A futuristic war story about aliens invading and trying to take over Los Angeles. Well, actually they are trying to take over the world, but the movie focuses on one group of soldiers in los Angeles and their efforts to defeat the aliens. Stars Aaron Eckhart (Batman: Dark Knight), and Michelle Rodriguez (Lost) and directed by Jonathan Liebesman (who has made such brilliant films at Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Darkness Falls).
The story: Aliens attack. A marine who is ready to retire is called back into duty to fight them and eventually with a gung ho attitude and a big semper fi, gosh darn it we're able to defeat them!
Was it good?
No. It was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen, and I've sat through four Pauly Shore movies. The problem isn't that the movie is BAD, it's just that the movie is EMPTY.
Let's be honest -- this is basically war porn. And by that I mean it has lots of shooting and fighting and a big pro-military-guns-are-good vibe to it, but nothing else. It's science fiction without any science. It's speculative fiction without any thought. There is nothing special or even specific about the aliens. They are just different and attacking us so let's kill them. There isn't anything special about their weapons or about their tactics or about themselves or anything. Seriously, this is a movie that makes INDEPENDENCE DAY look clever and deep.
And why are they trying to attack us? Water. Not that water has anything to do with the story -- all of which takes place on land -- but I guess we're the only ones who have water that isn't frozen and for a species that has developed advanced weaponry and interstellar travel heating ice (ala the rings of Saturn) is more of a bother than wiping out another species. So, yeah, that was well thought out and makes a lot of sense.
But of course this isn't a movie about thinking...at all...ever...not even in term of the plot which has nothing clever or interesting to it...this is about us being attacked by something evil that we can just shoot and shoot and shoot. And to the movie makers credit the feel of the movie, the man-in-the-foxhole vibe is pretty intense. As much as I hated the movie, I can understand why some other people (especially pro-war gun nuts) would like it. And the movie knows it's audience -- it's all pro-military, pro-America, pro-killing the "others," just like any proper movie aimed at Rupublican NRA fetishists would be.
For me, though, a movie with no thought to it, a movie with nothing to say beyond semper fi, a movie that is only there to blow things up...well, that's a movie I can't recommend.
**** AVOID ****
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