The Reviews are in: Battle LA Misses the Mark

IotaNet · #1 03-10-2011, 05:54 AM

I'm highly disappointed. After months of some of the coolest trailers in recent memory, the movie "Battle LA" appears to be one big dud.

The reviews are starting to hit the interwebs and they are not kind. Here's a representative sample from CINEMATICAL ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cinematical.com

The eyeball-rolling starts early and often in 'Battle: Los Angeles,' an alien invasion picture that drowns in its own bathetic soap opera. Visually arresting, with dynamic shaky-cam combat footage mixed seamlessly with a myriad of explosions and an endless army of alien footsoldiers, the film never bothers to develop the characters beyond the most rudimentary stereotypes.

Read more here: 'Battle Los Angeles' Review: Angry Aliens vs. Simple Stereotypes - The Moviefone Blog

That's just a sample -- the move is getting uniformly panned. Roger Ebert gave it HALF a star.

That's too bad because I was really looking forward to this one. The trailers were well-crafted (Big kudos for the use of "The Sun's Gone Dim" ... totally haunting) and the story had real potential. Too bad they botched it.

I don't think this one will get my $10.

hover · #2 03-10-2011, 06:38 AM

that really SUCKS. I truly wanted this to be as awesome as the trailers, but now I'm hearing it's just essentially "skyline" with alien robots instead of just aliens.

another case of Joss Whedon-itis.

DwaynieAD · #3 03-10-2011, 06:42 AM

Woah.. people actually thought this looked good? I want to like it, but it looked like the took a little "transformers" and a little "cloverfield" mixed it all together and sold it at the 99 cents store.

i'll watch it when it hits video either way.

now, lets talk about suckerpunch

hover · #4 03-10-2011, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DwaynieAD

Woah.. people actually thought this looked good?

Yeah, I actually did. I thought it might have been a smart-style take on the genre ala Dicstrict 9, I don['t always want to shut my brain off if I watch a movie like this, and it had Ekhart in it, I figured he's a bit more discriminating with his role choices.

oh well.

Suckerpunch looks awesome.

Skitch it! · #5 03-10-2011, 07:26 AM

I liked the look of the trailer, for effects they looked pretty impressive, that's the problem though, you only see the effects, not the actual substance of the film. Disappointing to hear that the effects -are- the film.

Relic · #6 03-10-2011, 08:37 AM

I honestly kind of figured as much.... I'm very very skeptical of any of this sort of sci-fi/action movie. Sci-Fi IMO, has taken a complete and total nosedive within the decade or two.
The emphasis these days are on action, special effects, shock and awe... it's almost as though storylines are secondary and just recycled over and over again but in different settings.
I really miss the low-budget stuff where the acting, storyline/plot, and depth carry the piece. There have been a few good ones, but not many.

**jmattbassplaya** · #7 03-10-2011, 08:41 AM

Can we talk about the 'shaky-cam for combat footage' thing for a minute?

Who actually enjoys action scenes that implement this sort of thing? Personally, I find it distracting and disorienting. I also think it takes away from the action and makes things a lot less exciting since I can't even tell what's going on.

For example, the latest Bond movie used a lot of it in its action scenes and I overall found the movie really dull. I also recently went back and watched a lot of the older Bond films (Goldfinger, Octopussy, Thunderball, etc...) and thought they were so much more exciting even though they didn't do the shaky-cam thing even once.

hover · #8 03-10-2011, 08:44 AM

well the latest trend in voyeuristic / immersive / 3d nonsense has a big nod as to why this type of technique is so prevalent...they want so badly to make you feel you are "there" that they stopped realizing we shouldn't feel that way. But as has been said in a few reviews I've read, that this is in place of actually developing a plot and characters...so sickenning.

When is Hollywood ever going to wake up? When are the sheep gonna stop buying tickets to be "ooh and awed" for 90 minutes and bilked out of 15 bucks for the priveledge?? The most this movie will get from me is 1 buck at a Redbox now.

bassman1185 · #9 03-10-2011, 08:50 AM

DANG IT. I was looking forward to this movie more than anything else that is coming out this year.

warwick.hoy · #10 03-10-2011, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hover

well the latest trend in voyeuristic / immersive / 3d nonsense has a big nod as to why this type of technique is so prevalent...they want so badly to make you feel you are "there" that they stopped realizing we shouldn't feel that way. But as has been said in a few reviews I've read, that this is in place of actually developing a plot and characters...so sickenning.

When is Hollywood ever going to wake up? When are the sheep gonna stop buying tickets to be "ooh and awed" for 90 minutes and bilked out of 15 bucks for the priveledge?? The most this movie will get from me is 1 buck at a Redbox now.

Don't hold your breath. Hollywood movies mostly suck.

MakiSupaStar · #11 03-10-2011, 09:10 AM

Did it have the dubstep sci-fi noise in it? bawawawawauhmmmm.

Unrepresented · #12 03-10-2011, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Can we talk about the 'shaky-cam for combat footage' thing for a minute?

Who actually enjoys action scenes that implement this sort of thing? Personally, I find it distracting and disorienting. I also think it takes away from the action and makes things a lot less exciting since I can't even tell what's going on.

+1

Hated the shaky cam thing since its popular injection in Gladiator and Saving Private Ryan, same response you have.

I'd go see Battle of LA if at least some of the reviews range towards positive. I really like movies with this concept and scale, but if the plot and execution are that bad I'll pass.

IotaNet · #13 03-10-2011, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DwaynieAD

Woah.. people actually thought this looked good?

I had high hopes.

When I heard /saw this trailer, I was totally blown away: YouTube - Battle: Los Angeles Trailer HD 1080p.

I couldn't get that song out of my head for weeks.

Skitch it! · #14 03-10-2011, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IotaNet

I had high hopes.

When I heard /saw this trailer, I was totally blown away: YouTube - Battle: Los Angeles Trailer HD 1080p.

I couldn't get that song out of my head for weeks.

I thought the trailer looked pretty good, but more a case of 'hook 'em up and reel 'em' in' by the seems, I'll wait until it hits the $5.00 pick and mix film bin ; )

MJ5150 · #15 03-10-2011, 10:14 AM

I'm down for some cool explosions and special effects. I don't really care about the character development if they're going to get blown up later on in the movie anyway.

-Mike

bassman1185 · #16 03-10-2011, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJ5150

I'm down for some cool explosions and special effects. I don't really care about the character development if they're going to get blown up later on in the movie anyway.

-Mike

I like the way you think, sir.

MakiSupaStar · #17 03-10-2011, 10:34 AM

I'll wait until it hits Netflix.

Joe Gress · #18 03-10-2011, 10:40 AM

Is their boobies in it?

Relic · #19 03-10-2011, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Gress

Is their boobies in it?

This is important. Bewbs make all the difference. So long as there are bewbs, there is no need for plot, storyline or any of that extraneous drivel. Just bewbs. Bewbs is good.

lopxtc · #20 03-10-2011, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hover

they want so badly to make you feel you are "there" that they stopped realizing we shouldn't feel that way.

The best example for me of how a scene can make you feel there without the shaky-cam is "Children of Men". While I cant say I like the political message in the movie, the scene where he is running through the refuge camp dodging from cover to cover and such is absolutely brilliant. Having been in the military and pretty much moved under cover the way he did, they did it really well and really made you feel like you were trying to stay low with him.

Aaron