Battleship Movie Review
The brand name
Hasbro is well known for toys. So when their toys are adapted to become films,
one might wonder how it will turn out. Well we already have the Transformers
films and G.I Joe which have gotten tons of cash at the box office but not all
of them have done well story wise.
Now, we have
Battleship based on the famed Hasbro board game. When I first heard they were
making a film based on a board game, I just kept thinking how they will tell a
story engaging enough that will not go beyond the true scenario of the game.
One thing that bothered me was that battleships are already decommissioned. In
the US Navy today, they have destroyers and aircraft carriers and their
battleships are now museums. Another thing is how they will show Battleship the
game on screen. You know as players would say during a game, “A1!” and the
opponent, “You sank my Battleship!” will, the answers came in and they were
fairly sufficient.
The film comes
from Peter Berg (Hancock, The Kingdom). When the first trailer came out, the
look is like Michael Bay’s Transformer films. But Berg also showed his own
style which was greatly seen in the story telling. The film doesn’t have a deep
plot. It has a story told over and over through different films. The difference,
this one is set at sea with boats, missiles and waves.
He film tells
the story of an alien invasion which targeted Hawaii first. The invasion also
coincides with a naval exercise between Japan and the United States. So to
incorporate the board game’s rules, we have at least three ships per group,
three from the Navy and three from the aliens. And to really keep that number,
the aliens have a force field engulfing the islands of Hawaii and parts of the
Pacific. With this, all the heavy ships, the carriers and subs can’t enter. So
with this, the game begins.
The film has
great special effects as expected. The alien ships are very detailed and the
explosions were realistic. When it came to CGI, the studio invested a great
deal and it got great results. Cinematography was also one of the good factors
of the film. Each angle of the camera delivers the appropriate view needed for
certain scenes as well as for the action sequences.
Now we go to the
cast. The film has an ensemble of veteran and newbie actors. But it seemed they
did not mesh well together. On their own, they perform well, but there are
times in the film that we don’t get to see a good interaction or chemistry
between actors. Adding to this are the dialogues which at times are useless and
just too simple.
Battleship does
deliver the game to film. There is a scene in the movie where the cast are
playing a real life version of the game complete with the A1, T36, the
anticipated location of the enemy vessel and the “Hit!”. As for the battleship,
they manage to bring to life the greatest battleship that has ever sailed. It
may look ridiculous but it does give goose bumps seeing the mighty ship come to
life once again. You need to see it for yourself and be amazed at history.
But Battleship
does have a good balance in action and humor. It is just one of those films
that you just go to watch to enjoy. It is not too serious and it is guaranteed
to give smiles on your faces. It is an action film with a lot of action
sequences that will leave you jumping in your seats.
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