Alien spaceship arriving on Earth decimating everything in their path, military types and fly boys rushing to save the day and scenes of apocalyptic chaos adorning the horizon are the staple ingredients of many an alien invasion film. If you cannot wait for the DVD and Blu release of the epic Battle: Los Angeles (due for release in the UK July 11, 2011) then Battle of Los Angeles should suffice. The Asylum's mockbuster of the alien invasion film that was a hit in cinemas worldwide earlier this year, received it's UK television premiere on Sunday, June 12, 2011 on the Syfy Channel.
Bad Day for L.A.
On a sunny morning a giant space ship makes its way to Los Angeles towering over the city, almost blotting out the sun. Before long the ship's hull opens up and unleashes a destructive force that begins to reduce the city to rubble. Despite the best efforts of the air force, who are swatted away by the ships defences like flies, all attempts to destroy the invaders is faltered as is their brief engagement with the invaders armada of fighters. It is up to a rag tag group made up of weary soldiers, covert operatives and an abductee from long ago to stop the invaders before they destroy the city and all of humanity.
If the synopsis sounds unoriginal it is primarily due to the fact that many films of this type are at their core largely similar. Since H G Wells' epic War of the Worlds, literature and films have been obsessed with the threat of alien invasion. The originality largely comes from the focus, the story within the core plot, and the execution.
Whilst it is easy to confuse The Asylum's latest feature with it's mega budget counterpart, since they both share similar titles, Battle: Los Angeles has a more personal story whereas The Asylum have opted for the basic all out action packed adventure. It is this simple aim that saves the film.
Compared to previous productions, Battle of Los Angeles has two stand out factors; a frenetic pace that keeps the action moving along without stopping for breath, and on many instances, a big budget feel to what is undoubtedly a small budget B movie.
War of the Worlds
From the start, writer and director Mark Atkins (The Haunting of Winchester House) wastes no time with scene setting or building up to the impending invasion. The alien ship, arrives and immediately begins its destructive tirade. With no time to catch breath, the battle ensues amidst the devastation as the military, with all the macho bravado one can expect from such a film.
Although there is plenty of action in the form of ariel dogfights and surface battles, it does become tiresome in parts. Too many scenes are reused and in an effort to add suspense, moments are drawn out a little too far to the point of irritation not unlike X-Factor presenters revealing voting results. Yet what makes the whole ensemble work is the script with a plot riddled with twists (some predictable) and turns along with a colourful cast of characters.
Atkins' script dispenses with emotional tangles and individual stories keeping the focus solely on the battle. However much of the script draws upon the very films it sets out to lightly mock or pay homage to. Some scenes such as the ship's arrival, dogfights and so forth are so obviously variations on classic moments from films such as Independence Day, and set pieces are very reminiscent of virtually every film set in a dystopian world. Perhaps the most cringe-worthy element is the lack of decent dialogue which either involves a lot of shouting and arguing, or incoherent techno babble leaving the viewer a little puzzled.
Fatigues, Swords and Rubble
The film boasts some pretty impressive visual effects with the scene of a virtually destroyed LAX airport by far the best and most chilling. Yet much of them are borrowed from other films; the mother ship is a mix of designs from Independence Day and District 9; the alien fighters resemble the Cylon raiders from Battlestar Galactica, and an assortment of flying spheres borrowed from horror flick Phantasm. Aesthetically speaking however too much of the movie looks as if it was filmed in disused warehouses and vacant industrial complexes, standing in for air force bases and underground military bunkers.
A basic script and reasonably impressive effects are combined with a colour array of integral players. All the characters are military types from soldiers on the ground to downed fighter pilots. They essentially grunt their lines throughout much of the film yet one or two provide some memorable moments. These include a fighter pilot abducted during the second world war who seems not to have aged, and a cat suit donned samurai sword wielding female intelligence officer whose slice and dice method of taking on the aliens provide some of the most entertaining moments.
Yet none of the characters, apart from those mentioned, are memorable enough to mention in great detail. This is perhaps due to the pace of the movie which feels as if it is over as soon as it starts. The lack of personal drama is both the film's flaw and strength; the absence of more visceral content makes it lightweight yet the inclusion of these would seem out of place in an all out actioner of this kind.
Battle of Los Angeles is an entertaining film, and although it still holds its roots in the low budget genre The Asylum once again display a potential to enter a large arena. Plenty of action and battling of alien invaders should keep fans of the genre and the studio reasonably happy.
Ramon Youseph - An English Graduate with Honours, Ramon lives and works in Bristol, a city in the South West of England, where he juggles a full time job ...
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