Battle: Los Angeles Trailer

[jakerod 254]

I just saw Battle Los Angeles and I really liked it. It is by no means the best movie ever and it did have its military flaws in it but I really enjoyed watching it. My coworker didn't enjoy it very much though. I thought it was better than Skyline (what isn't?) and I liked it better than Independence Day, although it shared a few concepts with both it seems.

[dm 9]

Saw this last night.

Visually it was good, but for the most part I left feeling:

[Big Mac 19]

In Mac you should trust...

[jakerod 254]

What didn't you like about it DM?

[Big Mac 19]

I will admit the movie had two good points and that was 1. it didn't lack action and 2. it had real good SFX. I do however think the plotline could have used a lot of work and IMO would have been a lot better as a TV show. All in all I'll give two and a half stars.

[dm 9]

What didn't you like about it DM?

It just lacked any sort of substance. "All flash and no bang"

I'm not normally one to bitch about how shallow the plot may or may not be, but the chest-thumping "lets make a dramatic speech every time one of the squad dies" kinda grates after a while.

Its also a bit dumb that out of a whole platoon (something like 40 men) only 4 or 5 survive, for the sum total of 4 civilians rescued, yet they're all still "ohrah good job!" (Yes, I realise they take out the C2 asset, but it all seems so..incidental... to the main plot.)

Just feels like they could have done so much more with the back story than what they did. It also smells like the start of a going-to-be-over-milked franchise.

Was hoping for a District 9 with USMC, got a made for tv propaganda movie :(

[jakerod 254]

It just lacked any sort of substance. "All flash and no bang"

I'm not normally one to bitch about how shallow the plot may or may not be, but the chest-thumping "lets make a dramatic speech every time one of the squad dies" kinda grates after a while.

Its also a bit dumb that out of a whole platoon (something like 40 men) only 4 or 5 survive, for the sum total of 4 civilians rescued, yet they're all still "ohrah good job!" (Yes, I realise they take out the C2 asset, but it all seems so..incidental... to the main plot.)

Just feels like they could have done so much more with the back story than what they did. It also smells like the start of a going-to-be-over-milked franchise.

Was hoping for a District 9 with USMC, got a made for tv propaganda movie :(

I was under the impression it was only a squad with an attached machine gun team (although I never saw an actual MG only a SAW). Maybe I was expecting less of it than you. I didn't like District 9 that much. I thought that the characters were probably better and I did enjoy the aliens not being the bad guys for once but that is about it. The characters were somewhat weak in this I guess and some of the speeches over the top but overall I had a lot of fun watching it.

[maturin 12]

I also expected nothing more than a CGI alien invasion flick with a touch of military authenticity for some added impact. That's what we got.

The script was crap(and I mean formulaic, chest-thumping recruiting commercial crap), but it was entertaining. I really liked the 'art direction' of destruction. The aliens were the not at all alien, because they took inspiration from human warfare when designing them. Hence their tracer rounds and earthlike artillery, etc. The drones had an awesome propulsion method, in my opinion. And I felt engaged by beginning to understand their strategy.

The CGI was a bit too fireball-happy, however. Setting all LA on fire is great, but don't do it with frags. The firefights also weren't great after the first one.

The command unit was just the part of the plot that had to happen, and everyone knew it was going to. You could have just skipped the last half hour, especially the hammy, firelit FOB scene.

And they're going straight back into the field after 48 hours of exhausting combat, wounds and losing all their friends? Bullshit they are. It's not physically possible.

[Big Mac 19]

And they're going straight back into the field after 48 hours of exhausting combat, wounds and losing all their friends? Bullshit they are. It's not physically possible.

Yea me and this other guy in the movie theater (who just happened to be a former Marine.) died laughing at that.

[ArmAriffic 10]

In Aussie movies tomorrow, will check it out but dont expect much

[STALKERGB 6]

And they're going straight back into the field after 48 hours of exhausting combat, wounds and losing all their friends? Bullshit they are. It's not physically possible.

Not to defend it but didn't that happen in Somalia? (they portrayed it at the end of Black Hawk Down IIRC).

Personally I thought the film was pretty good, it's a typical sci-fi alien invasion, slightly iffy plot, lots of explosions. But then what more do you need lol?

[raynor 0]

Not to defend it but didn't that happen in Somalia? (they portrayed it at the end of Black Hawk Down IIRC).

Personally I thought the film was pretty good, it's a typical sci-fi alien invasion, slightly iffy plot, lots of explosions. But then what more do you need lol?

