BEFORE: The third alien film in a row that was released in 2011 - was that some kind of trend last year? I guess so. Timothy Olyphant from "I Am Number Four" was in a film titled "Meet Bill" with Aaron Eckhart (last seen in "The Missing"), who stars tonight.
THE PLOT: A Marine Staff Sergeant goes back into the line of duty in order to assist a 2nd Lieutenant and his platoon as they fight to reclaim the city of Los Angeles from alien invaders.
AFTER: I think this week I proved that everything old is new again - or Hollywood is out of ideas, depending on how you look at it. We had near-remakes of films like "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" as well as the TV show "Smallville". Taken in that context, this film is closest to "Independence Day" and "District 9" with a bit of "Signs" mixed with, I don't know, "Black Hawk Down", or perhaps the video-game "Call of Duty".
I say that because this shows an alien invasion, as seen through the eyes of a Marine combat unit tasked with rescuing civilians from behind enemy lines. I'd compliment the film on its gritty realism, except that "realism" isn't really the best word to describe a work of science-fiction. But this is someone's view of what it might really be like if our planet were to be invaded by plundering aliens.
Which leads me to a few questions - is our military prepared for such an occurence, should it arise? And if you screen this film for soldiers, would it be considered entertainment, or a training film? The elements of a standard war film were all here, so it's a blend of war film and sci-fi film.
The special effects were quite decent, so really my only knock tonight is about how derivative the film is.
Also starring Ramon Rodriguez, Michael Peña (last seen in "30 Minutes or Less"), Michelle Rodriguez (last seen in "S.W.A.T."), Bridget Moynahan (last seen in "The Sum of All Fears"), Ne-Yo.
RATING: 7 out of 10 grenade launchers
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