Battle:LA

[Supernova141]

This is honestly one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time. I love military-themed action movies, but they usually have very uninteresting and forgettable characters. Battle:LA is one of the few that has the best of both worlds.

Did anyone else notice that the most badass member of the group got almost no attention plot-wise? The guy with paint under his eyes, he did virtually all the work the whole movie. He was one of the only characters who kept his cool the whole time, he took out that flying thing with a 40mm grenade, he killed the two aliens in that hallway, he was the one who placed the explosives on the ground at the end, and he was the one who shot the explosives as the aliens passed over them. And yet... he had the fewest lines and almost no back story. What the fuck...

[Shiraishi-kun]

Oh, damn!! This, Cowboys vs. Aliens and Transformers: Dark of the Moon are my big three must-watch movies this year. Can't wait to see 'em.

[kirant]

One thing I heard is that it's heavily pro-US military. Much like the new War of the Worlds, it drives hard that the military is some super honourable, ultra elite force. Kind of like Independence Day, but with proper command. Have also heard it's cliche riddled and basically all lines are either cut and paste or just suck.

Honestly, it sounds like a good popcorn film, but nothing else (though there's nothing wrong with that. I like Independence Day for that reason).

[furball]

I just googled it and watched the trailer on youtube...dang...I actually wanna watch this now :P

[Supernova141]

One thing I heard is that it's heavily pro-US military. Much like the new War of the Worlds, it drives hard that the military is some super honourable, ultra elite force. Kind of like Independence Day, but with proper command. Have also heard it's cliche riddled and basically all lines are either cut and paste or just suck.

Honestly, it sounds like a good popcorn film, but nothing else (though there's nothing wrong with that. I like Independence Day for that reason).

I didn't get the feeling that the movie had any kind of agenda. I mean, it's a military action movie, what do want? Just because it didn't point out all the ways in which our military sucks doesn't mean it was trying to shove a message down anyone's throat. This is one of those instances of people making up themes where there are none. (And that's ignoring the fact that there actually WAS a scene that cast the military in a negative light. But I won't get into it because it's besides the point)

And yeah, a lot of lines probably did sound like they were cut and paste... from real military protocol. If I'm ever sent to Afghanistan and I hear someone say "frag out", I'll be sure to tell them, "Dude, that's so cliche".

[kirant]

I didn't get the feeling that the movie had any kind of agenda. I mean, it's a military action movie, what do want? Just because it didn't point out all the ways in which our military sucks doesn't mean it was trying to shove a message down anyone's throat. This is one of those instances of people making up themes where there are none. (And that's ignoring the fact that there actually WAS a scene that cast the military in a negative light. But I won't get into it because it's besides the point)
It's more of a side of glorifying the military. It's a pretty common complaint on many popcorn films, as the complexities are hard to implement without ruining that thin willing suspension of disbelief for the type of show.

And yeah, a lot of lines probably did sound like they were cut and paste... from real military protocol. If I'm ever sent to Afghanistan and I hear someone say "frag out", I'll be sure to tell them, "Dude, that's so cliche".
I meant cut and paste from any standard action film. Really, military conversation is much less exciting (and battles are a crap tonne less interesting in reality).

[Veldin]

many ppl love it becouse of the military,
but hate it becouse lack of alien shit ;)

but, i love military more then alien shit,
so, i tink i wil see it sometime :D

[Supernova141]

(and battles are a crap tonne less interesting in reality).

If by "less interesting" you mean "less like an action movie", I really didn't notice anything too implausible, especially considering they were fighting aliens. I can't even think of a single instance of someone doing something that wouldn't be possible for a real soldier. The only bullshit I can think of was
at the very end, they seemed a little too eager to go back into combat. I mean, really? Not even gonna grab a snack or take a piss?

That said, I don't mind when movies spice up combat, as long as everything stays plausible. I'd much rather watch a movie about exceptional soldiers than about average soldiers.

[Konata_is_Mine]

If by "less interesting" you mean "less like an action movie", I really didn't notice anything too implausible, especially considering they were fighting aliens. I can't even think of a single instance of someone doing something that wouldn't be possible for a real soldier. The only bullshit I can think of was
at the very end, they seemed a little too eager to go back into combat. I mean, really? Not even gonna grab a snack or take a piss?

