"Battle: Los Angeles" Delivers the Goods

The trailer for "Battle: Los Angeles" promises a straight-up action flick, and the film doesn't fail to deliver. The premise of the movie is not unlike H.G. Wells' well-known classic, War of the Worlds; alien invasion and attempt at world domination. The film is set in modern-day Los Angeles; this latest cinematic foray into interstellar conflict portrays events that purportedly occurred on August 12^th, not even a month ago.

Inspired by The Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942 (which was written off as a purely terrestrial event at the time, but prodded some twenty-first century UFOlogists to suggest a failed landing by ET), the film is a military sci fi piece starring Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, and Michelle Rodriguez, and including a surprisingly deft performance by Michael Pena.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should admit up front that I'm a fan of Aaron Eckhart, and therefore predisposed to look favorably upon any movie he appears in. Having said that, I must add in my own defense that my fan-dom does not amount to a slavish devotion to his work. I did not care, for example, for "Love Happens" (mea culpa to those who did).

The film opens with our protagonist, twenty-year Marine veteran Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Eckhart), on a solitary run down a sun-drenched beach, only to be rapidly lapped by a platoon of fit young leathernecks. The scene, skillfully written and played with impressive nuance by Eckhart, introduces our hero as a solitary, world-weary warrior in the midst of coming to the realization that war is a young man's game, and his prime has passed him by. On the verge of retirement and planning to serve the remainder of his tour of duty training younger men for combat, circumstances soon find him leading a platoon of young Marines into battle under an untested commanding officer.

Tasked to rescue a group of civilians from an overrun LAPD police station, the men of the platoon and, ultimately, the civilians they rescue, begin to meld into a cohesive unit and bond, working together to escape to safety and defeat the enemy. The interplay between the cast of characters adds unanticipated depth to the film, including an unexpectedly moving scene between Nantz and one of the men in his command.

People who know will tell you, if asked, that my film preference falls firmly within the realm of those in which stuff blows up. "Battle: Los Angeles" more than fulfills its promise to the genre, with the requisite scenes of explosions, gunfights, gore, and blood. Surprisingly, however, it offers more, containing moments of breadth in emotion and characterization that bring to movie-goers a thoroughly enjoyable viewing experience.