Battle: Los Angeles movie review

by Rick Grant
The aliens are coming, the aliens are coming. It’s a surprise attack from outer space from a belligerent civilization that takes over Earth-like planets to steal their water, which they use as a major source of life and fuel.
They came disguised as asteroids plummeting to Earth, with overpowering ground and air forces. They hit Earth’s major cities simultaneously with devastating ordinance. They fly heavily armed drones, controlled from central command modules hidden underground.
Yeah this is yet another alien invasion movie but with a major difference. The story is told through the eyes of a Marine platoon. Aaron Eckhart stars as a Marine Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, just back from Afghanistan.
Nantz, a highly decorated Marine, is new to the platoon, replacing a popular Sergeant. A green 2nd Lt., William Martinez is in command and will be relying of SSgt Nantz for consultation. Lt. Martinez just graduated from the Naval Academy.
At first, the platoon is mobilized because of the falling asteroids hitting Los Angeles. However, it doesn’t take the platoon long to learn that the aliens have come out of the sea in a major invasion.
The story keeps the focus on the individual Marines and how they’re fighting to keep each other alive under heavy fire against an army of extraterrestrial creatures that are difficult to kill.
Gamers will like the non-stop combat as the Marine platoon is pinned down. Their mission is to locate a police station where civilians are hold-up and rescue them. But along the way the platoon comes under heavy fire.
Telling the story with the lens part of the platoon brings the action down to what each Marine has to face–trying to stay alive and help his or her buddy survive.
Michelle Rodriguez plays the kickass Marine, TSgt. Elena Santos, who has the intell to shutdown the aliens’ central command. The script allows the time to develop the characters so that the audience will care about them
Overall, this is a fast action film that jacks-up the viewer’s adrenalin level to “kill those nasty bastards,” as the Marine platoon takes a pounding from the aliens’ incredibly intense firepower.