That said, I don't mind when movies spice up combat, as long as everything stays plausible. I'd much rather watch a movie about exceptional soldiers than about average soldiers.

I don't know, Saving Private Ryan is one of my favorite movies....

But yeah, this looks like a fun movie to watch! :D Its not like anyone will miss L.A....( I joke, I joke.)

[Konata Suzumiya]

One thing I heard is that it's heavily pro-US military. Much like the new War of the Worlds, it drives hard that the military is some super honourable, ultra elite force.

havent seen the m0vie myself, but it c0uld easily be the kind that black hawk d0wn (the b00k) enf0rces. a feeling m0re t0wards the br0therly b0nds that are devel0ped, which when speaking t0 many veterans is usually enf0rced as truth.

[kirant]

If by "less interesting" you mean "less like an action movie", I really didn't notice anything too implausible, especially considering they were fighting aliens.
Virtually every show uses "Hollywood tactics", where something dumb like full auto, fighting without equipment/soldier fatigue, charging out of formation, or firing without cover becomes prevalent. Very few shows actually do it properly (We Were Soldiers, Tora Tora Tora, and Blackhawk Down are the first three examples I can remember).

I can't even think of a single instance of someone doing something that wouldn't be possible for a real soldier. The only bullshit I can think of was
at the very end, they seemed a little too eager to go back into combat. I mean, really? Not even gonna grab a snack or take a piss?
See above.

That said, I don't mind when movies spice up combat, as long as everything stays plausible. I'd much rather watch a movie about exceptional soldiers than about average soldiers.
Again, I have no qualms with it in a popcorn movie. It's just that I'm always impressed if the movie goes out of its way to look good while doing so.

havent seen the m0vie myself, but it c0uld easily be the kind that black hawk d0wn (the b00k) enf0rces. a feeling m0re t0wards the br0therly b0nds that are devel0ped, which when speaking t0 many veterans is usually enf0rced as truth.
I think you missed the point. A show like Blackhawk Down did this properly, as much of the situation was caused by Americans in the first place, who thought they could walk in and settle things as the policemen they thought they were. A show like Transformers 2 did this poorly.

[furball]

One of the reasons I want to watch this film is that from what I've read, it's at least sort of realistic compared with other alien invasion movies.

[kirant]

Just came back. First, they need a better camera. All the shakiness added in with popcorn gave me motion sickness a few times. However, this is a poor show and is probably only worth a DVD rental.

First, the theme of the movie is extremely pro-American and pro-military. The "rah-rah" spirit of the military that appears in Transformers 2 is really a pain and leads to some moments which really tempted me to laugh. I realize there's a strong brotherly emotion in the Marines, but it gets to the point of stupidity every once in a while.

Second, the alien realism sucks. The alien invasion has its typical flaws and then some (which is completely expected from a popcorn film about aliens). It's not a huge problem, but the attack was completely dumb. Yeah, let's leave our key building virtually unprotected on ground. Yeah, let's only have troops, planes, and the occasional vehicle (which is really lightly armed)...AND attack with our lightly armed troops first. Yeah, let's NOT just bombard from the air against a force which can't do much against our air force (actually, this is what pushes Independence Day to be even more realistic than Battle: LA). Yeah, let's attack the most heavily armed nations first and on pretty heavy coasts instead of the middle of nowhere like Hawaii or Australia. Also, the aliens seem to suffer movie fatigue and get much easier to kill as time goes on.

And from a theoretical point of view, it gets even dumber. Chemically, running on water, an extremely stable substance, is hard to use as a fuel. The formation OF water by reverse hydrolysis is very exothermic and is a reason why combustion forms water (for the same reasons that CO2 is a common product

Third, the military is completely unrealistic. The basic premise makes sense for a line of defence. However, there are plenty of problems. Getting troops to the FOB by chopper is a little haphazard. It's fair enough that it could happen at least. Additionally, some of the dumb moves by the squad make sense given the head's lack of field experience. However, lots of soldier moves exist. For example, there is firing while standing, scrambling fighters without formation, landing unarmed choppers without support, or the entire last half hour of the show. And what gets me the most is the actions of the marine squad once they're free.

So...you just escaped hell and about 1/3 to 1/4 of your squad is left. You've got the last survivor of a key team and a crap load of key information for winning the war. Tine to go back home and relay it all right? Nope.

