Review: Battle: Los Angeles

Grade:B-

Upsides: Aaron Eckhart’s alternately subdued and intense performance. Gritty military combat reminiscent of modern classics Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan.

Downsides: Clichéd, disposable supporting characters and a bit of melodrama from the younger actors in the slower moments.

In any given alien invasion movie, there’s always vague talk of the military’s efforts to “halt” the invasion. We rarely see their efforts in these flicks outside of the irtrouncing at the beginning and the triumphant curb stomp they deliver to the once unbeatable invaders at the end.

Battle: Los Angeles earns that ending by actually showing the die-hard efforts of a—here it comes—“ragtag” platoon of Marines who “save” LA in the wake of an extraterrestrial Pearl Harbor.

As opposed to typical invasion flicks, which often serve too many masters with multiple interweaving plotlines, Battle: LA is lean and focused with some amazingly gritty set pieces. It only falters when it tries to be deeper than a men-on-a-mission/Independence Day mash-up and plunges into occasionally clichéd melodrama. In a sense, this is exactly what it says on the tin. Black Hawk Down with Aliens! As much as that sounds like a cheap pitch, it doesn’t hurt the quality of this flick one bit. This is a summer flick lost in the wrong season—or is it?—but that doesn't stop it from setting the stage for blockbuster season, two months early.

Aaron Eckhart anchors Battle: LA as haunted, exhausted Marine Staff Sargent Mike Nantz. On the day of his discharge, Nantz is forced into one final tour of duty as LA is besieged by a brutal alien force bent on decimating the population and co-opting the planet’s water (What is it with water as a MacGuffin these days? First Rango, now this.) Merged into unit of young soldiers who distrust him for a costly mistake from his past, Nantz must find a way to help the unit rescue a small group of civilians, and maybe find holes in the alien’s defenses, while struggling with an overwhelming case of survivor's guilt.

Of course Eckhart isn’t the only performer in the flick, but he is the only one the audience is going to care about. The rest of the cast, including Michael Pena and Bridget Moynahan as a pair of noble civilians trapped in the invasion zone, is practically disposable. Battle: LA opens by acquainting the audience with almost a dozen characters. Some are mildly remarkable, like virginal Pfc. Shaun Lenihan (Noel Fisher) and bitter Cpl. Jason Lockett (Corey Hardrict), but most are forgettable military clichés, ranging from the sly Jersey smartass (Gino Anthony Pesi) to the soon-to-be-wed (Ne-Yo) and the expecting father (Ramon Rodriguez). As soon as the audience meets the characters, they can begin taking bets on who survives and who doesn’t. Once Michelle Rodriguez arrives in the later half, all bets are off, thanks to her dubious survival record. Not to ignore the adequate efforts of the cast, but Eckhart’s Nantz is such a force—through big-time heroics and a subtlety in slower moments that escapes the younger actors—that none of the other characters stand a chance of stealing his spotlight. He is the perfect combination of the haunted, yet determined, hero, harkening back to the days of Eastwood and Wayne.

Not to be outdone by his performers, Director Jonathan Liebesman shows a deft hand at combining practical and computer generated effects to create a solid portrayal of decimated Los Angeles. The alien invaders have a look that falls squarely between Transformers and District 9. The grotesque insectoids are decked out in cluttered mechanical armor that makes them seem like one of the poorest and most desperate alien race to ever invade. The junky look of the aliens and their vessels creates a vulnerability that allows the aliens to avoid seeming invincibility. This vulnerability is invaluable in the combat sequences, which host some dirty and realistic, yet fairly thrilling, gunfights. By the end of Battle: LA, the amount of destruction to natives and invaders is astounding. There is a true sense of loss and defeat that is well captured by the Liebesman and his team—even if we've seen it all before—putting Battle: LA leagues above some weaker invasion films of the past decade (eyes directly on you Skyline).

On the surface, Battle: LA may seem like an obvious spin on the invasion formula, but it is a sometimes thrilling, adequately-crafted take with a compelling central performance. As one of the better invasion flicks in a long while, audiences would do well to get a front row seat to end of LA as we know it. Just don't start counting the references to other invasion flicks.