The events of "Black Hawk Down" occured within a 48 hour window. Though the human body can be pressed in such extremes and when dealing with an alien invasion anything to win the war would be on the plate ( Including sending exhausted soldiers in to kill more commie alien bastards ).

[SteveJA 12]

Well saw the film last night and i enjoyed it.

Great effects

No let up on action

Humans had an actual chance of fighting back

NO SHITTY LITTLE PRICKS SCREEMING ALL THE F ING TIME!!!!! (ruined war of the worlds)

Very little ridiculous scenes where soldiers sprint at the enemy do a backflip and fire 10 rockets while simultaneously roundhousing 3 aliens in the face.

Sure its no Gladiator but still worth a watch

And they're going straight back into the field after 48 hours of exhausting combat, wounds and losing all their friends? Bullshit they are. It's not physically possible

Sure it is, Coffee is the answer!

[Mickd 0]

i enjoyed it. I didnt expect a deep thought provoking drama. I went to be entertained, eat some pop corn and drink some cola. I went home satisfied.

[Big Mac 19]

Apparently for 10 bucks you can get the Battle:LA game on Steam. I wonder how bad of a game it is if it only costs 10 bucks.

[Laqueesha 474]

It's a good alien invasion action movie, and that's all it is; nothing more, nothing less. If you're expecting the Phantom of the Opera or the meaning of human life in the movie, you're going to be sorely disappointed. :D

I wonder how bad of a game it is if it only costs 10 bucks.

Not that bad for a low-budget arcade game. The demo is fairly nice and sticks to the plot of the movie. ;)

[mach2infinity 12]

I saw the film last night and I was thoroughly entertained by it. I thought it offered a fresh approach in regards to the alien invasion genre and I thought Aaron Eckhart was very convincing in his role. I think some characters could've done with a bit more expostion, the "PTSD" guy being one example. The weakest element of the film is the screenplay. The dialogue; whilst it isn't woeful it is a little sparse and I thought the pacing slipped a little in the last third when before it, there was quite a frenetic pace to the proceedings. I liked the visceral look of the film, the hand-held camera shots and the cinematography especially. I really like how they didn't shy away from showing human casualties. I particularly liked the moment when the marine found a dead woman in a car/pick-up, she was severely burned and it just showed how merciless and ruthless the aliens were. I think it took a while for myself to care about characters. Because it's only when you see what they've experienced do you begin to care about them. The swimming pool bit was a great moment and I thought it was a shame the Private Lenihan character was killed off, although I understand the "rookie gets it" is part of war films clichés.

The water explanation is only a hypothesis although when it's reported the world's ocean level has decreased, one has to assume it's due to the aliens using it so much. I had no problem with water being the reason why they chose Earth. Water ice can be found in comets, the rings of Saturns and moons such as Europa, sure. However, a large volume of liquid water on a habitable planet is a far more attractive option then chasing comets. Besides, they wanted to colonise Earth, maybe 'terraform' it a little to their exact needs and they wanted to knock us out so we wouldn't be a threat to them in the future.

The one thing that left me puzzled. I understand their drones destroyed all the F.O.Bs due to tracking their radio signals and thus wiping out all the aircraft. However, how come fighter aircraft couldn't fly in and take out the drones? I don't think this was adequately explained.

The music was good but not exceptional, it seemed to be ubiquitous without highlighting any particular scene except when something dramatic occurred.

I thought the visual effects were superbly done and blended in seamlessly with the real-world setting. The sound effects were also nicely done and just made you feel as if you were right in the battle.

On the whole, a very entertaining film but could've done with some sharpening. 3.5/5.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Mach2Infinity

[jakerod 254]

;1879879']The one thing that left me puzzled. I understand their drones destroyed all the F.O.Bs due to tracking their radio signals and thus wiping out all the aircraft. However' date=' how come fighter aircraft couldn't fly in and take out the drones? I don't think this was adequately explained.[/quote']

I don't think that they explained it. It could range anywhere from them having great counter-measures to them being more maneuverable or that there were just too many of them.

I wish that they wouldn't have made it out of the bombing zone. I think it would've been better if they got trapped there and then saw the bombers coming and knew it was their end. But then the alien fighters took out the bombers. Would've created one of those nice "i'm glad i'm alive moments but I feel bad for all those guys the enemy just killed that ultimately saved my life".

