Thunderous special effects and an off-the-peg plot combine to make Battle LA more like a computer game than a movie. Mysterious aliens invade Los Angeles (and the rest of the world) and only a rogue band of US Marines can trounce them. A war-weary Aaron Eckhart leads the lads, and one gal played by a bloodthirsty Michelle Rodriguez, as their clichéd back stories emerge. The aliens appear from the explosions like large Lego Bionicles and the Marines act as if they’re in a recruitment advert. Retreat? Hell, no!
The machinegun fire is almost non-stop. It’s rather like being trapped for two hours in a washing machine filled with rocks on the spin cycle. Boy heaven, obviously.
12A, 117 mins