Hasbro may have naming and branding rights to the film, but don’t let the “source material” fool you. BATTLESHIP is an action-packed, fun-filled piece of pure popcorn entertainment that deserves a spot amongst the best of it’s kind. The board game-inspired film is directed by Peter Berg (THE KINGDOM, VERY BAD THINGS) who has given the film it’s greatest strength… a knowledgeable and talented commander at the helm of this summertime blockbuster.
Taylor Kitsch (JOHN CARTER, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) stars as Lt. Alex Hopper, a smart yet unfocused and discipline-challenged Navy officer. Alex has no direction in life and nothing but trouble in his future, so his big brother Commander Stone Hopper, played by Alexander Skarsgard (STRAW DOGS, TRUE BLOOD) recruits Alex by way of an ultimatum in an attempt to help turn his life around. Brooklyn Decker (JUST GO WITH IT) plays Alex’s girlfriend Sam, who also happens to be the daughter of Admiral Shane, played by Liam Neeson (THE GREY, TAKEN).
With the back story planted in the backs of our minds, the core of BATTLESHIP begins as humanity is caught off guard when a message sent into deep space is answered by a visit from an alien race far from being your childhood E.T. It becomes quickly apparent that these invaders are far more advanced in every way than we mere, puny humans, but like so many times before in the motion pictures, we humans strike back and fight to survive, proving we can overcome any obstacle thrown at us, regardless of how overwhelming the opposing force may be.
BATTLESHIP does not set itself up as a film with some stellar, intricately designed plot. It truly does wear it’s heart on its sleeve, stating with bold bravado that it intends to satisfy your primal desire for action, big guns and explosions… lots and lots of explosions. The difference being that BATTLEFIELD does this with such technical confidence combined with a script written specifically to show off how cool the film will look and feel. Despite a cast filled with several stars, the real star of the film is the visceral, bone-rattling experience of the characters they play.
In so many ways a happy melding of INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996) and PEARL HARBOR (2001), Peter Berg’s BATTLEFIELD overcomes my initial skepticism and surpasses my expectations of another Michael Bay style showcase of explosions with weak writing and exaggerated plots. Sure, it may sound like I’m splitting hairs, but Berg manages to bring together the massive special effects, the non-stop action, the patriotism, the kinetic visual style, the somewhat hokey love story, and the thin plot in a way that encourages pleasurable suspension of disbelief.
BATTLESHIP features strangely simple lizard-like humanoid aliens in Halo-esque armor. The only design element of the aliens I found slightly off-putting are the weird quadruple-thumb claw-like hands. These seem a flawed choice for a race of being so technically advanced, more interested in orchestrating a full-scale invasion than with taking an immediately aggressive approach. Initially, this has the human military confused as they struggle to understand and defeat the aliens’ superior weapons and defensive technology. Cut off from the rest of the Naval fleet by a giant force field dome, Alex Hopper and his Destroyer crew must find a way not only to survive, but to save humanity.
The alien ships are vaguely Transformer-like, but its more accurate to think of them along the lines of the classic ’80s cartoon M.A.S.K, whereas the alien ships reconfigure themselves into a sort of “battle mode” when the need arises. The alien arsenal is different enough to satisfy the science-fiction fans without being absurdly over-the-top and unrealistic. On the other hand, the over-sized fireball-fueled circular saws of death that the aliens unleash on Hong Kong were pushing the boundaries of being absurd, but with an audience now well-accustomed to TRANSFORMERS films, I doubt it will be an issue.
Did I mention there are a lot of explosions? Good. The audience is likely to cheer loudest during the all-out battle scenes, as they did when I saw the film and with good reason. BATTLEFIELD draws on that video game culture of craving glorified violence and I couldn’t have been more happy to comply. Overall, the acting was average, but this isn’t the kind of film you see hoping for an Oscar-worthy performance. Liam Neeson is a great actor, but he and Alexander Skarsgard as well have far less screen time than Taylor Kitsch, accompanied by his crew including Petty Officer Raikes, played by hip hop star Rihanna, making her acting debut. Surprisingly, she does all right as the Vasquez-like [ALIENS] woman who controls the “big guns” of Hopper’s Destroyer ship.
BATTLESHIP is more than just a board game turned into a movie, which I’m sure is what most people think it will be. With that said, its still a film that’s all show and little substance in as satisfying a way as that can be. The ultimate question on so many of your minds is most likely “how can they make the Battleship game into a movie?” Here’s my answer to you… they have not turned the board game into a movie, but rather made a cool movie that shares the name of the game. Without giving anything away, there is one scene — a very crucial scene — whereas the board game’s general method of play is cleverly and indirectly referenced. Audiences should be able to pick up on this scene — for those who have played the game — smile at the reference and then continue to enjoy the film unencumbered by any actors yelling the line “You sunk my battleship!”
Overall Ratting: 3.5 out of 5 stars
