Battle Los Angeles (2011)

A squad of U.S. Marines becomes the last line of defense against a global invasion.

Director:

Jonathan Liebesman

Writer:

Christopher Bertolini (as Chris Bertolini)

Stars:

Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aaron Eckhart	...	Ssgt. Michael Nantz
Ramon Rodriguez	...	2nd Lt. William Martinez
Will Rothhaar	...	Cpl. Lee Imlay
Cory Hardrict	...	Cpl. Jason Lockett
Jim Parrack	...	LCpl. Peter Kerns
Gino Anthony Pesi	...	Cpl. Nick Stavrou
Ne-Yo	...	Cpl. Kevin Harris
James Hiroyuki Liao	...	LCpl. Steven Mottola
Bridget Moynahan	...	Michele
Noel Fisher	...	Pfc. Shaun Lenihan
Adetokumboh M'Cormack	...	Corpsman Jibril Adukwu
Bryce Cass	...	Hector Rincon
Michael Peña	...	Joe Rincon
Michelle Rodriguez	...	TSgt. Elena Santos
Neil Brown Jr.	...	LCpl. Richard Guerrero

Storyline

Los Angeles and other cities around the world are being bombarded by meteors that seem to be slowing down once they hit the earth's atmosphere. The earth is suddenly being invaded by space aliens that have landed off the shore of LA, and who begin killing everybody along the beach. The military is ordered into action. Marine Staff Sergeant Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), who was about to retire, is reassigned to a new platoon. The platoon, flown by chopper to the forward operating base at Santa Monica Airport, is being led by a new 2nd Lt. Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez). They are sent on a mission to rescue some civilians who are trapped at the police station within alien territory. They only have 3 hours to complete their mission and get out before the Air Force bombs that zone.

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Plot Keywords:

invasion | extraterrestrial | male lieutenant | wounded man | extraterrestrial alien | 

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Taglines:

It's not war. It's survival.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sustained and intense sequences of war violence and destruction, and for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Ukrainian

Release Date:

11 March 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles

Filming Locations:

Manhattan Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,573,187, 13 March 2011, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$83,552,429, 27 May 2011

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$211,819,354, 11 July 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,Relativity Media,Original Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to script changes, the Michelle Rodriguez character wasn't added until a month before filming began.

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Goofs

A Copperhead is an artillery shell, not a missile as depicted in the film. It's best use would be in "Ballistic" mode where it is fired with high cloud ceilings and good visibility. In that mode it can be fired from up to 10 miles away and multiple shots can be taken. For the mission shown however, a Hellfire (a guided missile fired from helicopters, ground-based platforms and drones) would have been a better choice as it can be fitted with a larger warhead than a Copperhead and its "fire and forget" capabilities make it far more useful. Marine leadership would know this and would have made the correct choice for the job.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Reporter on TV: ...an unprecedented meteor shower falling off the coast of Tokyo. The entire city is mesmerized by this incredible sight. Two hours after the first contact, an unidentified enemy has reached our coastlines in a swift and militaristic attack. Right now one thing is clear: The world is at war.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, except for the film's title.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2011)

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Soundtracks

California Love
Written by Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton, Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Mikel Hooks and Ronnie Hudson
Performed by Tupac Shakur (as 2Pac) featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman
Courtesy of Wideawake-Death Row Entertainment LLC
Under license from Evergreen Copyrights, Inc.

User Reviews

Black Hawk Down... with Aliens

I saw this film the other day, and I actually really liked it. It was exactly what I expected (maybe a little better). If you want to watch a really well thought out film with lots of character development and interesting subplots this is not the film for you. If you want to watch a bunch of U.S. Marines beat the tar out of invading spacefreaks, then this is the film for you. From when we first encounter the aliens to sometime in the middle, the movie is a nonstop thrill ride. Stuff explodes, aliens get splattered, humans get burned by lasers. In case you didn't already suspect, this film is very violent. Although there isn't a lot of blood, there are certainly a lot of deaths. The action is unpredictable and zany. One minute everyone will be walking somewhere between point A and B, the next, they're crouching behind burned out cars and houses as aliens pour ungodly hellfire onto them from above. The special effects were also quite good, with the exception of a couple bad animations here and there. That being said, the movie suffers when it slows down. The dialogue is poorly written, and delivered decently, but not well. Aaron Eckhart however did a wonderful job as a stony faced marine staff sergeant who keeps a cool head when under fire. Most of the storyline is pretty standard war movie/alien invasion stuff. You know, when after a bunch of fighting everyone gets discouraged and then the leader gives a big motivational speech and the inspirational music plays and everyone feels heroic.

So don't expect a masterpiece of modern cinema, expect alien guts and lots of shooting and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.