The Summer blockbuster season is already under way in the middle of March? Battle: Los Angeles truly has the feel and the explosive ooph of a July 4th blockbuster. It is loud, messy, more CGI than flesh and blood and even still it is a surprisingly entertaining ride.
The “story” of a group of Marine's called into action when an alien force decides it wants to (surprise!) plunder the earth of her natural resources, BLA is a war movie for those who don't want the reality and moral obligations of a real war movie. No misunderstood enemies here. Just nasty nasty monsters lurking in swimming pools and behind suburban corners.
Aaron Eckhart plays the hard-nosed Marine close to retirement (aren't they always?) who is put with a band of young and cocky soldiers who don't totally trust him. Eckhart's plays this character well because at times his “Let's get on with this” persona seems to apply to both actor and character. He does his part, rumbling orders and trying to keep his men alive against a foe much-too advanced for them to handle.
Speaking of the crew, there are too damn many of them in this film. One of my biggest problems with “war movies” is the way we are introduced to 14 soldiers and are expected to connect with them. You know the majority of them are worm food from the start. The question is, which ones? There is the about to be married guy. The PTSD vet back on the field. The 17 year old wide-eyed rookie. The Kenyan medic. The rookie commander who isn't as sure of himself as he seems. The quick thinking Air Force tech who joins their group shortly after they enter Los Angeles. And many more...
All of this is lost in the fog of war however as explosions and gunfire cause men you barely recognize to fall and die before the 30 minute mark. I kept poking my boyfriend throughout asking who is that again? What happened to the guy with the mustache? For some reason this alien invasion has covered the streets of LA with a dense fog that would rival the cities smog on any day of the week. This is useful in video games where mysterious bogeymen lurk around corners. In a big-budget action film it can be somewhat annoying, although the same bogeyman feel isn't totally lost.
The series of events that follow find the band of soldiers rescuing five civilians, a man, woman, and three children who didn't get the memo that giant cyborg-bugs from outer space were taking over their subdivision. They all pile onto a bus on a crowded abandoned freeway that may or may not take them to safety. More soldiers die along the way here, but by this point I realized the ones we are supposed to “care about” and let the rest add to the body count.
The aliens are a wily foe and where The Marines think they have a chance they are stopped again and again by the nasty creatures. In sewers, in alleys, boarded up in buildings. In the air and on land. The movie twists and turns and never stops to take a breath. You find yourself caught up in all of this. The blurry camera work doesn't bother you after awhile. The too-quick effects that leave you confused are quickly replaced by new affects. It's like a hyperactive video game come to life on your screen with Aaron Eckhart yelling for us to “come on” every so often so we don't get left behind to be vaporized.
The story culminates in an impressive but not totally satisfying pseudo-victory for the crew. The plot is left so wide open for a sequel that I think I saw a Battle: New York City poster on my way out of the theater. Just kidding about that, but I do imagine we haven't seen the last of these alien invaders, what little of them we did get to see. Anyone else ready for Battle:Omaha? I'm game!
3 out of 4 stars
No comments:
Post a Comment