A fight to the death in an urban hell between US Marines and an implacable, evil foe who murders civilians without a second thought – if only Hollywood had the moral courage to tell that story straight, the story of America’s finest who battled to victory over jihadi degenerates in Fallujah and throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.  But Hollywood can’t tell that story, not without exchanging the real menace our men and women are fighting everyday for a horde of CGI space aliens.  Sadly, the industry lacks the moral courage of the men and women it portrays.

Let’s be clear – Battle: Los Angeles is a terrific action film that makes no bones about its pro-American, pro-military agenda.  And that fact has invited carping from the usual suspects, lefty movie critics who work themselves up into a lather over the portrayal of better men than they will ever be.   

And note that when I use the term “men” here, I include the fighting women of the US armed forces – don’t worry, critics:  Heroines like Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester will protect you . . . just move to the rear with the children and try not to get in the way. 

The fact is that science fiction has long been a tool to comment on the present, including the relationship between our warriors and our society.  Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers was a fascinating depiction of military life as well as what the author saw as a degrading, decaying culture.  The Paul Verhoeven film of the same name, though different in tone, had its own insights into military vulture, including coed showers and a machine gun-packing Doogie Howser.

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From our friends at Screen Rant:

Along with Black Hawk Down, there are scenes reminiscent of District 9, Aliens and I’m sure you could pick out a few other films as well. And I’m here to tell you, if you HATE shaky cam – this is NOT the film for you. It is used to excess here right from the start. A very basic scene that took place in an office with Nantz talking to another officer had so much camera movement that I thought maybe the cameraman had some sort of muscular control problem. Compounding this is the constant use of EXTREME facial close-ups, which made me wish I had sat a few rows further back.

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Where the film excels is during the battle sequences that are quite intense and really put you in the thick of things. Where it does not, is when it tries to convey the (seemingly obligatory) little personal moments between characters. It’s very clumsy and oh so clichéd almost every time – except for one scene in the third act where I would say the skills of Eckhart carry the simple but effective dialog and a scene between him and another marine actually packs an emotional punch.

While there are some weak performances, Aaron Eckhart does an admirable job as does Michelle Rodriguez for the short amount of time she has on the screen. A couple of the supporting characters drew me in as well, despite not having much time to do so with so many actors vying for camera time.

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I just cannot get behind this Star Trek rebirth.  The whole thing is just so unrealistic.  Not the warp speed or phasers or beaming about the universe – those are at least remotely plausible.  I am talking about the fact that the starship Enterprise is composed entirely of officers and yet it still seems to function.  Where are the non-commissioned officers (NCO), the petty officers and sergeants who actually make any military organization run?  No, I can suspend disbelief over Klingons and tribbles, and I actively support the notion of green alien hotties.  But the idea of a functioning military unit without sergeants is just a wormhole too far.

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Hollywood movies often focus on the commanders, the captains and colonels, but they have also managed to highlight some great sergeants as well.  When you are picking out DVDs for next weekend, remember that May 16th is Armed Forces Day and consider a few selections that show the sergeant in all his gruff and grumbling glory. 

If you have never experienced the joy of going through basic training and do not plan to, your first stop should be Full Metal Jacket, with R. Lee Ermey’s legendary portrayal of a Marine drill instructor who must have missed out on the block of instruction on sensitivity.  I saw this in the theater about a week before I reported to Basic.  That was a poor idea. (more…)