And the ending gets even worse.
The man who just went through TWO series of hell and wanted to hang them up (and can't even keep up with the rest of the team if it weren't for his massive experience)...all of a sudden wants back in...plus, Michelle Rodriguez isn't even a marine! The upper management should have something to say about an Air Force pilot playing soldier with elite forces.

Oh, and during the final battle
Dear god, how dumb is that? Marines, ADVANCE? You're like 7 men, going low on ammo, and they've got like 50 aliens. Even if they're running away, just stay back and let them run. No sane commander would tell you to attack and to instead lick your wounds and wait for reinforcements.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. On the other hand, it's a nice graphics and action trip. But nothing really warranting the fee/possible concessions in a movie theatre.

EDIT - Oh, and the dialogue in the first 20 minutes. Oh god, the dialogue. It sounds like you took the black men from "the hood" from the early 1990's.

One of the reasons I want to watch this film is that from what I've read, it's at least sort of realistic compared with other alien invasion movies.
It's not in the least. See above. I'd argue that Independence Day is better outside of a couple idiotic moves (IE Letting the President go into combat and the fact that the war was basically solved by a Mac).

[Hiyori's-Boyfriend]

I watched this film about 3 hours ago. Its fucking amazing and realistic.

Consider it Black Hawk Down but with aliens and you have it in a Nutshell.

And Kirant - It was realistic.
All the weapons used were real, all the Military tactitics used in the film were tried and tested, All real. The US Marines Chain of command was followed in this film more realisticly than in most other Sci-fi films. The level of destruction and death was as realistic as one could predict an alien invasion would be like.
The acting was brilliant, and the 'Advance' part during the ending was a direct result of the Alien forces panic inflicted retreat.
Its not pro-American at all. Its Pro-Military and Pro-Humanity. It shows that an alien force can be beaten by Man and our weapons, Not some deus ex machina crap like a virus or a new super weapon. The concept of a Pro-American film is one which contains many references to American history, use of the American flag and direct references to America being the 'Free nation'. There was only one shot of the US flag and that was in reference to its location. The film isn't Pro-American atall.

Oh, and a man who downloads a Cam rip of a film does not hold the opinion to judge it.

This film is by far the most realistic Alien invasion film created to date. You can not compare this to Independence day. For reasons I wont even begin to argue. But I will say that if you complain this film is flawed by a non-existing Pro-American undertone and then go on to argue that Independence day is better... Theres something wrong with you.

PS.
The events of this film may play a pivital role in the battle for the west cost of a America but it does not play a pivital role in the war. There is no "Crap load of infomation about winning the war" featured in this film. The aliens may indeed wipe us out after the events of this film have ended. They may have re-enforcements, during there attack they crippled the US Air force and the US Army. Proberly the US Navy too - which is the most modern large scale fighting force on this planet at this point in history. If you can cripple the so called 'super power' that is America whilst causing mass devistation to Russia, Europe, South Americas, Austrailia and asia. Your doing something right.

[kirant]

All the weapons used were real, all the Military tactitics used in the film were tried and tested, All real. The US Marines Chain of command was followed in this film more realisticly than in most other Sci-fi films. The level of destruction and death was as realistic as one could predict an alien invasion would be like.
I never argued with most of that. The CoC is accurate (down to the NUMBERS of marines used in a squad), the guns are good, and the destruction/damage is fine.

If you look carefully, I stated that the actions by the units were dumb. Again, no sane fighter will scramble without formation against an enemy that, after 1 attack, will blatantly crush it 1 on 1. No sane soldier would try to play hero and drop 7 forces into a suicide mission. Not even Independence Day was that dumb (it's close) overall. The plane fan in you would note that the fighters were done extremely well there.

The acting was brilliant, and the 'Advance' part during the ending was a direct result of the Alien forces panic inflicted retreat.
But no real commander would do that with the forces left. There's such a huge risk in the complete wipe out of your remaining personnel. Additionally, you don't even know if there are aliens retreating behind you, since you're so close to the front line. If there were a few aliens on the front retreating, they have a clear shot of your back. Plus, very few advances in reality are like that. They're much more concerted, cautions efforts as you're so damn wide open during that march. Heck, if you're trading shots, somebody should have died on the marines while marching forward, even if both sides are just blindly shooting. You're such a big target while walking. I'm not taking anything away from the stupidity of the aliens, but, still.

