With the impending doom of 2012 just around the corner every movie about an apocalypse is probably going to resonate a little more with me than it should.  Don’t give me that look; I’m a slightly paranoid pessimist with an active imagination and an inability to resist watching movies involving such destruction…  And though it doesn’t bring anything new story wise, Battle: Los Angeles does do enough to make it worth seeing among the countless other titles.

Though alien invasions are hardly anything new, Battle: LA decides to scale down an overwhelming, globe-spanning alien attack by sticking the camera within the action encountered by a small band of marines.  Post the introductory bits to familiarize the viewer with the men they will be following, the film has no reason to cut between different groups once the chaos begins.  There are no cuts to the president’s devastated face as he learns the news, no secret underground facilities ready to reveal the studies they have been conducting on these aliens for years, etc. Instead, following the ridiculously noticeable steady shots to showcase the CGI and extent of the escalating destruction on the city, the camera shakily remains on this group throughout its entirety as they make their way into the thick of the attack, tasked with rescuing a group of stranded civilians (yet another reason I know I would never make it in the military.  Go back towards the invading forces to save 5 people? Oh, I think I’m sick, *cough cough*).

The introductions in the beginning do create connections between the characters and audience, and though plenty of the characters get unceremoniously dropped without a second glance the absences among the constantly dwindling numbers do not just feel like the usual cannon fodder of war films.  With that said, this is not a character driven story, nor is it an overarching story driven story.  With this get from point A to point B and back again structure, the story really is thin at best.  However, the set up makes it so this really isn’t that much of a negative.  For one thing there aren’t really any more surprises when it comes to motive.  The aliens aren’t going to share the secrets of the matrix with us or give everyone puppies, and though the reasoning behind the attack this time around isn’t as horrible as it is in Skyline, it is pretty lame.  Which is why it is best to ignore it as best as you can and just enjoy the ride.

Structured similarly to many soldier-centric video games, all plot points are solely those pertaining to what these marines encounter along the way, putting enough obstacles into the mix to keep the story continuously moving forward from objective to objective (granted the ticking clock doesn’t hurt either).  And by obstacles I mean more and more opportunities for pew pewing.

And pew pew they will.  From the first seconds of impact it is clear that these aliens do not come in peace, and the action elements take full advantage of this.  In other words, if you are not a fan of explosions then there really is nothing here for you.  The dialog is full of military jargon that makes little to no sense to the average person, and other than a few hilarious lines, it gets downright cheesy in its bravado more often than not.  But like a dog spotting a squirrel, as soon as I started to lose interest… OOO EXPLOSION!  And when the final event was unfolding, my mind went a little something like this: “Really?! This is where we have found ourselves? Ooo! More pew pewing!”

So if you are to pull anything out of this review, all that needs to be known going in is that this film works well enough for those who enjoy nice looking action films with decent CGI and no story to bog it down.  Or for those with ADHD.  Or those who like to make sound effects along with movies.  Not that I was doing that or anything…  At least not aloud…

Final Grade: B-