World Invasion :: A 63 Review

Original View Date: March 26th, 2011

**It has been a while since I've watched this film but I've just been so busy over the month. I still think this movie is fresh in my mind for me to review it**

Plot (3/5):

This is a pass. In some aspects World Invasion (or Battle: Los Angeles) is old and in some aspects it's new. It's old because it's just another war film. That's right, it's a war film - not an alien invasion film but a war film. Surprisingly to my liking, these aliens don't kick the tar out of the humans like most. This is where the film is quite new; the battles are quite even and the story focuses more on the marines than the aliens. Great, so we'll get some characters instead of people keep yelling "oh shit" right?

Characters (2/5):

No. While it's not the typical alien victims that we see throughout the film, it's the cheesy marine troops. Beside being cliche as they can possibly be, these marines are poor characters. They do not change throughout the events of the film and all of their characterization comes from their cliche past. These characters range from a "soon-to-be-a-father" marine to a "I'm-sad-because-I-lost-my-brother-in-war" marine. The film shows all these people in the beginning but they are not distinguishable at all.

Performance (3/5):

Unfortunately nothing special comes to my mind. I'm numb to these same old characters that I've already seen before. I can't condemn them for the performances that are necessary but I can't praise them either. Eckhart makes a pretty good marine though.

Specifics (2/5):

The action sequences are entertaining to watch and some scenes are extremely suspenseful. Praises go to the filmmakers for suspense they created before finally revealing the alien. CGI effects are used for aliens and destroyed cities etc; Some scenes lack clear images and it is impossible to tell what's going on. The camerawork is downright AWFUL. It's handheld almost all the time and so unnecessary! This is almost as bad as Cloverfield, a film which required this type of camerawork, but I fail to see why this film had to use it. It's so bothersome and it adds to the loud and obnoxious sequences the film often show.

Theme (2/5):

Marines never give up. The theme is obviously the loyalty and the fighting spirit the marines hold in their hearts. This works sometimes as the marines show bravery during battle as well as loyalty and sacrifice (cliche, cliche, cliche) but sometimes this theme backfires. For example, "Marines don't retreat!" Next scene: marines yelling the word "retreat" and running away from alien fire.

Dialogue (1/5):

Yeah.

Overall (2/5):

It's not bad. It's entertaining and suspenseful at times. It's the artistic aspect the film fails on but the fun factor is solid!