Battleship (2012)

Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna

Synopsis:
In the middle of the RIMPAC naval exercises, alien ships land off the coast of Hawaii and a young US Navy officer with discipline problems finds himself at the helm of one of the few warships standing between the alien invaders and the civilian population.

Impressions:
When I saw the first trailer for this movie, I was on board at first. "Okay, using war games as the premise and throwing in a little human drama is a pretty clever way to make a movie out of the game." Then the aliens showed up and I thought, "What the crap is this? Forget this." Needless to say, I wasn't there to watch it in the theaters, but eventually it started making the rounds and I gave it a shot. I was surprised with what I got. To be perfectly blunt, this isn't a terribly intelligent movie, but as far as summer blockbuster popcorn flicks go, this is a decent, entertaining little film.

This and John Carter of Mars make two films from 2012 with Taylor Kitsch in the leading role that didn't fare so well. It's a shame because I thought both were pretty good and that Kitsch makes for a solid leading man. Tadanobu Asano makes for a good foil too, a better performance than what we saw in 47 Ronin (which I blame more on the film than the actor). And while I'll make fun of Rihanna's acting skills, there are far worse performances out there.

The effects are quite good, as you'd expect from a big budget summer flick. The score does its job and complements the action well.

Compared to most alien invasion films, this one stands out in that the alien force is small and their technological advantage only gets them so far. There's also an element of villainous valor which is highly appealing to me. Really, I think the interesting way the aliens were handled is a big part of the reason I like the movie.

I know the idea of a board game getting turned into a movie sounds dumb, but so did making a movie about a theme park ride and PotC turned out alright. If you're the sort who can just kick back and enjoy a movie, I think you'll find this one worth watching.

Rating:
Watch It