So okay let's discuss Battle Los Angeles, a couple of things I want to touch on first and foremost I know this movies is in the same vein and Independence day and all other alien invasion type movies. Now while Independence day was a great movie it was more funny than it was science fiction even with the big blow up scenes and big Willie saving the day it just didn't quite give me the same feeling as this movie for a couple of reasons and I'll will elaborate as to why.
I've been to Camp Pendleton, I used to have a boyfriend that was a marine, and I live in the State of California, Southern California to be exact, exactly 45 minutes from Los Angeles, so all of those elements have me invested in the story right away. The fact that they used a real California base and not some fictional place resonated with me because Pendleton is in fact a very much real and active base. I felt empathetic towards the Marines automatically seeing as how they were from Camp Pendleton a place I have in fact been before I've also been to Santa Monica Pier so you see where this is going all of these elements in the story had me some what already emotionally involved now I know what people in NYC must feel when they see a dooms day movie about their state and they recognize landmarks and places that they've just been getting blown up or destroyed on the big screen. In my mind I know its a movie but how many times has life imitated art and vice versa.
So with that said here's what I loved about this movie in spite of some of the lines being a little clichéd and expected this movie still had heart and it had soul. It also put the hardworking members of the Armed forces front and center in this drama and we got to see firsthand how hard they work in a hostile threatening environment. It also should be noted that one of the soldiers that was portrayed in this film had signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which is a very real and debilitating disorder and one that is becoming more and more prevalent in our present day troops. I for one liked that the director felt it necessary to include that in the movie. Whenever I see one of these movies it always leaves me with a sense of impending doom and like I need to learn survival training ASAP you never know what you need to be prepared for in this life.
I liked how Ne-yo and Michele Rodriguez survived to the very end of the movie which is sometimes a rare occurrence in movies and Michele's character did not play a damsel in distress in fact she was right besides the guys kicking alien booty and she was a valuable presence throughout the movie not just dead weight she more than held her own and I loved that. I also appreciated that Ne-yo didn't just have the typical comic relief lines only.
If you are a California native, if you have any friends, family, sons or daughters, spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends in the armed forces then you might want to prepare yourself to feel some kind of way while watching this movie. I found the movie overall entertaining and a good watch something you can go to see in theaters and possibly even buy the DVD when its released. This movie won't set any precedents and it won't rewrite history it will entertain you and give you something to do on a lazy afternoon.
