Battle LA

Yes, I actually saw a movie in the theater!  It happens about once or twice a year.  Actually, this year I’ hoping for a total of four.  In order, Battle LA (check), Thor (likely), Cars 2 (take the kids, almost certain) and Captain America (take my brother, very likely).  All in all, a banner year.  Enough of that though, on the review.

First and foremost, Battle LA is not really an alien invasion movie.  Sure, there are aliens running around trying to exterminate the human race, but that isn’t really the focus.  The focus is entirely on how the platoon of Marines headed by Aaron Eckhart’s Staff Sargaent Nantz deals with the situation.  Nantz, is of course the real focus of the story as we discover quickly when we are introduced to him running on the beach and getting passed by a bunch of younger, faster marines.  As the story moves forward we learn that he is planning on retiring, apparently unable to deal with the guilt and stigma of a tour in Iraq in which most (if not all) of his platoon died.  This of course makes the platoon he gets put in charge of more than a little nervous.  He does eventually win them over, first with a John Wayne moment in the middle of the movie and later with a speech about how the loss of his men in Iraq and the loss of his men that day eats at him constantly. 

I want to return to the John Wayne moment as it highlights some of the movie’s strongest points.  These points come together in the way Nantz behaves after he gets back from blowing up the drone that could have obliterated the platoon.  He isn’t high fiving and saying things like “No problem,” or “yippy-ki-ay!”  John McClain, he isn’t.  Not that I have a problem with Mr. McClain, this just isn’t that kind of movie.  Instead Nantz makes is way to the back of the bus, sits down and shakes.  He may be a hero but he knows he isn’t invulnerable either.  This realism and the way Eckhart pulls it off so convincingly are my favorite parts of the movie.  The rest of the performances area solid, from the father-son relationship of a couple of the civilians they rescue to Michelle Rodriguez doing her typical tough-chick routine, no one really disappoints.

In conclusion, the movie has been called Black Hawk Down with aliens.  Having seen Black Hawk Down just a couple of weeks before seeing Battle LA, I completely agree.  Both are war movies that are more about the people getting shot at than they are about the shooting.  My only complaint about Battle LA is that the ending is too…easy.  Since, this one hasn’t made to video yet, I won’t ruin it but if you are like me, you’ll be willing to overlook the ending in light of how awesome the rest of the movie is.  So, if you haven’t seen it yet, get yourself to a cheap theater or save it on your Netflix cue as soon as you can.  You won’t regret it.

Next:  Thor!