For all they cynics out there who thought I'd just come out here and blast this movie for being superfluous action schlock, well, I think you underestimated the popcorner in me here. With a cast of no-names and Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Thank You for Smoking) driving off aliens invading Los Angeles as a plot and Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) at the helm, I was as surprised as you.
The film begins with Staff Sergeant Nantz getting ready to turn in his papers and retire from the Marines. The obvious action move here would be to open up with Nantz on his final mission (which proves to be critical to those under his command later) and how it goes wrong, but Liebesman takes his first big chance here and uses this time to introduce over a dozen Marines living their lives on the home front, some returning and some preparing for an upcoming
deployment. No explosions or bullets (yet), which might bore many average movie goers but it's those first ten minutes that give this film what many action films (see; GI Joe) lack: heart.Life goes on as usual while almost nobody except NASA seems to care that meteor's are heading for Earth. Before I get too far into that, I should mention what I thought to be the strongest quality in the movie. Because of the shaky camera work and drowned out dialogue from explosions and gunfire, this movie really came off as pretty realistic. It felt like a cross between Independence Day and Saving Private Ryan, two films that are about as high as one could be compared to when it comes to an action movie.
Now, some reviews I've read have complained about these aspects, the drown out, incoherent dialogue within war zones. I've also seen a few people complaining that for the most part, the alien's intent is barely explained. I can't deny these facts, but ultimately I think it just plays into the realism of the film. Aliens invade and start blowing us up, I don't think they're going to send us a letter of intent. The film does a good job of inter-cutting a few news clips where analysts and scientists speculate as to why this is happening. It also helps that each battle scene is shown as a tactical one, a battle of positioning and wits, not just firepower. Real wars are not always about who has the bigger gun but who can out think their enemy.
Another plus to this film is that the aliens are never really portrayed as indestructible or untouchable. Their ships explode when flying to close to a gas station or hit with a grenade launcher, and their foot soldiers are just as armored and formidable as a Kevlar coated Marine. This really makes the losses of battles, positions, and more importantly soldiers and civilians much more difficult to bare. Even the ones only mentioned in passing, whole squadrons being obliterated in the crossfire, really makes this difficult to watch (in a good way).
This brings me back to my original point, heart. Because the film emphasizes such realism, it hits so much closer to home when characters die. To me, that scores big points. To others, it might just make it boring until more things go boom.
I won't say this film isn't without its flaws though, the biggest being a technical choice. While the gritty camera work and lighting adds to the film, it's score takes away. Some music simply seems out of place or too quiet, like Liebesman wasn't sure if he should leave it in or not so he just turned it down. I would've much preferred no score at all, make it a straight war-picture and fill it with ambient sounds, people screaming, dying, explosions, the whole lot, but this would've probably upped the MPA Rating to R and possibly drove away casual fans.
All in all, I was quite surprised with how good this film was and would recommend anyone that likes action movies to give this a chance. Forget the absurd premise for a second and treat it like you treated Cloverfield. You might find it to be better than you'd think.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
