Battleship

Chock full of action, excitement, and explosives, this popcorn flick delivers noisy, escapist entertainment inspired by the classic Hasbro board game. As ships from around the world gather off the coast of Hawaii for their annual RIMCAP naval exercises, the exploratory Beacon Project finally reaches a planet with an atmosphere similar to Earth's—unfortunately resulting in the deployment of five gigantic spaceships filled with hostile aliens. Who can stop them? Could it be the Hopper brothers: 26-year-old maverick Alex (Taylor Kitsch) and his straitlaced older brother Stone (Alexander Skarsgård)? After a large, unknown object is spotted jutting out of the sea near his Navy destroyer, USS John Paul Jones, now-Lieutenant Alex is sent to investigate, along with Petty Officer Second Class Cora Raikes (pop star Rihanna), a tough-as-nails weapons specialist. A romantic subplot finds Alex engaged to physical therapist Samantha (Brooklyn Decker), whose father, Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson), commands the Pacific Fleet. Samantha is working with double-amputee Army veteran Mick Canales (real-life Iraq hero Gregory D. Gadson) and scientist Cal Zapata (Hamish Linklater), who devises a way to break the aliens' communication wall, which is helpful once the enemy missiles begin to strike. Directed by Peter Berg, Battleship suffers from a bland, cliché-riddled, interstellar story and lackluster acting by Kitsch and Decker (making the emotional stakes remarkably low). To offset these liabilities, the Industrial Light & Magic production crew serve up big-budget, naval combat Transformers-like special effects to little avail. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the “All Hands on Deck: The Cast” featurette (12 min.), “Preparing for Battle” on bringing the classic board game to life (11 min.), the “Engage in Battle” production featurettes “Shooting at Sea” and “All Aboard the Fleet” (7 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are an “All Access with Director Peter Berg” viewing mode with picture-in-picture commentary (including behind-the-scenes footage), a “USS Missouri VIP Tour” of the Navy battleship (20 min.), a visual effects segment with the Industrial Light & Magic Team (12 min.), an “Alternate Ending Previsualization” featurette (8 min.), a “Commander Pete” segment with Berg (6 min.), and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a so-so popcorn flick.] (S. Granger)