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EDITOR'S PICK
`Battle Los Angeles` cliched but a fun watch (IANS Movie Review)
Rating: ***
There is nothing original about World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles.
In brief, it is Independence Day meets Cloverfield meets
Black Hawk Down meets Saving Private Ryan with
state-of-art special effects thrown in. And this, as you would have guessed,
makes it a fun film, a total value-for-your-money movie.
Gulf War veteran Marine Staff Sergeant Michael (Aaron Eckhart) has put in his
papers. But when the world is under attack from an alien race, he unwillingly
becomes part of a platoon with zero combat experience to fight an enemy with
superior power.
As things escalate and most of the air power of the United States is wiped out,
it is up to the Staff Sergeant to command the inexperienced group of soldiers
and a few civilians to safety.
Along the way, he discovers he could be the key to defeating the undefeatable
aliens and as the world is retreating to a defence, he and his motley band of
soldiers, decide to go on the offensive.
World Invasion takes itself less seriously than even the fun-film
Independence Day. If you consider the patriotic rhetoric of that
film, this is a good thing. And there`s no politics of Saving Private
Ryan either. Though there is a hint of politics when the reason for the
invasion is believed to be the one resource that the earth has an abundance of -
water - and an expert claims on TV, Rule of colonisation states that you
wipe out the indigenous population. Right now we are being colonised.
There was a scope to throw in more of how dominant nations have been doing to
their colonies what the aliens are doing to earth - decimating them. That would
have made the film much more exciting.
World Invasion has almost every conceivable cliche of the
alien/monster/war movie genre. This would have made the film boring had it not
been for the gritty ground zero view of a war zone, a la Black Hawk
Down and Saving Private Ryan, some breathtaking cinematography
and some of the best and most believable special effects in Hollywood.
Thus you have the usual sacrifices just at the right time, the fight over who`s
in command, an unresolved enmity, an unsure commanding officer, a band of
brothers unwilling to leave the wounded behind, the usual teasing where you are
not shown the full view of the alien for long, a civilian with just the
information needed at crucial times, the expected twist in the tale a little
after centre point, the usual last crucial missile shot that can save the planet
etc.
Yet, despite its slightly longish take at over two hours, the film does not get
boring or lose momentum at any point.
Director Jonathan Liebesman who has given some forgettable films, finally makes
one that would be remembered. Writer Christopher Bertolini, who seemed to have
disappeared after his delightful screenplay of The General`s
Daughter, over a decade back, resurfaces with this film that is just the
beginning of a franchise.
At the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base outside of Los Angeles, CA, a group of marines, lead by Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), are called to respond immediately to one of many coastlines under attack across the globe. Sergeant Nantz and his corps go into fierce battle against ocean born aliens that are determined to overtake the water supply and destroy everything in their path.