SCI-FI WAR MOVIE: Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

                “Battle: Los Angeles” (also titled “Battle: LA” or internationally “World Invasion:  Battle Los Angeles”) is a war movie with aliens in it, according to director Jonathan Liebesman.  He was inspired by the styles of “Black Hawk Down” and “Saving Private Ryan”.  The quasi-documentary style was an attempt to replicate video footage of Marines in Fallujah, Iraq.  The seed of the script came from a legendary incident called the “Battle of Los Angeles” which occurred in 1942 after Pearl Harbor.  Panic over the war situation led to a barrage of anti-aircraft fire to stop a supposed Japanese attack.  Apparently, this was an extreme overreaction to a weather balloon.  (The same incident inspired the movie “1941”.) The movies budget was $100 million and it grossed over $200 million worldwide.  It was filmed in Louisiana due to financial incentives.  The production had extensive cooperation from the Pentagon including using Marines as extras and the use of Osprey aircraft and helicopters.  The actors were put through a three-week boot camp to learn platoon tactics and how Marines behave.  Technical advisers were provided for realism.

                The movie is set in the present.  Sgt. Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) is about to retire, unless something unforeseen prevents it.  That unforeseen event is the arrival of aliens via meteors.  They make an amphibious invasion onto the beaches of L.A.  Nantz is assigned to a new platoon whose mission is to help evacuate civilians from the city before it is bombed to stop the aliens.  The clock is ticking.  They are ambushed at the start by alien infantry.  The alien warriors are biological creatures with exoskeletons that have weapons and communications implanted.  They are 8 feet tall and hard to kill, but not invulnerable.  Although robotic, they are equivalent of Soviet infantry from WWII.  The aliens get air support from drones that quickly establish air superiority.  Nantz’s platoon, led by a green Lt., takes refuge in a police station for the last stand portion of the movie.  They find a few civilians to protect.  From the police station, the movie kicks into the escape through enemy lines sequence.  This results in a nifty fire-fight on an overpass.  Some will eventually reach safety  In the final act, Nantz and his suicide squad must save mankind by taking out the alien command center. 

                “BLA” is surprisingly good for a combat porn movie.  It has a high percentage of action, but it is not graphic because Liebesman wanted a PG-13 rating.  There are lots of explosions and copious expenditure of ammunition.  The aliens are a worthy foe and although superior, they are not “War of the Worlds” superior.  Although the movie emphasizes that they have only one weak spot, they are actually pretty easy to kill. The fire-fights are fairly equal and the tactics of both sides make sense.  The Marines use covering fire and fire and maneuver.  They have current weapons, mostly the M4A1 and M16A4.  Curiously, the American forces are missing artillery support, bombers, and helicopter gunships.   And, of course, no nukes because that would be too easy.  The aliens are armed with machine guns and grenade launchers.  Their drones fire phosphorous explosives.

                The plot is basically that of a WWII movie.  There is nothing original, but it is competently done.  There are some clichés.  Nantz is in need of redemption.  The green Lt. earns respect through self-sacrifice.  The enemy “brain” must be destroyed.  The characters are stereotypes with the addition of the now standard strong female warrior portrayed by Michelle Rodriquez (who else?).  There is only cursory character development because that is not what the audience came for, plus you have seen all the personalities before.  Thankfully, they are not forced to mouth trite dialogue and the acting is fine.  Eckhart makes a good anchor and he put his heart into the role.  (He broke an arm in a fall and continued without a cast.) The boot camp must have worked because the actors have the Marine ethos down.  They move like Marines.  Speaking of movement, the cinematography makes heavy use of hand-held cameras and you get the impression you are with them as they maneuver.  The CGI is not cheesy and the aliens are impressive, if derivative of films like “District 9”.  Kudos to the drone designer.  Those are original and their ramshackle look has led to the fan theory that the aliens are attacking Earth not only for its tropeish water resources, but possibly because warfare has decimated their home planet.

                BLA is an underrated sci-fi war movie.  It is entertaining, especially if you look at it as intended – a war movie with aliens in it.  The action is consistent and the plot, if predictable, moves briskly.  It does have an “America, fuck yeah!” vibe to it, but sometimes we just need to revel in patriotism.  Especially when it comes to protecting our country from despicable aliens who have come to take our H2O.

GRADE  =  B

SCI-FI WAR MOVIE: Independence Day (1996)

                “Independence Day” initiated a resurgence of summer blockbusters and made a superstar of Will Smith.  It was directed by Roland Emmerich (“Midway”).  He wanted to make a movie about aliens that did not have them sneaking and hiding.  It was the highest grossing movie of 1996 and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.  There are over 3,000 special effects shots, twice the previous record.  The movie also set a record for most miniatures.  Some of the effects and miniatures were necessary because the Pentagon withdrew cooperation when Emmerich refused to remove references to Area 51.  The mega-patriotic score won the Grammy.  It won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.

