Battle: Los Angeles

2 ½ pipes out of 4 

This is another alien invasion movie and may seem predictable. That is where you’re wrong because this movie is not as predictable as you might think. The director throws a nice right hook to all other alien invasion films that figure out how to kill the aliens and wrap up their defeat in ten minutes or less. Battle: LA follows Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) and a group of marines that he is leading into the battle zone and behind enemy lines in Los Angeles during an Alien invasion to rescue civilians trapped in a police station. The Aliens are said to be invading for our resources and the first rule of colonization is to eliminate the indigenous population. Nantz clashes with the 2^nd Lieutenant William Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez) who is a month out of officer’s school and incredibly inexperienced. You may remember Rodriguez from his comedic role in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as Shia Labeouf’s quirky roommate but in this movie takes a drastic shift from that role being much more serious. The topic of the military is very close to my heart because I have a brother in the military so I can always picture him in these types of situations. Battle: LA can be quite depressing at times because a lot and I mean a lot of people die. There are several holes in the plot of this film such as if a Forward Operating Base has been destroyed and the marines can’t contact anyone on the radio during most of the movie, how is it that when they need and air strike called in they get right through and the missiles come without delay? There are more like this but the movie does have you on the edge of your seat from the first 15 minutes to the closing credits. There is nonstop action all throughout this film so there are not a whole lot of places to insert great acting scenes. If you are looking for a great acting and great action film like District 9 you won’t find it hear but if you’re just looking for a great action film with small moments of good acting than this is the movie for you.