PLOT:   A platoon of Marines must rescue civilians from a  police station in Santa Monica and face off against aliens who have invaded Earth.

ANALYSIS:

BATTLE: LOS ANGLES is a popcorn sci-fi action film.   It shows the invasion through the eyes of a Marine platoon over the course of three days.   This alien invasion film is a step-up from SKYLINE (which was basically only good for what effects work were accomplished on a $10 million budget where BATTLE: LOS ANGELES has ten times that budget).    It has a group of likable Marines where SKYLINE had a bunch of unlikable people.    This film is enjoyable and fun where I get caught up in the action and the quiet spaces between the action.   I also like the documentary type filming style.

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES isn't the best alien invasion movie.   I just was looking to be entertained by the action and see what the Marines are going through.   It isn't original.   So you have the cliches and the patriotic gun-ho attitude of the Marines (which is accurate for those who haven't seen much combat).   Aaron Eckhart is great with his world-weary portrayal of Staff Sergeant Nantz, a twenty year old veteran who wants to retire as he wishes he could have saved the men he lost on his last tour in Afghanistan.

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES hints at what the aliens have come for.  Could they be colonizing and looking to wipe us out and take our resources (they use water to power their ships)?   The aliens are very alien and organized.  They use drone ships that are remotely controlled.  The marine platoon have their jobs cut out for them.    Just don't dig too deep into the movie.  Just enjoy it as a fun way to enjoy two hours.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

BEHIND THE BATTLE-   cast and crew talk about the film including what drew them to this film.

ALIENS IN L.A.- filming and creating the aliens of the movie.

PREPARING FOR ABTTLE-  the action and stunts of BATTLE: LOS ANGLES where the actors did most of their own stunts

CREATING L.A. in LA-  creating Los Angeles in  two cities in Louisiana and what they did to make it look realistic

FINAL ANALYSIS:   Some think not making it an alien movie and focusing on making it a war is what make the movie bad and boring.  However, I think making BATTLE: LOS ANGELES a documentary style war film is what makes it different and unique for a sci-fi film.  I wish they did include more extras on the film.

this DVD review is (c)6-19-2011 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com