Battle: Los Angeles goes from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of … Southern California, where gung-ho U.S. Marines combat monstrous alien forces. Along with other coastal cities around the world, Los Angeles has been bombarded by “meteors” from outer space, spawning metallic warriors who march out of the surf, prompting Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton to rush to Santa Monica, where beachfront property is plummeting in value. Even though clenched-jawed Staff Sgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) has announced his intention to retire—after losing too many buddies in the Middle East—he's soon leading a platoon making its way to a police station on a civilian rescue mission. And the clock is ticking: a bomb is set to detonate, obliterating everything. Leading the skirmishes are the usual stock characters, including Ramon Rodriguez as the freshly minted officer with a pregnant wife, Michael Peña as the single father, Noel Fisher as the rookie, and R&B singer Ne-Yo as the soon-to-be bridegroom. Added to the mix are Michelle Rodriguez as a feisty Air Force communications officer, and Bridget Moynahan as the veterinarian who diagnoses the extraterrestrials' fatal weakness. Director Jonathan Liebesman's formulaic shaky-cam sci-fi action flick is laden with clichés that evoke unintentional laughter, with the talented Eckhart reduced to spouting patriotic exhortations (“Marines don't quit!”). A very optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the “Aliens in L.A.” character design featurette (18 min.), the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Behind the Battle” (7 min.) and “Preparing for Battle” (5 min.), “Creating L.A. in LA” on set design (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a “Command Control” viewing option (with a picture-in-picture mode featuring storyboard comparisons, behind-the-scenes clips, interviews, and more), a “Boot Camp” segment featuring cast and crew (10 min.), the production featurettes “Directing the Battle” (7 min.) and “The Freeway Battle” (5 min.), a bonus DVD copy of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a disappointing film.] (S. Granger)
Battle: Los Angeles
Sony, 116 min., PG-13, DVD: $28.99, Blu-ray: $34.99, June 14 Volume 26, Issue 4
Battle: Los Angeles
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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