Post by Admin on Mar 13, 2011 18:29:13 GMT -5
Is Hollywood's latest alien invasion worth your time and money? The film is packed with cliche characters, an uninspired and open-ended plot, but those elements are easily overlooked because of the non-stop heart-pounding action and shockingly impressive visuals.
CHARACTERS / ACTING
This sci-fi alien-fest throws you right into the gritty nature of a squad of marines ground combat against an unknown and technologically superior foe. But first, we get to meet the squad. As expected, you have your generic bunch of cliche characters we've all seen too many times before. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) plays as your traditional man who thinks he's served for too long and wants out (a la Danny Glover's 'I'm too old for this shit'). There's some minor development with the character during the film, but despite the limitations, he does does an excellent job. Unfortunately, just like any war-film, you'll hear one-too-many of the "Pick yourself up! You're a soldier!" style speeches. But hey, I can't really blame them for breaking down given the circumstances.
Aside from Eckhart, you have your fairly generic character of marines. There's the guy who has a baby on the way, the guy who's getting married, the stupid but innocent newbie, the "I'm so serious because my brother died" dude, and others that bring nothing new to the table. Aside from the generic roster, they're quite entertaining. While none of the actors really stand out, none of them fall flat or deliver a face-palm worthy performance. Thankfully, the comedic back-and-forth banter is usually good, and I grew to care about how these characters fared during the war.
The same applies for the civilians. Yes, there is a key child involved but before you go ranting and raving he doesn't have that critical of a role... And when he does take the spotlight, his acting is believable, instead of being a shit-show like little Anakin. The female "lead" wasn't needed, IMO. She serves for some interaction with Aaron and has what I believe to be the worst line in the film. Long story short, they get an incapacitated alien and study it to locate any potential weak points. Once they drag in the body what does she say? "I can help. I'm a veterinarian." Seriously? I understand the point of that line is to imply she's an expert on the anatomy and biology of non-human creatures, but this is a fucking alien and the delivery of the line was just stupid. Not to mention testing for vulnerable spots consists of ripping apart the alien to determine its basic anatomy and then stabbing around the see where they get the biggest response. Thank god they had a veterinarian on hand for that! /sarcasm
All in all, the characters are generic and there are no major complaints regarding the acting. As expected, Aaron is really the highlight when it comes to performances. But honestly, who came into this movie expecting for refreshingly unique characters? Admit it, you're checking this movie out because you're expecting some alien destruction... And this movie more than delivers in that department.
PLOT
What was once believed to be standard meteors are quickly realized to be something else entirely. These vessels crash down in key coastal locations across the globe, and a massive ground force emerges from the water, quickly wiping out civilians and wrecking all kinds of hell on the cities. Armies across the world scramble to respond. Despite ground forces getting wrecked by the aliens superior durability and weaponry, humanity thinks they have the edge due to the opposing force having no air support.
The main squad we're following is sent in to evacuate any potential civilians before the Air Force does a bombing run that will completely level Santa Monica in approximately 3 hours. But what kind of alien army would they be if they traveled all the way to earth and thought they'd win in a ground war? As you'd expect, that's exactly when the aliens bring out the big guns. Their entire Air Force is drone operated and rains death upon anything in it's path. Reports reveal that contact is lost with major US cities such as New York, and the international community is also getting absolutely dominated by this alien threat. It's also revealed that the aliens have come to Earth for our vast supply of water. Structures similar to oil rigs are quickly constructed across the coasts and it, for the most part, explains why the aliens chose to drop at only coastal regions. And of course, the squad we're following is smack-dab in the middle of all the brutal, fast-paced and non-stop action in (what was) beautiful southern California.
As expected, nothing goes as planned and the squad is forced to fight their way out of the Santa Monica region before being blown to bits. Does the bombing run help the humans? Does it happen at all? I won't spoil that, so let's move on. If you were paying attention, you noticed I said their air support was operated by drones. If you weren't paying attention, shame on you. Military intelligence notices that each war zone has a central command ship responsible for controlling the powerful vehicles. Without spoiling too much, the squad makes it their new objective to take down this central control ship. Can they destroy the alien ship, and if so, how does a small squad of marines do it? If you want to find out, go watch the damn movie!
When it comes down to it, this is your traditional alien invasion plot. We meet the humans, the aliens sucker-punch the Earth, the humans meet and protect some survivors, and then the humans discover a method of standing a chance against their extraterrestrial foes. Just because it follows the formula doesn't make it a bad thing, though. The alien ground troops, while horribly stupid at times, are unique in their design and actions, as are numerous weapons and vehicles seen. The movie also only gives you moments to catch your breath between the insanely intense action sequences. Sure, the movie isn't intelligent nor will it wow you with any twists, but it's one hell of a ride from start to finish.
VISUALS
This is a movie that looks great but is massively hindered by the popular shaky camera style. The CGI with the aliens doesn't stand out as anything ground-breaking, but you're not really going to experience a moment where you go "man, that looked like crap!" There's a few jaw-dropping and impressive aerial visuals, though. There are numerous scenes with overhead pans of the mass destruction and bleak outcome humanity is facing. Whether it's Santa Monica virtually destroyed by an alien ground force or a landscape of explosions and alien crafts hovering while bombing below, scenes like those are sure to have your eyes glued to the screen.
Now back to the infamous (and overused) shaky camera style. I fully understand the intention of this method. You're supposed to feel like you're completely immersed in the scene. Running and taking cover with the marines as they flee from incoming fire, diving from explosions, so on and so on. But sometimes it's just simply too much. The tactic makes some scenes tough to follow and greatly takes away how great the moments could have been if the viewer fully analyze everything going on.
OVERALL
If you're looking to catch a fun, edge-of-your-seat sci-fi/action movie, then this is a must-see. But if you're hoping to catch the next science fiction classic or intellectual approach on the genre, don't bother.
8/10
