets a la "The Green Lantern" or "Cars 2" - get lost in the shuffle. Doesn't mean they aren't entertaining or fun or enjoyable to watch. They are. Battle: LA is.
All in all very enjoyable, action-packed, and good alien fun.