Hollywood 1, aliens 0

Battle: Los Angeles (M)
WOW. Just wow.
“Battle: Los Angeles”, the latest instalment in Hollywood versus aliens, is a slice of man movie perfection.
Some people have criticised this movie. They are fools, who should be stoned and generally treated like the philistines they are.
Aaron Eckhart plays the slightly flawed hero who still gets the shakes occasionally. But mostly, he’s like John Wayne’s toilet paper – he’s rough, and he’s tough, and he takes no crap from anybody.
A 40-year-old Marines staff sergeant in the process of retiring, he’s thrown back into the cauldron of combat when the alien balloon goes up (or, more correctly, their ships come down) in the sea off California.
The puny humans face challenges aplenty when confronted by superior technology and hardy alien warriors with weapons surgically attached. (“That’s commitment,” a character notes wryly).
As always, the enemy’s weak spots are hard to find, until Staff Sgt Eckhart conducts some field experimentation on a wounded enemy with his trusty combat knife – not sure this would be approved in other theatres of war.
Add weapons that workin ways humans don’t understand to achieve thingsthey can (i.e. stacks of dead humans), and things look decidedly grim for man-kind.
The comparisons with America’s troubles in the Middle East are inescapable. Again, the enemy isn’t seen much, and is understood even less. At least in this case there is little difficulty in separating them from the indigenous population.
And, much like in an earlier war, US forces are forced to destroy the village in order to save it.
Predictably, Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and the chick from “I, Robot” are sufficient to restore intergalactic order.
Watch for the particularly triumphant ending, when humanity makes it clear to the alien invaders that man is a species not to be messed with.
Can’t wait for the video game. Can’t wait for the DVD.
The only slight criticism would be the tease at the start of the film, where we start with a little battle and then time slip to 24 hours prior to the invasion. This story was strong enough to be told simply, in sequence.
If you call yourself a man, and you don’t love this film, punch yourself in the face. Hard.
– Jason Beck