[Laqueesha 474]

It was pretty much expected that the USAF's plan of executing a scorched earth operation in the A.O. with B-52s and A-10As was not going to happen at all, certainly after seeing the successes the aliens were making on the battlefield. Had the platoon commander and platoon sergeant taken the possibility of this into account, the platoon's losses would've probably been cut by more than three quarters; rather than trying to get to the FOB as quickly as possible, taking a LACMTA coach and driving on the open motorway for all to see.

;1879879']I saw the film last night and I was thoroughly entertained by it. I thought it offered a fresh approach in regards to the alien invasion genre and I thought Aaron Eckhart was very convincing in his role. I think some characters could've done with a bit more expostion' date=' the "PTSD" guy being one example. The weakest element of the film is the screenplay. The dialogue; whilst it isn't woeful it is a little sparse and I thought the pacing slipped a little in the last third when before it, there was quite a frenetic pace to the proceedings. I liked the visceral look of the film, the hand-held camera shots and the cinematography especially. I really like how they didn't shy away from showing human casualties. I particularly liked the moment when the marine found a dead woman in a car/pick-up, she was severely burned and it just showed how merciless and ruthless the aliens were. I think it took a while for myself to care about characters. Because it's only when you see what they've experienced do you begin to care about them. The swimming pool bit was a great moment and I thought it was a shame the Private Lenihan character was killed off, although I understand the "rookie gets it" is part of war films clichés.[/quote']

True, the dialogue was very cliché and poor. But that's to be expected in a movie such as this. ;)

;1879879']The water explanation is only a hypothesis although when it's reported the world's ocean level has decreased' date=' one has to assume it's due to the aliens using it so much. I had no problem with water being the reason why they chose Earth. Water ice can be found in comets, the rings of Saturns and moons such as Europa, sure. However, a large volume of liquid water on a habitable planet is a far more attractive option then chasing comets. Besides, they wanted to colonise Earth, maybe 'terraform' it a little to their exact needs and they wanted to knock us out so we wouldn't be a threat to them in the future.[/quote']

The water explanation is pretty logical. In most alien invasion movies, the aliens just invade simply for the sake of wiping out the human population, e.g. Independence Day.

;1879879']The one thing that left me puzzled. I understand their drones destroyed all the F.O.Bs due to tracking their radio signals and thus wiping out all the aircraft. However' date=' how come fighter aircraft couldn't fly in and take out the drones? I don't think this was adequately explained.[/quote']

If I recall correctly, the aliens had near-complete air superiority as the battle progressed. In the film, it appears that the only fixed-wing aircraft deployed to combat the aliens were USAF A-10As, USAF F-22As, and USMC/USN F/A-18s. The aliens had fairly advanced projectile-based weaponry on the ground, disabling an USMC M1A1 MBT later in the film with relative ease. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say that they'd probably have similar capabilities in the air.

;1879879']The music was good but not exceptional' date=' it seemed to be ubiquitous without highlighting any particular scene except when something dramatic occurred. I thought the visual effects were superbly done and blended in seamlessly with the real-world setting. The sound effects were also nicely done and just made you feel as if you were right in the battle.[/quote']

The sound design was pretty good and the soundtrack was fairly decent.

;1879879']On the whole' date=' a very entertaining film but could've done with some sharpening. [b']3.5/5[/b].

True, had the cliché dialogue been improved, this movie would've been a solid 3.9/5.

Edited March 25, 2011 by Laqueesha

[maturin 12]

The water explanation is pretty logical. In most alien invasion movies, the aliens just invade simply for the sake of wiping out the human populaiton, e.g. Independence Day.

On the other hand, the line about sea levels already dropping noticeably was pure lol.

Not unless every one of those drones was carrying the Caspian Sea around in hidden tanks, and not unless 60% of Earth's water was going to be expended on the invasion as opposed to the alien economy.

[jakerod 254]

On the other hand, the line about sea levels already dropping noticeably was pure lol.

Not unless every one of those drones was carrying the Caspian Sea around in hidden tanks, and not unless 60% of Earth's water was going to be expended on the invasion as opposed to the alien economy.

Perhaps they invaded to save us from rising sea levels? </sarcasm>

Maybe they were already using a lot of it for their own purposes already or maybe using up 60% of it in the invasion was acceptable to them.

[abs 2]

...Very little ridiculous scenes where soldiers sprint at the enemy do a backflip and fire 10 rockets while simultaneously roundhousing 3 aliens in the face...

I read this, and wanted to see it happen immediately.

Abs