Film File - Battle Los Angeles

For many years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world in diverse locations like Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany and China. High amongst those sightings was the night of 24th February 1942, with America on nationwide alert following the bombing of Pearl Harbour, LA citizens were awakened to air raid sirens as the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade fired at strange flying craft over Santa Monica - an event never fully explained and subject of many conspiracy and government cover-up theories. Such is the background sketched in the film's opening stages. In 2011, all these UFO debates come home to roost when what were once hotly debated sightings become a terrifying reality as Earth is attacked by unknown forces from outer space. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall one by one, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no-one was prepared for. In the end, it all comes down to Marine Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) and his small platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever expected to fight. Nantz is a career Marine, burnt out and on the brink of retirement, who is reluctantly pressed back into service leading a bunch of young recruits into a very different battle to the ones they practiced on the parade grounds. Nantz is outranked by the much younger Second Lieutenant William Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez), a rising star in the Marine Corps and hungry for battle experience - but who is tested severely when pitted against this otherworldly foe. Leading the platoon behind the battle lines to rescue civilians trapped in a police station, Martinez and Nantz become unlikely allies in a fight to the finish. The cast is rounded out by Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Grammy-winning R&B artist Ne-Yo, and Michael Peña. Older, wiser operator on his last days on the job forced to quickly train an uppity newcomer in the midst of an extreme emergency - sound familiar? How does last month's 'Unstoppable' grab you, or perhaps 'Training Day' from some years back, or just about any Bruce Willis cop movie? Using a Hollywood staple of the mismatched band thrown together to overcome a common foe, 'Battle Los Angeles' is doing what dozens of westerns or war movies have done down the decades. The platoon has a familiar look: tough gal with a straight aim, a sexy medic who joins the team along the way, plus the rookie. With a decent cast, Eckhart and Rodriguez especially, all should be well for a harmless shoot-'em-up extravaganza. The trouble begins when director Jonathan Liebesman decides to go all arty with a complete overload of jerky, hand-held camera movement. Practically every scene in the film suffers from this, and it does grate on the senses after a while. Then there's the script - a clanger from Christopher Bertolini that delivers not one unexpected moment or situation to hold one's interest. The good things are the use of noise and silence in the film - a startling combination at times. Add to that the spaceships and aliens, both well-constructed and completely unlike your common or garden extra terrestrials. All told, this one will look great on the trailers, but be found out as the disappointment it really is within the first 20 minutes.