The time is today (well, a few months away, to be exact) and the macro background is rendered intentionally vague. What the alien invaders really are is absolutely inconsequential. They are enemies and must be defeated – their lives or ours, period. Yes, there is one scene in which US marines and a civilian vet plunge their hands into the open torso of a dying alien (it's hard to tell whether it's front or back), ransacking, pulling out an assortment of slimy objects, trying to find a vital organ. The outcome of this unintentionally (or maybe intentionally, I don't know) comical scene is a simple, sweet conclusion: their heart is on their right side – to kill, shoot right. You see my point.
The focus of the movie is micro – a group of marines fighting their way out of a battered area of L.A. to bring out some rescued civilians, and later to destroy a vital communication centre of the enemy's that they stumbled across. As I inferred in the summary line, the fighting is quite conventional, artillery-based, state-of-the-art hardware notwithstanding. As such, this movie is well crafted and filmed and would satisfy most hard-core traditional war movie fans. Part and parcel of the package is of course the emotion contents: personality conflict, heroism, cliff-hangers, casualties, sacrifices, poignancy – all very familiar and predictable. At the end of the day, observing the length Hollywood has gone to boost the morale of the US marine, you would almost believe that they got tipped off by the government that a major campaign is about to be launched.
The cast is strong for a movie of this genre. Aaron Eckhart, one of the most under-recognized actors in Hollywood, leads the cast as well as the US marines in the story. Bridget Moynahan, who once played Isaac Asimov's legendary Susan Calvin (in her young days) opposite Will Smith in "I, Robot" (2004), is underused here as the civilian vet referred to earlier. Also underused, in a different way, is Michelle Rodriguez, one of the best tough-chick actors around today, not getting as much action as you would like to see her get. Thrown into the movie for good measure is Michael Pena (remember his collaboration with Nicholas Cage in "World Trade Centre" (2006) as the two trapped firemen?) playing a small role as a civilian with a family and winding up as collateral damage.
The focus of the movie is micro – a group of marines fighting their way out of a battered area of L.A. to bring out some rescued civilians, and later to destroy a vital communication centre of the enemy's that they stumbled across. As I inferred in the summary line, the fighting is quite conventional, artillery-based, state-of-the-art hardware notwithstanding. As such, this movie is well crafted and filmed and would satisfy most hard-core traditional war movie fans. Part and parcel of the package is of course the emotion contents: personality conflict, heroism, cliff-hangers, casualties, sacrifices, poignancy – all very familiar and predictable. At the end of the day, observing the length Hollywood has gone to boost the morale of the US marine, you would almost believe that they got tipped off by the government that a major campaign is about to be launched.
The cast is strong for a movie of this genre. Aaron Eckhart, one of the most under-recognized actors in Hollywood, leads the cast as well as the US marines in the story. Bridget Moynahan, who once played Isaac Asimov's legendary Susan Calvin (in her young days) opposite Will Smith in "I, Robot" (2004), is underused here as the civilian vet referred to earlier. Also underused, in a different way, is Michelle Rodriguez, one of the best tough-chick actors around today, not getting as much action as you would like to see her get. Thrown into the movie for good measure is Michael Pena (remember his collaboration with Nicholas Cage in "World Trade Centre" (2006) as the two trapped firemen?) playing a small role as a civilian with a family and winding up as collateral damage.