I have to say that Battle: LA was more war movie than I thought it would be. I think I was expecting some sort of indulgent CG fest along the lines of Independance Day. Instead, the film is very focused on one group of Marines who are sent out to a local police station to rescue some civilians who have been found...

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Don’t worry though, we get plenty of glimpses of the destruction the invaders have brought down on the city and the movie starts to build into the small group against all the aliens like I expected but it at least does it in the right way. You’re never really quite sure who will make it through although the bigger your star power, the better your chances of survival. Seeing as how the film is really more of a war picture than an overblown sci-fi epic it manages to be crammed full of war movie cliches. The war veteran who some look up to but others don’t trust until he saves all their asses and they love him. The fresh commander that can’t handle it all. The guy who doesn’t look like he can handle it all but manages to do something incredibly heroic. You can see where this will all lead them but it’s a hell of a ride getting there.

I’m not sure there is really anything new in this one but it managed to feel fresh. I can’t think of another flick like this one that blends the two genres of war and sci-fi together so equally. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s 2 in the morning and my brain ceased functioning but the ones that I think of always lean to one side or the other. Usually when you’re dealing with alien invasions you get more of a look at the aliens than you do at the soldiers fighting. Battle: LA takes you right to the streets and follows the one group the entire time. Most of the time we’re following too closely though as over the shoulder shots and lots of close-ups were starting to drive me crazy. I thought the steadicam was invented for stuff like this. I get that we’re meant to feel a part of the action but all that shaking was making me a bit queasy. It drives me nuts that I can’t focus on some of the action from all the ‘running’ effect the camera is given.

Things don't look so good from up here and they don't get much better on the ground.

The aliens are a very weird mix of organic and robotic and it was hard to tell if it was part of a suit or not. The Marine unit manages to capture one so we get a pretty good look at it but it’s such a messy looking thing that it’s hard to tell what the hell it really is. They reminded me a little of Black Manta from Superfriends but more pissed off and better equipped. There’s certainly a gritty constructed look to both the aliens and their ships and weapons. I think this is where the story veers off from a typical alien invasion scenario. The plot is more concerned with the soldiers, their actions and their cliches. It reminded me a lot more of the Vietnam war flicks that I’ve watched than it did the sci-fi epics. I mean, you know that guy isn’t getting home to his girl!



I'm sure I've seen Aquaman kick this guys ass before.

There was one moment that sticks out in my mind from the movie and it has very little to do with aliens, or even fighting, at all. Aaron Eckhart plays Sgt. Michael Nantz. Nantz lost some men on his last mission, one who happened to be the brother of a member of his current unit, and his group view him pretty badly. They don’t really like him and he’s seen as this guy who let his men die before so what help is he now. As they’re trying to get the civilians away from the aliens he stops, bends down and ties a young boy’s shoe. “Safety first.” he tells him. Before that moment he’s kind of viewed as unable to really perform. He’s not actually in charge of the unit and he doesn’t even seem like he wants to be charged with the safety of another group of men. When he ties that boy’s shoe you can tell that he’ll do anything and everything to make sure nobody dies. It was a great little moment of kindness and peace in the middle of what is a pretty explosive film.

You’re treated to all kinds of explosions and gunfights. Things go boom, a lot, and it’s always fun to watch. It’s great to see what is essentially a very small part of the action with this one group on the ground fighting head to head against small groups of alien soldiers while above you can see large ships doing battle. You may start to do some eye rolling towards the end as the group of Marines kicks into Earth saving mode, a plot point that is unavoidable in this genre anyway. It doesn’t really affect the film in any way but it does start to get a bit cheesy. It’s very close to the end so it’s nothing that you’ll lose sleep over. While the film was a little less chest-thumping than I thought it would be, I absolutely had a blast watching it. There are moments that may make you announce “Really? C’mon!” now and again but think about it, it’s a movie about an alien invasion. The entire thing is impossible to believe so what’s the point of trying. It does what it should. You get characters that you can really cheer for and lots of shit exploding. Sounds like a good time to me!

Written by lead HorrorBid columnist: "Canadian Will"