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ALIENS VS MARINES
Movie reviews. Hoo-rah.
Battle: Los Angeles
Also known (and released here) as World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, although honestly the above title is more accurate, as far as the movie’s POV goes.
Anyway, the plot is pretty basic – aliens attack Earth, onoes! – and follows a platoon of Marines (led by a green lieutenant and a retiring Staff Sergeant with a rep for getting his soldiers killed, which is three clichés right there) on a rescue mission to pick up civilians stranded behind enemy lines in West Los Angeles before the Air Force bombs the entire area.
It’s basically a combat film not unlike Black Hawk Down, only with aliens and far worse Shakycam “documentary” cinematography. (Dear Hollywood directors: Real documentaries don’t look like they were filmed by a 15 year old with an iPhone and uploaded on YouTube. And just because YouTube videos look authentic doesn't make it watchable on a big screen.) It’s also a borderline love letter to the US Marines that’s not quite as blatant as (say) Heartbreak Ridge, but it’s hardly impartial.
For all that, I will say that it looks pretty convincing (though that’s not too hard when the camera’s shaking so much you can’t see what’s going on) and the fighting is pretty intense. Plus, you’ve got Michelle Rodriguez in full-combat mode. God knows why that makes a difference. But it does.
Anyway, for all its faults and clichés (to include both the motivations for the aliens attacking us and the key to defeating them – to say nothing of the fact that despite this being a “world” invasion, it’s really about America saving the planet with military force yet again), it actually manages to avoid much of the excess blockbuster cheese that you normally get with movies like this (I’m looking at you, Roland Emmerich). Battle: Los Angeles is actually all right if you like heavy-combat films – and if you can stand the Shakycam thing.
Mess with the best, you die like the rest,
This is dF
Battle: Los Angeles
Also known (and released here) as World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, although honestly the above title is more accurate, as far as the movie’s POV goes.
Anyway, the plot is pretty basic – aliens attack Earth, onoes! – and follows a platoon of Marines (led by a green lieutenant and a retiring Staff Sergeant with a rep for getting his soldiers killed, which is three clichés right there) on a rescue mission to pick up civilians stranded behind enemy lines in West Los Angeles before the Air Force bombs the entire area.
It’s basically a combat film not unlike Black Hawk Down, only with aliens and far worse Shakycam “documentary” cinematography. (Dear Hollywood directors: Real documentaries don’t look like they were filmed by a 15 year old with an iPhone and uploaded on YouTube. And just because YouTube videos look authentic doesn't make it watchable on a big screen.) It’s also a borderline love letter to the US Marines that’s not quite as blatant as (say) Heartbreak Ridge, but it’s hardly impartial.
For all that, I will say that it looks pretty convincing (though that’s not too hard when the camera’s shaking so much you can’t see what’s going on) and the fighting is pretty intense. Plus, you’ve got Michelle Rodriguez in full-combat mode. God knows why that makes a difference. But it does.
Anyway, for all its faults and clichés (to include both the motivations for the aliens attacking us and the key to defeating them – to say nothing of the fact that despite this being a “world” invasion, it’s really about America saving the planet with military force yet again), it actually manages to avoid much of the excess blockbuster cheese that you normally get with movies like this (I’m looking at you, Roland Emmerich). Battle: Los Angeles is actually all right if you like heavy-combat films – and if you can stand the Shakycam thing.
Mess with the best, you die like the rest,
This is dF