                The movie opens on July 2.  The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence unit picks up a radio signal from the moon.  The soundtrack blares REM’s “It’s the End of the World” in case you were one of the few moviegoers who were not impacted by the movies massive advertising campaign.  Genius nerd David Levinson (Jeff Goldblum) makes the huge leap to recognition that those ominous alien spacecraft hovering over key iconic landmarks are not here bringing gifts.  He drives from NYC to the White House to convince the president (Bill Pullman) that his approval ratings will go up if he leads the world in a war for survival.  The crisis will also do wonders for David’s relationship with his former wife.  The dastardly communistic aliens blow up the White House in the greatest money shot in sci-fi movie history.  What seemed extreme in 1996…  As usual in an alien invasion movie, the humans have all the pluck, but the aliens are seemingly invincible.  Their fighters are so superior that it takes Will Smith to bring one down.  Their space ships have force fields so they have nothing to worry about, even violation of the cinematic interplanetary treaty forbidding Earthlings to use nukes in our defense has no effect. It’s going to take a miracle, like in every other alien invasion movie.

                 The movie hops around following its ensemble of stereotyped characters.  There would have been a lot of fired agents if the movie had gotten the box office it deserved.  Just to mention the most egregious:  Randy Quaid steps right out of “National Lampoon’s Vacation” to play an alcoholic, alien abductee who will switch from flying a crop duster to piloting an F-18 with no training.  As usual in movies of this ilk, any average Joe can save the world.  The climactic suicide mission is led by the kick-ass President of the U.S. who happens to be an ex-fighter jock. The silliness eventually reaches an idiot-pleasing crescendo and (spoiler alert) we win against all reason.  The last ten minutes are a shitfest.

                How anyone could have left the theater without shaking their head and covering their face is beyond me.  If the goal of the film was to insult the intelligence of millions, mission accomplished.  It accomplishes this mission by cribbing its list of sci-fi war movie clichés.  Pompous patriotic score – check.  Lame humor – check.  Happy rousing ending – check.  Redemption character saves the world – check.  Vastly superior aliens defeated ludicrously – check.  Huge crowd-pleasing explosions – check.  The list goes on.  If you want to turn your brain off and allow yourself to be entertained, fine.  But don’t try to argue it is a good movie.

GRADE  =  D

SCI-FI WAR MOVIE: War of the Worlds (2005)

                This is the first in my series of reviews of war movies in a sci-fi setting.  “War of the Worlds” was Steven Spielberg’s attempt to balance the alien ass-kissing of his “Close Encounters” and “E.T.”.  He was determined to make a scary aliens movie.  But with typical Spielbergian feel-goodies, of course.  He thought H.G. Wells’ novel was perfect for this redemption.  Screenwriters Josh Friedman and David Koepp made the wise decision to place the movie in the present.  That allowed them to tap into the 9/11 vibe.  Spielberg used five different sound stages for the film.  He also used cutting edge computer technology for the effects.  The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (losing to “King Kong”). 

                The movie centers on Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) and his children. Since he is played by Cruise, he has to be a charming asshole.  He is divorced and immature.  His relationship with his kids will need a major crisis in lieu of family counseling.  Lucky for him, aliens invade on cue.  Well, they don’t really invade.  Spielberg did not want the cliched spaceships hovering.  Instead the aliens arise from pods buried underground for God knows how long.  Just like the terrorists of 9/11.  They have death rays that turn people to ash.  The ash reminds of the debris from the Twin Towers.  Ferrier and his kids escape NYC in the only functioning auto and vamoose on an interstate that is conveniently not blocked by stalled vehicles, allowing them to go 80 MPH.  This is the beginning of the head-scratching moments that will populate the film.  They head for Boston to return the kids to their mom.  Along the way they encounter the chaos of a greatly superior enemy pillaging America.  The Army (including the first cinematic use of real M1 Abrams tanks) cannot do anything against the alien tripods (a nice reimagining of Wells’ crafts) because of their force fields.  This does not stop civilians (including the son) from running toward a battle site in a particularly ludicrous scene.  The big reveal of the icky aliens occurs when Ferrier and his daughter are holed up with a lunatic survivalist (Tim Robbins).  His son has gone astray, as teenage boys are wont to do.  The aliens are worth the wait, as is what they are doing to people.  All seems lost for mankind since the aliens cannot lose.  But do you think Spielberg would let that happen?

                This is a stupid, stupid movie.  The fact that it was a blockbuster tells you a lot about the movie-going public.  People must have been attracted to the special effects, which are very good.  And Cruise was at his most charming with a cute little girl (Dakota Fanning) to protect.  These elements do not overcome the silliness of the plot.  Everything is predictable, especially if you know it’s a Spielberg movie aimed at a wide audience.  No significant character dies.  The family is reunited in one of the most treacly endings in sci-fi movie history.  The characters are all stereotypes, especially Ferrier.  His redemption arc is not exactly ground-breaking. 

