Jason KingBattle LA (7/10)
March 31st 2011 21:51
:
Is Harvey Dent an action hero?
Category: Reviews
OK so this review has been a long time coming. I was meant to write the night of the release but was completely stuffed and have just had notes sitting in my bag for weeks and have have had the dozen images on my desktop since then. It's time to clean the desktop, so to speak 
. I do want to ask for help and thought I would do it at the start incase you are one of those browsers that won't finish the article - can anyone tell me the name of the song about two thirds of the way through the trailer down below - it is slow electronic singing and I just love it and am desperately trying to figure out it's name so I can buy it!
For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world - Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.
There is one way to enjoy this film - don't have high hopes - simple. It is more a war film with Aliens as the bad guys. Don't go into it expecting a sci fi - think pure American GI Joe wanky war heroics where they are shooting aliens. It is a Call of Duty film where you can get excited at the kills And please - if you whine that it is too US patriotic then you are in the wrong cinema and are an idiot - not expecting it to be over the top GI Joe US patriotic when it is called Battle: Los Angeles is like watching a film called Independence Day and expecting to see no US flags. It just ain't going to happen.
They do the war part really well - I am pretty sure they had real Marines offering advice on how this would occur and they attempt to make it real through using the Marine playbook. For the alien part they do it ok - I loved their spaceships but am pretty sure most of the alien equipment and the aliens themselves have been stolen from District 9 - well not exactly but it looks like they saw District 9 and said let's steal the idea and change it around a bit. It works ok.
The visuals are what work in this film and the whole film was sold on the initial attack - the bombings just worked insanely well - the trailer for this film pretty much had me salivating for the film - those visuals, impending doom and a bunch of people fighting for survival - you had to get excited at that. But that is all the film really does. It has limited heart and soul and is shot more like a third person docco where you get to see what is happening in this situation. I like it to some extent as it is minus a lot of intentional dumbing down of character building. Except the Michael Pena story and the back story of Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) it works well for this style. I would have preferred no Michael Pena character - in fact - have him and his whole family killed on the helicopter would have worked really well. One thing I did love was the deaths of some of the characters you had soft spots for - build you up and then kill them - loved it - worked well on the emotional side of the film and audience manipulation.
I was very uncertain of Aaron Eckhart, or Harvey Dent, as the lead action man - he seems more suited to court room dramas and roles wearing a suit but it really worked - it broke away from the muscle jock as the hero - and lent more intelligence to the role and Eckhart is a sensational actor, he gave some decent credibility to the film. But really - is Michelle Rodriguez going to appear as the token female in every war film ever made from now on? I would like to see her in a period film hahahahaha.
Jonathan Liebesman directs a pretty decent invasion film - it does a lot better job and puts shame on the cheaper version Skyline out last year. Liebesman directed Darkness Falls in 2003, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2006 and is supposed to be directing Wrath of the Titans for next year's release - I wish him luck with the last one - he needs to do a lot to improve on that first shit one The thing about the invasion film that effects the entire planet is it is very hard to do while maintaining heart and soul. He just succeeds for me by using the Marine Corp - they are not about personality - they are about getting a job done and operate like a machine. It worked and everyone I watched the film with enjoyed it. His direction plus some great art direction supervised by Thomas Valentine - who is best known for A.I, Edward Scissorhands, Spiderman 2, and Dick Tracy - and you have a visually successful film at least.
Battle LA or if in the US known as World Invasion: Battle LA is already out and has been for a while - in fact it is probably out on DVD and Blu Ray real soon. Worth 7 out of 10.
. I do want to ask for help and thought I would do it at the start incase you are one of those browsers that won't finish the article - can anyone tell me the name of the song about two thirds of the way through the trailer down below - it is slow electronic singing and I just love it and am desperately trying to figure out it's name so I can buy it!
For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world - Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.
There is one way to enjoy this film - don't have high hopes - simple. It is more a war film with Aliens as the bad guys. Don't go into it expecting a sci fi - think pure American GI Joe wanky war heroics where they are shooting aliens. It is a Call of Duty film where you can get excited at the kills
And please - if you whine that it is too US patriotic then you are in the wrong cinema and are an idiot - not expecting it to be over the top GI Joe US patriotic when it is called Battle: Los Angeles is like watching a film called Independence Day and expecting to see no US flags. It just ain't going to happen.
They do the war part really well - I am pretty sure they had real Marines offering advice on how this would occur and they attempt to make it real through using the Marine playbook. For the alien part they do it ok - I loved their spaceships but am pretty sure most of the alien equipment and the aliens themselves have been stolen from District 9 - well not exactly but it looks like they saw District 9 and said let's steal the idea and change it around a bit. It works ok.
The visuals are what work in this film and the whole film was sold on the initial attack - the bombings just worked insanely well - the trailer for this film pretty much had me salivating for the film - those visuals, impending doom and a bunch of people fighting for survival - you had to get excited at that. But that is all the film really does. It has limited heart and soul and is shot more like a third person docco where you get to see what is happening in this situation. I like it to some extent as it is minus a lot of intentional dumbing down of character building. Except the Michael Pena story and the back story of Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) it works well for this style. I would have preferred no Michael Pena character - in fact - have him and his whole family killed on the helicopter would have worked really well
. One thing I did love was the deaths of some of the characters you had soft spots for - build you up and then kill them - loved it - worked well on the emotional side of the film and audience manipulation.
I was very uncertain of Aaron Eckhart, or Harvey Dent, as the lead action man - he seems more suited to court room dramas and roles wearing a suit but it really worked - it broke away from the muscle jock as the hero - and lent more intelligence to the role and Eckhart is a sensational actor, he gave some decent credibility to the film. But really - is Michelle Rodriguez going to appear as the token female in every war film ever made from now on? I would like to see her in a period film hahahahaha.
Jonathan Liebesman directs a pretty decent invasion film - it does a lot better job and puts shame on the cheaper version Skyline out last year. Liebesman directed Darkness Falls in 2003, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2006 and is supposed to be directing Wrath of the Titans for next year's release - I wish him luck with the last one - he needs to do a lot to improve on that first shit one
The thing about the invasion film that effects the entire planet is it is very hard to do while maintaining heart and soul. He just succeeds for me by using the Marine Corp - they are not about personality - they are about getting a job done and operate like a machine. It worked and everyone I watched the film with enjoyed it. His direction plus some great art direction supervised by Thomas Valentine - who is best known for A.I, Edward Scissorhands, Spiderman 2, and Dick Tracy - and you have a visually successful film at least.
Battle LA or if in the US known as World Invasion: Battle LA is already out and has been for a while - in fact it is probably out on DVD and Blu Ray real soon. Worth 7 out of 10.
| 19 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
Comment by Anonymous
Two word review for each: Skyline was quirky and exciting; Battle LA was thorough and lumbering. The test of this will be on DVD -- I anticipate re-watching Skyline on DVD maybe 5 or 6 times in the future... Battle LA? Not even once.
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
No in all seriousness I rated Skyline ok - for what they did with the budget they had it was awesome and I would have loved a sequel.
Both of them are nothing on District 9 though and I can't wait for Super 8 - I am salivating with excitement over that one.
Thanks heaps for sharing your thoughts. and enjoy the Skyline DVD. Still can't beat Aliens for my fave scifi.