Aaron Eckhart stars as Marine Staff Sergeant Nantz, a twenty
year veteran of the Corps who has decided to call it quits. Once he’s finished
training the present squad of Marines, he plans to ride off into the sunset of
retirement. He’s getting old, and finding it hard to keep up with the young
bucks under his tutelage. Nantz also finds himself under a cloud of controversy.
The previous unit that he commanded was completely wiped out in combat, with
Nantz being the only survivor. But before the good Staff Sergeant can be allowed
to resign, a completely new threat engulfs the United States, as well as other
countries all around the world.
What was originally thought to be a harmless meteor storm becomes an all-out
invasion, as alien-looking creatures emerge from the sea, gunning down everything
in their way. This new menace lands in the oceans, just off the coasts of Earth’s
largest cities, where they begin their attack. The government has lost contact
with New York City and San Francisco, and now Los Angeles is the aliens’ next
target. But not if the Marines have anything to say about it. Nantz is assigned to a unit who are thrust into a dangerous operation to rescue people trapped within a police station right in the middle of the combat zone.
Although it takes place in L.A., Battle: Los Angeles was actually shot in Louisiana to cut cost. But the filmmakers do a splendid job of making the viewer believe that he’s actually in the streets of L.A., thanks largely to the special effects, the rapid-fire pacing, and the jittery, combat documentary-style camerawork. The combat scenes are superbly done. And the alien threat is suitably alien-looking, and weird, but still familiar enough to be easily recognizable for purposes of the story. Out of the cast, Eckhart and Michele Rodriguez (as an Air Force Tech Sergeant whom the Marines pick up along the way) both stand out.
If only the filmmakers didn’t make the fatal mistake of starting the film with
the Marines already charging into combat--then rewinding twenty fours hours to
tell their character’s personal stories, which only serves to shatter the pacing.
On top of this initial mistake, the movie also has some pretty maudlin and sappy
scenes with the Marines standing around whining about their personal issues. But
whenever Battle: Los Angeles sticks to the alien combat scenes--which is most of
the time--it’s excellent popcorn fun and is still highly recommended for those looking for a gritty alien invasion/war flick.
--SF
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