There isn’t a sacred moment in Jonathan Liebesman‘s Battle: Los Angeles that rises above cliché. Every line, character, plot point, and visual effect looks all too familiar. Despite this conundrum, this sci-fi blockbuster has enough blistering, in-your-face action to distract for most of the two-hour runtime. Unabashedly frenetic, Liebesman rarely gives time to focus on anything but the battle.
The set-up is quick and dirty. 24 hours before the invasion occurs, we quickly rip through the back stories of our Marines. Front and center is our lead, Staff Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), on his way out after a slowly revealed previous combat mishap. Blatant “hints” of an impending meteor strike repeat on news broadcasts in the background and before we know it, the alien attack is here and our group of marines are getting prepped to deploy.
Moving like an amped-up Call of Duty, the marines get their mission (from point A to point B) and the objective is reiterated with every new turn. Liebesman, who is already signed on to another blockbuster (the Clash of the Titans sequel) is fully aware of how to keep things moving at a clip. It’s a shame his rabid style is a detriment to the film.
Being one of the most adamant Cloverfield fans one could find, I appreciated Matt Reeves handheld style. He knew when and where to let things get “shaky,” and when to let it breath. Liebesman must have been denied oxygen during production, as there is seldom a moment when we aren’t zooming, panning, shaking, or cutting. This isn’t a faux-doc a la Cloverfield, or even the similar District 9, and the excess style ultimately grates and detracts from a few set pieces that could be memorable.
With an all-out actioner like this, many would assume the drama gets sacrificed for the greater good budget. With Battle: Los Angeles, Christopher Bertolini‘s script isn’t bad, it’s just bare. There are a few highlights in the spare dialogue provided. Michelle Rodriguez, fully comfortable in her standard “bad-ass chick” role, has the one-liners you expect. Eckhart, succeeding at his leading man role, conveys a believable pep speech before the climax of the film. Unfortunately it’s capped off my a terrible conclusion, evaporating any emotion we may have felt.
When we meet our stranded citizens (including Michael Peña and Bridget Moynahan), there is another stilted attempt to inject some life into the film, but it comes off too little too late due to the obvious commitment to the violence from our director. Most of the other dialogue is the quick, simple quips and heated exchanges during battle. Since Sony didn’t spring for 3D (thank god), it feels like they replaced the glasses with an Xbox 360 headset, as orders and battle grunts are being yelled during every spare second. For those wanting a video game feel, this is the closest you’ll find. But like any video game, it is more fun when you have the controller in your hand. In Liebesman’s control, he simply feels like like a novice player.
