There! I saved you 2 hours. >)
So right, Battle: Los Angeles… Caught this on the cable thingy the other day and figured I’d see what all the commotion was about. Of course, it did live up to expectations as one really really weird movie. Not in a good way though.
Here’s the thing folks, I know it’s all posh now to film your movies in a gritty Radio Shack handy cam way with all the action mostly inferred, but seriously, we have to use that technique sparingly! Overused, it just looks like a bad old spaghetti western where you see close ups of the sheriff shooting then switches over for a closeup of the bandits shooting… Comeon, it wasn’t that low budget!
That is not to say we don’t see some good ol alien dudes. Um… From afar… in the dust. Ok, that’s a bit overdramatic, but not by much. We only get to see them up close and personal briefly, the rest of the time they’re in mechs. So that’s the nuts and bolts of this comic. Even though it’s an “alien” movie, aside from them saying they’re from space and showing a body once, they could be evil Canadians invading LA for all we know. You could have written the script for anything with just generic combat space suits. And don’t get me started on the actual space crafts! They look like constructions made by Sanford and Son. You’d think an advanced alien race would make a ship that didn’t look like some sort of junkyard collage made from toasters and old car parts. But hey, whatever works for them.
Secondly… as if the generic “lets fight enemy X” plot wasn’t enough to cause your braincells to die off, they skillfully managed to mix in EVERY SINGLE WAR MOVIE CLICHE… EVVVVVVVER!!!! You’ve got your “I’m too old for this” leader who JUST put in his papers to retire (like a day before the attacks). Then your brooding soldier who lost his brother because of said leader and all the angst that comes with it. And don’t forget your bad babe with something to prove! Grl Powa!! Sigh… and more… But really guys, it’s like they were trying to hit every one on purpose. Only problem, they forgot to make it a parody movie. Tropic Thunder did this in a great way! It was funny! It also had, well, all the same cliches, but it knew it was a parody. Battle:LA actually takes itself seriously! Very tragic…
Here’s the thing… I’m not gonna say do or don’t watch it. If you want to watch a decent scifi movie with a wartime theme, then this isn’t for you. If you want to put the ol brain on cruise control for a while and watch some wicked explosions and junk while you knock back a few beers, then by all means give it a go. Then again, what the heck do I know? All the critics bashed the Transformers movies and they did very well. Even B:LA made over $200 million, which is enough to pay the bills. Sooo… there you have it. Hope you’ve enjoyed my little rant.
(Again, don’t forget to fill out my SURVEY page!)
Loading ...
Well with stuff like this and cowboys vs aliens and if your listing to the radio and most of the songs are about unexpected topics and all the movies to stuff like tintin and green lantern i have 1 theory………….
HOLLYWOOD IS SERULY RUNNING OUT OF IDEAS!!!
sadly… I agree… every now and then we see a true gem (Like Scott Pilgrim or RED), but for the most part, it’s been pretty bleak for a while.
Of course! It’s just as much fun to sit back and laugh at a film for it’s awfulness.
@Druds
Just the other day I saw a trailer for Cowboys & Aliens. Whether it’s a good film or an atrocious one, the ludicrously kickass concept is enough to make me want to see it. XD
To be honest, I’m actually looking forward to Tintin. I grew up with the Herge series, so I’m interested to see how they merge the stories for the plot :)
actually, it reminds me of this Japanese movie where this modern day samurai guy cut an alien zombie space ship in half with a sword… that he pulled from his guitar!
I actually liked Battle LA. Maybe I turn off too many brain cells before seeing movies like this though.
Like I said, it’s not bad if you can turn off the old brain. it’s got some decent action (when on the screen), but if you’re talking about it as a film with any kind of artistic merit or value it brings to the medium, then… not so much.
but then again, not every movie needs to be an award winner. not everything has to be deep. but my main complaint is even though you’re not aiming for a snooty arthouse film, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it some polish. think about it this way, look at the old Die Hard movies; they weren’t going for anything overly deep, but man did they put it all together well! then again, they didn’t take themselves seriously like Battle LA did. if Battle LA didn’t take itself seriously, then it would have been so much better!
but don’t get me wrong, just cause it lacks some polish, it doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy it. hell, look at the whole Transformers movie lineup!