War is fu**ing Hell. Isn't that kinda how the saying goes? I have my doubts anyone can truly capture the emotions involved with taking another person's life, or watching your friends die all around you. The affectivity of war can probably never accurately be replicated. Some filmmakers try, and a few even find success. Others take the opposite route, and revel in the pure chaos of the moment. Battle: Los Angeles is just such a film. It thrusts you sand deep in the middle of an unprecedented war scenario, an alien invasion to make Independence Day
seem tame. While it's hardly a perfect piece of cinema, with all the hoo-rah military cliches you no doubt expect, the sheer intensity and few moments of perfect tension make this one mission worth signing up for.We're thrust right into the middle of the fight from the very beginning, and for a moment you're almost convinced we won't be saddled with the obligatory character introductions. It's all a ruse, of course, and soon we're getting our token brief glimpses into every soldier's life. Enjoy it, because there won't be much time for more. Aaron Eckhart is Marine Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, a battle hardened vet on the verge of retirement. A decorated war hero with a "box full of medals", he's still burdened by the weight of his last mission, which went awry and cost some lives. Just as he's signing his leave papers, the entire battalion is called up to help evacuate Los Angeles due to an impending meteor shower.
Is it an actual meteor shower? Hell no. What kind of movie would that be? The men quickly learn that what's crashing on Earth are actually alien vessels leading an invasion force. Their opening salvo is a beachside cacophony of laser fire, like Normandy getting stormed all over again. It's a dispiriting sight, the image of our American shores being tread upon by enemies isn't one we see all that often. Director Jonathan Liebesman lingers on this scene just long enough to let that moment sink in. Nantz is immediately put back into full action, joining a young and eager squad ready for combat. Or at least they think they're ready. When it becomes painfully clear just how powerful the aliens are, a decision is made to raze Los Angeles off the map. Nantz and his unit must get outta town before the bombs drop. No easy task.
The film suffers from the same problem that always plagues these frantic, large scale war movies with too many characters. It's impossible to keep track of who's who, and since very little effort is made to characterize these folks, there's very little reason to care when one gets a rocket shot up his butt. I had the same problem with Black Hawk Down.The only standout greenshirt soldiers are perennial tough hot chick Michelle Rodriguez as Tech Sgt. Elena Santos, and Cory Hardrict as Corporal Jason Lockett. Lockett's all puffed up and pissed off because his brother died while in Nantz's command. He spends a good portion of the film scowling when he should be shooting. There's an inevitable confrontation that needs to take place between the two, but I'd just as soon not have seen it at all. Blow something else up instead.
Liebesman, probably most well-known for Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
, knows his way around a battlefield, and his version of LA looks like it's been hit by a million cluster bombs at once. In particular the orange, hazy fog of war that covers the city is impressive. When the team gets holed up in a devastated police headquarters, the film switches gears for a moment and becomes a tense game of cat and mouse. Liebesman handles this shift with equal deftness.There are a few moments that drag between the firefights, but ultimately his direction is not the problem.What is an issue is the script, which crashes and burns anytime there isn't a pressing need to shoot something or blow something up. The aliens are unimpressive both in "personality" and in design. Their motives are only barely speculated on. They trudge around looking like garbage heaps with cannon arms. Maybe that was the point but they weren't very intimidating. If you're going to make a movie about an alien invasion, the aliens better be pretty kick ass.
Fortunately Aaron Eckhart is up to the task of making chicken salad out of potential chicken crap. Always a superb actor, he has the chiseled features and heroic demeanor of a born warrior. He's completely believable in every respect. His supporting cast doesn't always back him up in that(lookin' at you Bridget Moynahan!), but most are passable enough to do what they're meant to do, namely spout trite battle cries before getting killed off. In a movie like this that's perfectly fine.
Battle: LA isn't Starship Troopers. It's not out to promote anything other than a good time watching space ships get blowed up real good. If that sounds good, then grab your helmet and strap yourself in, soldier!
