BATTLE: LOS ANGELES

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Ne-Yo

I WON’T be the first nor the last to make the comparison, but this movie is a cross between Saving Private Ryan and Independence Day.

The film had possibly one of the best trailers you’ll likely to see (the first one for those wanting to check it out).

There was always the chance the movie itself wouldn’t live up to expectations and to a certain extent it doesn’t.

The main problem for me is the extreme patriotism that accompanies these type of films that tend to jar.

But there are many plusses that make it well worth seeing.

After a brief introduction to the main components of a marine platoon and its troubled Staff Sergeant, we watch as aliens attempt to colonise the world.

The main attention is, as you would expect, in Los Angeles.

What follows is an action-packed war film with some pretty cool aliens.

Will sergeant Nantz (Eckhart) save the world... well Los Angeles at least?

The actors are pretty strong and convincing, but the best bits are when the aliens are involved.

There are suggestions that this is just the first of a series of films as we are taken to battles in various places on the planet. However, this may be down to how many dollars it makes.

One aspect that may annoy many is that it’s all shot with a hand-held camera. This is great in the action sequences and adds to the realism but is not so great at other times.

So if you fancy a pretty enthralling couple of hours then you can’t go far wrong with this film, but it won’t win any awards.

four out of five stars

Steve Payne

Screening courtesy of Cineworld Crawley