                Since this is a war movie review, allow me to point out that the movie comes up way short in its depiction of war.  The military has no intelligent answer to the enemy.  Nukes are not used (even thought they probably would not have worked) and the only effective weapon is grenades in the hands of a father desperate to rescue his cute daughter.  The “combat” consists mainly of the aliens blowing shit up.  That’s cool, but it’s not exactly a fair fight.  As in many sci-fi war movies, mankind’s balls are pulled out of the fire by pure luck.  If we ever have a real alien invasion, don’t be confident based on what you have seen in movies.

GRADE  =  C-

QUEUE CLEANSING: Alien Outpost (2014)

       “Alien Outpost” (also known as “Outpost 37”) is a sci-fi war movie.  It supposedly was released to theaters in 2014.  I assume that refers to the few remaining drive-in movie theaters.  The movie was directed by Jabbar Raisani.  If Donald Trump has his way, we won’t be seeing any more movies from him.  On second thought, this might be one of Trump's favorite movies.  Someone likened it to a combination of “Restrepo” and “Starship Troopers”.  It is part of the found footage subgenre as two journalists are embedded with a platoon.

                The movie is set in the year 2033.  This is twelve years after Earth was invaded by aliens called “Heavies”.  Title cards tell us Earth got its act together by abandoning the United Nations concept and substituting a military alliance that evicted the main Heavy force.  A sizable number of alien soldiers were left behind causing the USDF to maintain outposts to hunt them down.  At this point, most of the outposts have been abandoned for lack of targets.  Outpost 37 is on the Afghan-Pakistani border where there is still alien contact.  The defenders are underappreciated and the arrival of the documentarians will hopefully fix this.  The outpost has the task of not only dealing with Heavies, but also the local jihadists.  That’s right – even eighteen years from now, they still hate us!  The two journalists arrive with three replacements who are immediately pranked so we know the movie will have some soldier life as a theme.  The CO is no nonsense and insists the reporters be armed with pistols. There are no noncombatants at this site.

                The movie mixes found footage through the lens of the documentary and interviews with the soldiers (some of them after the event).  The interviews allow for flashbacks to previous events involving the outpost.  The movie is not simply an Alamo wannabe.  The plot is fairly complicated.  One strand involves their apparently loyal interpreter named Saleem and another involves the rescue of a captured soldier named North.  Both of these lead to the big reveal that the Heavies are implanting mind control devices in the locals.  This explains the sudden uptick in attacks.  This allows Raisani to stage two wild fire fights (with nary a scratch to the good guys).  In spite of the Heavy/jihadist poor marksmanship, the camp needs to be abandoned.  On the plus side, it has to be blown up with extreme prejudice, of course.  Instead of hightailing it, they disobey orders and go to check out a mysterious site.  It turns out that the Heavies have built a device to weaken Earth’s satellite-based defense system to allow a renewed invasion.  The device must be destroyed.  And we need another kick-ass fire fight and we need to get one of the cameramen killed.  Check, check, and check.

Heavy, dude.

                “Alien Outpost” is not as bad as you would expect.  I’m not implying that it is in a league with “Restrepo” or “Starship Troopers”, but it’s a nice little time waster.  It does suffer from its low budget.  I would not be surprised if “Restrepo” had a higher budget.  “Restrepo” certainly had better acting.  However, the cast of “Alien Outpost” does a fair impression of real soldiers.  The soldier vibe is realistic.  The lingo is not forced.  The interiors are authentic and appear to have been influenced by “Restrepo”.  The hazing of the new guys is true to form and we can assume that type of thing will still be occurring eighteen years from now.  What I cannot see happening eighteen years from now is our soldiers using current day weapons.  The only sop the movie makes on this anachronism is lipping that they have developed a special bullet within a bullet that can penetrate Heavy armor.  It is depicted as a .50 caliber round, but apparently can be fired from any firearm, including pistols!  For a low budget film, the effects are pretty good.  The Heavies are cool, but naturally we don’t see a lot of them.  They reminded me of the aliens in “District Nine”.  The effects are surprisingly good which means the combat is visceral and there is a lot of it.  The tactics are fine with covering fire and flanking.  Movies like this usually don’t go to the trouble.

                It’s hard to say if “Alien Outpost” had any other goal than kick-ass entertainment for fourteen year old boys.  It might be making a statement about the current war on terrorism I suppose.  The outpost is undermanned, underfunded, and underappreciated.  Current soldiers in Afghanistan can relate to that.  Another theory is the brainwashing of the locals is a comment on the radical Islamists of today.  Or maybe I’m being too deep for a movie entitled “Alien Outpost”.

GRADE  =  C