Has there been a lack of really good action science fiction alien invasion films over the last ten years?
In the post 2007 Transformers age, directors started to roll the dice on the big fun sci-fi flicks. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the alien invasion flick that critics hated, but is it time to re-visit the film?
Some say the film was the wanna be Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day, which in truth was what the director wanted. In my opinion, there are elements to enjoy in Battle Los Angeles, but the script is what lets the film down the most. Although, the film can be enjoyed from a visual perspective and it does come to down to expectation.
By 2011, new CGI technology was becoming the driving point in what audiences and fans of cinema wanted to see. Directors could create monsters, spaceships and robots like never before. The same year, we saw Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig team up for the surprisingly fun Cowboys and Aliens (2011) and Gareth Edwards worked on his minor miracle piece Monsters. Whilst Cowboys and Aliens (2011) proved to be a guilty pleasure, due its title and sense of charm, Battle Los Angeles on the other hand has flown completely under the radar and may be remembered for the film that could have been based of its promising trailers.
When the concept was first brought to the world of global advertising, audiences were impressed with the tense trailer, featuring The Dark Knight’s Aaron Eckhart and End of Watch’s Michael Pena. Aaron Eckhart is the bold spot throughout the film, he proves to be a competent war leader who can pull of drama very well, its a shame that some of his lines don’t always work.
The film is brought to us by Jonathan Liebesman, who will be directing the upcoming Halo TV series. Upon looking at this filmography, he loves big budget visual effects and its the visuals that seems to be his niche. His most notable directed film lately was 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The story is written by Christopher Bertolini who wrote The General’s Daughter with John Travolta back in 1999. He has yet to write a film since.
However, one of the main problems audiences had with the film was the overuse of shaky cam. The director was going for a hyper realistic take on what alien combat would look like. The end result may give some nausea.
You’re enjoyment of the film is all dependent on expectation. This concept was been done to death, but its all about the execution and the soundtrack by Brian Tyler adds to the experience. You can see all the plot points unfold like a ticking box, but you go for the overall experience. The sound of the bullets flying past the soldiers and the sacrifices they make is what the production crew care most about.
The hardest part of the film is hoping that a potential alien form wont resemble the species shown in the film, otherwise it would literally be the end of the world.
Some of the photo stills would be enough to get you excited. Take a look.
Each image has elements of tragedy, awe and spectacle. The cinematographer is Lukas Ettlin who worked on Transformers and The Lincoln Lawyer.
With all this said, how did the film do critically and financially?
With a budget of 70 million, the film grossed $211,819,354 worldwide. It turns out that audiences generally liked the concept. Despite Simon Mayo enjoying the film, most Critics, weren’t so friendly, with a rotten tomatoes score of 36%. Yet IGN were more favourable towards the flick and saw the film for what it was and what it was trying to do, giving the film a respectable 3 out of 5 stars.
A sequel has been rumoured but never confirmed. The film is available on Netflix and I do recommend it just for the cinematic experience.
Originally produced and written over at BacktotheMovies 🙂
Author Bio
Sam is a content writer. He loves all elements connected with film and writes with passion, always. You can find him on his Linkedin, where you will be able to read more articles. When he is not writing, you can find him practicing football
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