Battleship
- Director: Peter Berg
- Genre: Action, Adventure
- Details: US/131mins 12A
- Release Date: 12/05/2012
While it's hard not to make comparisons to the blockbuster trilogy that is Transformers (even the marketing pushes that), Battleship actually has far more competent storytelling - granted, not a difficult task. Don't get me wrong, there are lines in this script that are so inanely gung ho you'll want to spit out your popcorn; but for the most part the more than capable helmer Peter Berg keeps things moving along breezily enough to a surprisingly fun final twenty minutes or so.
Taylor Kitsch is a bit of a rebel - his brother, played by the very Swedish looking Alexander Skarsgard is not. Both brothers end up in the navy; Skarsgard's boyscout sibling excels and quickly obtains his own ship for command, while Kitsch's maverick sailor is more concerned with getting Liam Neeson's commanding officer to allow him marry his beautiful daughter. Their lives are put on hold, however, when a bunch of alien wrong sorts respond to a message from earth and turn up in the middle of The Pacific Ocean during a military exercise. Quickly realising that these ET's aren't as cuddly as 80s Spielberg would have ya believe (although ironically they are attempting to phone home) a battle fought on the ocean floor soon takes place.
Berg was clear that he's very much a military buff, and his love for the American Armed Forces is pretty obvious from the opening moments of Battleship and then reinforced considerably come the action packed conclusion. Berg is the man who gave us some incredibly touching moments during Friday Night Lights, and some surprisingly human ones in The Kingdom. While he struggles to make any single character connect, he could argue that this is a very different kind of movie. It's a production with a mammoth budget a clear blockbuster sensibility, so, naturally, do not expect anything resembling the cerebral.
Kitsch's guy is obviously modelled on Maverick in Top Gun, and there is more than one nod to the now decades old action flick. He lacks wit in a similar way that Cruise's moody pilot did, and is ultimately more brooding than charismatic. In a world of Ryan's (both Reynolds and Gosling) you can't help but shake the feeling that another actor could've made him work a bit more; he's kind of cheeky, kind of silly, but mostly just a bit dopey. Neeson has mostly nothing to do; Rihanna could be any actress with a crew cut and Skarsgard essentially a cliché quote machine from the military handbook.
Battleship is a broad, action packed crowd pleaser that is dumber than a pissed-up Tallafornia cast member at a free bar. But, it also packs a fun punch.
Review by Mike Sheridan | 09:00 | Wednesday 11th April 2012 | Movie Review
Comments
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Happy Chappy
Can't wait for this one - love the trailer!
Posted 18:06 | Wed 11th Apr 2012 -
FilmBuff76
Sneaking in just ahead of Avengers Assemble, Battleship kicks off the summer silly season with a bang - make that a very big bang. It's a big, dumb, noisy summer blockbuster but is all the more enjoyable for it. It's based on the boardgame, which is amusingly referenced in one key battle sequence. Alex (Taylor Kitsch) is an aimless slacker who joins the navy after being challenged by his brother. While engaged in a series of naval war games, he and his crew get more than they bargained for when militarised aliens invade, intent on destruction. The aliens here are more human-like and less of the hoppy variety seen in Cowboys & Aliens. Most of the film is composed of long battle sequences, occasionally cutting away to other sub-plots involving Alex's girlfriend and some typically nerdy scientists. It's an effects-heavy film, but a runaway strain of humour keeps the human element grounded. It is what it is and some will no doubt dismiss it as just ear-splitting nonsense, but I for one enjoyed it a lot more than Cowboys & Aliens, Battle: LA, Skyline and any other number of recent alien invasion films.
Posted 23:14 | Wed 11th Apr 2012 -
ShaunaLouiseByrne
Went to the premier of Battleship and OMG, it was amazing! My boyfriend and I loved it but I have one honest thing to say, as much as Rihanna is good at acting, she should just stick with singing. She was gorgeous, as was everyone else in the film. Thank you entertainment.ie for a fab night :)
Posted 19:37 | Thu 12th Apr 2012 -
Mickydrippin
A slow start. Deals with the merits of integrity and responsibility and the audience figure out pretty quickly it's a loose cannon who becomes the hero. The aliens arrival is first announced by scientists, then the pentagon and NASA. Even the media, throughout the world are all over the story like a rash. But at sea things are different. The unknown object 700 yards off the starboard remains just that…unknown !! Until a little dingy brings hero and Rhianna holding a big gun a little closer. Then the penny drops! All they had to do was listen to the news???? The alien attacks were minimal, one military base and one scene involving a road infrastructure. The Hong Kong thing was a little misunderstanding, it was an accident….the first scene of alien humanness. Rest of the movie based on the focus of one man and his boat and aiming towards destroying the alien attempt at communicating. The alien faces looked like something out of a Harry Potter movie and bless….they really weren't the cleverest of species. Liam Neeson gets all of six minute, most of it at the start. The biggest clue for wondering how the movie pans out comes with the rating. It's 12A. It's Independence Day all over again, and the end full of stars and stripes with the ego that only Americans would know. Movie is okay, it's loud, it's big, it's expensive. And Rihanna while always looking good didn't have too many complicated lines, just pushing buttons to the big guns and saying “boom.” We all left happily ever after.
Posted 22:15 | Thu 12th Apr 2012 -
Karma-King
Why are people leaving reviews in the comment section? And Mike robbing that cringe worthy line about ET that they use in the movie, and not telling people that they mention it big-time, is a bit cheap.
Posted 20:18 | Fri 13th Apr 2012 -
critical mass
Great effects, enjoyed the movie but cracked up laughing when I wasn't supposed to. Some hilarious cliched dialogue just added to the fun for me. Erra! if ye have a couple of hours to pass and your partial to a bit of Sci Fi, why not? You've seen a lot worse.
Posted 15:15 | Sat 14th Apr 2012 -
Linda
Loved this film Rhianna was very good seems it was her first acting role
Posted 16:05 | Mon 16th Apr 2012 -
ManBearPig
The acting of 'Fair City' mixed with the special effects of 'Transformers'. That is all.
Posted 20:56 | Thu 19th Apr 2012
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