Britgeek here.
With the release of Peter Berg's BATTLESHIP looming (tomorrow in the UK and May 18 in the US), JADSTERSDAD has checked in with his (slightly spoilerish) thoughts on the film after attending a preview screening this morning.
BATTTLESHIP is ok. I write it in capitals because this is how you’ll feel after watching it! You will not be able to escape comparisons with Independence Day, as we’ll see. Also people will be comparing it to the Transformers movies for obvious reasons. This is a movie from Hasbro (I still can’t believe I’m typing that). Based on a board game. That’s right… a board game. But it gets better.
Personally I hate the Transformers movies with a passion. I liked Bay’s The Rock quite a bit, but his output has been going downhill ever since. So I’ll start with how I think this movie differs from Bay’s trilogy. It’s shot a lot better for starters. The actors are actually trying (and in many cases succeeding). Liam Neeson is here to add some gravitas in a one-dimensional cameo. Many of the characters seem almost human too, although there is a geek-type who will annoy you at one point. Director Peter Berg (Hancock, The Kingdom) was an actor himself once and so I think he handles his cast well. Taylor Kitsch has got goodwill with me because I liked him in John Carter and like the movie a lot. He could do well in these kinds of roles but after the sad debacle of Carter’s box office performance people will be watching him here carefully. I think he acquits himself. Brooklyn Decker as the love interest, by comparison with Rosie….er…whatsername….seems like Meryl Streep. And is easy on the eye too. Alexander Skarsgard has some good scenes with Kitsch at the beginning of the movie too. The less said about Rhianna the better. She sticks out like a sore thumb. Hopefully this will be her first and last role. I somehow doubt it, though.
But you’re probably thinking… what about the story? What about the effects? Forget the story. Thwarted alien invasion (you guessed the outcome, yes?). The effects? Well….this is where I enjoyed Battleship quite a bit. These days effects have to be very good to be even slightly impressive. I found these to be so. I’m always looking for gaudy CGI but here it was excellent and I suspect a lot of model work was used also. Always a good thing. You get the feeling that these monster-sized spacecraft actually have weight. And the (many) ocean effects work well. Most importantly, the movie is shot and edited well by Berg. You can actually SEE what is going on (assuming you want to). This is where The Hunger Games failed so badly for me. Also important is the fact that the battle is between humans and aliens. So different from the mindless robot-on-robot boredom of the Transformers films. Finally the aliens themselves are pretty good. There’s a touch of the Predators about them. They’re humanoid in armour-like suits and, again, look ‘real’ and not lightweight artificial CGI creations.
But as it gathers pace relentlessly towards the climax, you will be thinking back to Independence Day….. a lot. And depending if you liked/loathed Emmerich’s then you will ultimately fall one side of the fence on this one, I suspect. There is jingoism and (American) patriotism, although there is a good Japanese character. There are the minorities having their moments against the invaders: women, geeks….even the disabled! And at the end… even the older generation arrive to save the day in their older vessel. Also you have a nod to Will Smith’s groanworthy/cheerworthy ID4 moment (again, depending on your view). Although the way we defeat the invaders is a little more inventive than the climax of Independence Day, you’re left with the thought (if your brain is capable of holding any thoughts after the final onslaught) that other alien task forces must surely follow and might not be so easy to defeat. Not that this is easy. I do it a disservice to suggest so. There is mayhem and loss of life. Lots and LOTS of screamingly destroyed metal. The only thing missing is the relentless camp of ID4. There is a little humour here at the outset, but most of it is played absolutely straight. Which in my view helps this kind of movie. But others will disagree.
This will divide people, I think, but it’s hard to see it getting an audience outside the young male demographic. Especially with people still going back…. And back… to The Hunger Games and eagerly awaiting the more well-known franchise brands to come. Starting with The Avengers in less than three weeks time.
But at the end of the day, it knocks Transformers into a cocked hat. So that makes it a success in my book. But only just.
TTFN.