Add in fatigue and lack of ammo compared to your opponents, it's no wonder Eckhart's character lost troops in his other commands.

Its not pro-American at all. Its Pro-Military and Pro-Humanity. It shows that an alien force can be beaten by Man and our weapons, Not some deus ex machina crap like a virus or a new super weapon.
Pro American as in pro-marine. Also, it shows us that, as always, you will win by playing hero on a suicidal mission. In this case, you replace a drop off elite mission instead of a suicide mission into space. The fact that Eckhart decided to do that instead of relaying the information back to base SUCCESSFULLY against major odds is, in itself, a pretty large dues ex machina. On the other hand, while a virus ala War of the Worlds is still one, it makes sense given the massive changes between environments (though why they didn't bring biosuits in that novel is beyond me...but it matches quite a bit of ET stupidity here)/

Oh, and a man who downloads a Cam rip of a film does not hold the opinion to judge it.
Who said that? I paid good money to go in. I entered with a $20 and left with a $5. The fact that you think I took a camera rip is insulting enough, but to turn it into an ad hominem to downgrade my position is even worse. Simple fact is that I got sick from the shaking recording of the actual video.

And does my opinion REALLY matter less IF I DID cam rip it? Does the fact that I will be purchasing my anime DVDs while most pirate it make MY opinion worth more? Does the fact that I purchase my games instead of ROMing them make my opinion worth more? In all honesty, all I see is an attempt at reaching out and attacking me simply because I'm disagreeing with your opinion and forgetting the logical bases on which these arguments are built.

This film is by far the most realistic Alien invasion film created to date. You can not compare this to Independence day. For reasons I wont even begin to argue.
Not really. We'll agree to disagree here, but there are so many things wrong with this invasion that I don't know how long it'd take to list.

But the words America, first engagement, and Aliens, provides a logical fallacy in itself. No accurate alien war film will feature America as one of the first places of contact. The initial engagements will feature the Africas, the Australias, the Canadas even...all the easy to conquer places.

For a similar analog, look at WWII. During Operation Overlord, would you attack the most heavily armed beach to get a hold? Of course not. It's a waste of life and resources. You attack the weak bases first (ala OO) or soften the defences. It's much easier to fight from a foothold instead of dropping troops in. If they hit a place like Australia first, you can support your ground troops by having patrolling drones protect them, a much lower cost in lives given the 2-1 casualty rule of thumb for attackers. This provides an easier defence point (an island instead of a beach head), supply point (you can transport straight up and down on a pretty isolated piece of land instead of under constant fire), and attack point (Australia will not put up much of a fight).

But I will say that if you complain this film is flawed by a non-existing Pro-American undertone and then go on to argue that Independence day is better... Theres something wrong with you.
There are two entirely different arguments being made. One reads that the military tactics are worse here. The other reads that it has some pretty severe pro-American and pro-military undertones. It never read that Independence Day avoided the latter. Please try to separate the two.

The events of this film may play a pivital role in the battle for the west cost of a America but it does not play a pivital role in the war. There is no "Crap load of infomation about winning the war" featured in this film. The aliens may indeed wipe us out after the events of this film have ended. They may have re-enforcements, during there attack they crippled the US Air force and the US Army. Proberly the US Navy too - which is the most modern large scale fighting force on this planet at this point in history. If you can cripple the so called 'super power' that is America whilst causing mass devistation to Russia, Europe, South Americas, Austrailia and asia. Your doing something right.
The information from Rodriguez provides almost complete air supremacy once a concentrated attack is possible. Her force was completely aware of what the drone control was and how to monitor for it in hard to measure terms. When Eckhart found that they could be measured by blackouts, that would provide an excellent empirical method of finding them. This also ignores the fact that their information regarding alien weak spots and identification of their methods of being "one step ahead" of the military via radio are major pieces of information that the rest of the force did not know and would severely increase the combat efficiency of the forces.

[furball]

Eh. I just watched the film and I quite enjoyed it. I mean, sure, it's not the most realistic an alien invasion would be, but it's quite alright. It was worth the 110 minutes of my life I spent watching it.