Plot: Evil space aliens have come to earth with their army, and they are taking over Los Angeles, and other cities, but this movie focuses on one LA-based platoon of Marines and their struggle against the alien invader. Sargent Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) with his platoon rescues some civilians, and then takes them to safety, which turns out to be hard because of the advancing aliens. Once the civilians are safe, Nantz turns his attention to defeating the aliens -- rather like Independence Day, the movie from 1996.
Review: First the good parts, the special effects were pretty good -- way better than Independence Day. Second, the individual soldiers had names and back stories which I liked, but once the battle started the soldiers blurred together -- except for Lieutenant Martenez (Ramon Rodriguez) who is a stereotyped green, wimpy officier that manly Sargent Nantz had to inspire. Third, it is nice to see American soldiers defending America, and finally there is a nice feel-good ending.
The bad parts include the dull middle which seemed like endless rifle battles with nearly indestructible alien soldiers. There was an unendurable scene where Sargent Nantz proved his devotion to his men by reciting their serial numbers from memory while standing nose-to-nose with some poor Marine -- it just went on forever. I actually closed my eyes to get some rest while I waited for it to end. Aaron Eckhart looks like a soldier, but his performance was not good enough to carry the movie. His part was written for classical 'John Wayne' tough guy, and is not a contemporary hero. Finally and most importantly this movie was not fun-to-watch; I can forgive a lot if a film is enjoyable. This movie was dreary.
The real message of Battle: LA is how tough Americans can be when challenged.
Cast: Aaron Eckhart
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Rating: 2.0 stars (maybe less) My wife liked it alot; she even clapped at the end.
More: The invasion occurs in April, but the announcer says Pacific Standard Time -- actually it would be daylight time.
