Battleship Review
13/04/2012
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgård
In one hell of an epic-scaled sci-fi action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land an international fleet of navy ships compete in war games as a re-enactment of Pearl Harbour, only to find that they are no longer playing a game when our planet must fight for survival against a superior force.
Actor turned Producer Peter Berg produces and directs Battleship in conjunction with a skilfully crafted script written by sibling duo Joe and Erich Hoeber (Red). Inspired by Hasbro's classic naval combat game, Battleship, with an alien twist, this film is superbly written, choreographed and directed with some spectacular climactic scenes.
Starring Taylor Kitsch (John Cater) as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker (Ugly Betty) as Sam Shane, Hopper's fiancée and the Admiral's daughter; Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) as Hopper's older brother, Stone and the Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; international songstress Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, crew mate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and the unmistakable talent of international superstar Liam Neeson (Taken, Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace) as Admiral Shane.
Kitsch's selection in his role was a wise choice. He showed diversity and an improvement in his acting skills from his other recent release, John Carter.
Liam Neeson is meanwhile completely wasted in his role as the Admiral. As a rough guess, he would have had around a total of twenty minutes of scattered screen time. Neeson was given a few funny one liners... I really would have liked to have heard him say "you sunk my battleship" at the end of the movie, but alas, it didn't happen.
To my surprise, Rihanna actually performed quite well in her first bigscreen role. I was a little apprehensive to hear that she was going to be in this movie up against big guns Neeson and Kitsch, but she did an surprisingly good job. However, she was a bit underused in my opinion. She possessed a grit and aggression which suited her part to a tea.
There were several older gents towards the end of the film who were cast as some of the original naval officers from the original battle of Pearl Harbour. Their acting was a bit so-so and I have a suspicion that these men were in fact part of the original crew of the battleship USS Missouri which fought in the waters of Pearl Harbour. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to confirm my suspicion even with Google searches. Their introduction into the movie was good though. Showed the young pups how the old dogs did it back in the day when everything was analogue.
Battleship has been written incredibly well, right down to the smallest of details. Even sneaking in the infamous Battleship grid as seen in the game! Just shy of 2 hours, it provides the viewer just enough build up in the story to not to start feeling like it’s going to drag on and then becomes fast paced and action packed.
Location wise, it was only fitting that this film be shot off the waters of original Pearl Harbour battle in O'ahu, Hawaii and seamlessly combining the footage of the naval ships and the alien ships 'sailing' the oceans whilst the land locations incorporated lush greenery. As they say, location is everything and in this case it was the perfect back drop both on both land and sea.
Battleship is very CGI-heavy in the special effects department for obvious reasons. Im sure that the production costs didnt includ a few billion dollars to blow up naval ships and give true meaning to "You sunk my battleship!?$!" Visually, Battleship is a treasure trove of CGI and effects for your eyeballs!
The CGI explosions, sounds effects, some of the weapons used by the aliens and even the alien ships are very reminiscent of another Hasbro owned product turned movie; Transformers. Has Berg been watching every Michael Bay film to collect special effects ideas to try and outdo him?
Battleship has a well selected, incredible soundtrack. The album features an original score from the movie composed by Steve Jablonsky (Transformers), as well as a track written and performed by Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello. The soundtrack also samples our very own Acca Dacca's 'Thunderstuck' and the classic from Creedence Clearwater Revival, 'Fortunate Son'.
Whilst this movie is definitely patriotic to the US navy, at times feels like Transformers, Top Gun, Independence Day and Battleship all mixed into one, it will definitely not disappoint. Another one for my BluRay collection!
Highlight: The CGI. Epic effects!
Score: 8/10
Written by Tutts