Battleship

There is a great deal of fear running through Hollywood. This fear manifests itself in various scary ways. This is one of them.

Hollywood has mined many sources for inspiration for films and now they have turned to board games. They are not something that would be considered viable for story ideas. But that has not stopped Peter Berg and his team from making an action blockbuster. I have been a fan of Peter's from his acting days on 'Chicago Hope' but I've not been a huge fan of the films that he has directed. Not because they are badly directed but just because the plots have not been that great. I think he has somehow become possessed by the spirit of Michael Bay. Peter's directing style here is very much like a Michael Bay film. As with the trailers it looks very much like a 'Transformers' movie.

Considering the inspiration I think the film is not all that bad. As with most films these days it is aimed at young males. It is all spectacle and no substance. It is definitely spectacular. The action scenes are very well done and look awesome on the big screen. However the reason for all that spectacular action is not that awesome. The plot is quite dumb and just an excuse for huge battles. I realise the film is called 'Battleship' but you can still have great action scenes and a decent story to it. My main problem is that I'd have liked to see more of what was happening outside the dome. They could have had more attempts to try and bring down the force field from the outside. The one good scene in the film is where they actually use the game as the basis for an attack on the aliens. The film is also very long too.

Taylor Kitsch does a decent job as the main hero. Even if his character is incredibly cliched. Alex Skarsgard does a very good job with his cliched character as well. I would have liked it if he was seen more of though. Considering the material Rhianna does a good job with her performance. She is not called upon to do anything with any great dramatic purpose so she handles it well. Liam Neeson manages to add a great deal of authority to the film even if you wish he was in it more often. His character is one of the many that is incredibly cliched.

If you like your action films to be all style and no substance then this movie is for you. You won't have to think much, so you can just turn your brain off and enjoy the show.