![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
patentdragonFilm Review: Battle: LA
It would be so easy to say "But we already saw all this in Skyline!", but that would be a little unfair to this movie - even if it is true - ish...
It would be fair comment to suggest that Battle: LA is what Skyline could've been with a bigger budget, but whilst the earlier film was all about the innocent victims caught up in a devastating alien attack, B:LA (oops, rather unfortunate initials) sees things from the military standpoint, in particular a squad of US Marines. Their story begins in flash-back, after an opening glimpse of "the main event", and thankfully, the characters aren't standard, cookie-cutter fare - the brash NCO (Apone in Aliens), the cocky loser-types (Hudson in Aliens), the gung-ho cowboy (Blaine in Predator) - although we do get an out-of-his-depth commanding officer, but unlike Alien's Lieutenant Gorman, he gets a chance to redeem himself.
Introductions over, we're quickly thrown in the deep end, and it's not long before we get a taste of what the aliens are capable of - even if their technology again harks back to Skyline, suggesting something of a lack of inventiveness. Still, it's not a terminal flaw, as the story forges ahead, driven by an entirely logical deadline...
...and that's where a more significant flaw emerges. It's a good move not to "pay off" on the deadline, and the reason why makes sense, but it is the first of a bunch of almost-endings (not counting the failed dust-off from the police station) that give you the impression that the test-viewings led to rethinks on the movie's conclusion - kind of like Spielberg's tacked-on, and much reviled, "and then aliens showed up" ending (a bit like Peter's "death of Quagmire" video in Family Guy - "And then a Nazi came...!!!"). It is great to see the Marines follow the lead character into one last, possibly decisive, confrontation with the aliens... but then it isn't quite the last one.
People will surely whine "and yet again, the American military save the world" - but hell, it's a damn sight more believeable than Jeff Goldblum and his Power-Book giving the bad guys a virus...
So, how does this all pan out? Is this just "Skyline 2"? My answer is "no". Is it the ultimate alien invasion movie? Again, no - we are still to see that, if ever; but so far, the winner has to be the original War Of The Worlds, closely followed by Mars Attacks. "Is this worth my time?" Not if you're in the "I hate America" brigade, although this doesn't fly the Stars and Stripes from start to finish. Yes, the aliens aren't as invincible as in Skyline, but the heroes only uncover one weakness in the alien battle-plan. Earth can breathe again, and the film-makers can consider a sequel - but maybe this time, we can imagine what comes next...
Not bad at all. An appetiser, rather than a taste of things to come - we're in for quite a summer.
The Final Verdict... You'll probably enjoy this a bit more if you haven't seen Skyline, but even if you had, there's still a good time to be had. Score: 8/10
Next... Most likely the roller-coaster that Sucker Punch looks like being...
Development News... I started the day with some writing, that took TDD-612 REIGNFALL Chapter 4 to "in the can" status, followed by a movie-and-shopping sized dose of "taking it easy". I'll be back to work later this evening. Or tomorrow. Hey, it's the weekend...
It would be so easy to say "But we already saw all this in Skyline!", but that would be a little unfair to this movie - even if it is true - ish...
It would be fair comment to suggest that Battle: LA is what Skyline could've been with a bigger budget, but whilst the earlier film was all about the innocent victims caught up in a devastating alien attack, B:LA (oops, rather unfortunate initials) sees things from the military standpoint, in particular a squad of US Marines. Their story begins in flash-back, after an opening glimpse of "the main event", and thankfully, the characters aren't standard, cookie-cutter fare - the brash NCO (Apone in Aliens), the cocky loser-types (Hudson in Aliens), the gung-ho cowboy (Blaine in Predator) - although we do get an out-of-his-depth commanding officer, but unlike Alien's Lieutenant Gorman, he gets a chance to redeem himself.
Introductions over, we're quickly thrown in the deep end, and it's not long before we get a taste of what the aliens are capable of - even if their technology again harks back to Skyline, suggesting something of a lack of inventiveness. Still, it's not a terminal flaw, as the story forges ahead, driven by an entirely logical deadline...
...and that's where a more significant flaw emerges. It's a good move not to "pay off" on the deadline, and the reason why makes sense, but it is the first of a bunch of almost-endings (not counting the failed dust-off from the police station) that give you the impression that the test-viewings led to rethinks on the movie's conclusion - kind of like Spielberg's tacked-on, and much reviled, "and then aliens showed up" ending (a bit like Peter's "death of Quagmire" video in Family Guy - "And then a Nazi came...!!!"). It is great to see the Marines follow the lead character into one last, possibly decisive, confrontation with the aliens... but then it isn't quite the last one.
People will surely whine "and yet again, the American military save the world" - but hell, it's a damn sight more believeable than Jeff Goldblum and his Power-Book giving the bad guys a virus...
So, how does this all pan out? Is this just "Skyline 2"? My answer is "no". Is it the ultimate alien invasion movie? Again, no - we are still to see that, if ever; but so far, the winner has to be the original War Of The Worlds, closely followed by Mars Attacks. "Is this worth my time?" Not if you're in the "I hate America" brigade, although this doesn't fly the Stars and Stripes from start to finish. Yes, the aliens aren't as invincible as in Skyline, but the heroes only uncover one weakness in the alien battle-plan. Earth can breathe again, and the film-makers can consider a sequel - but maybe this time, we can imagine what comes next...
Not bad at all. An appetiser, rather than a taste of things to come - we're in for quite a summer.
The Final Verdict... You'll probably enjoy this a bit more if you haven't seen Skyline, but even if you had, there's still a good time to be had. Score: 8/10
Next... Most likely the roller-coaster that Sucker Punch looks like being...
Development News... I started the day with some writing, that took TDD-612 REIGNFALL Chapter 4 to "in the can" status, followed by a movie-and-shopping sized dose of "taking it easy". I'll be back to work later this evening. Or tomorrow. Hey, it's the weekend...
