# BATTLE: LOS ANGELES (Blu-ray; Sony Pictures/Columbia)



## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

*Releasing Studio: Sony Pictures/Columbia 
Disc/Transfer Specifications: 1080p 2.40:1; Region 1 (U.S.) Release
Video Codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Tested Audio Track: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Rating: PG-13
Director:  Jonathan Liebesman 
Starring Cast: Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan 


IT’S NOT WAR. IT’S SURVIVAL.


OSAGE'S PLOT ANALYSIS:*

What? What’s that you say? “Harvey Dent” of _The Dark Knight_ is playing a platoon-leading staff sergeant Marine charged with the duty of fending off an alien attack on the beaches of California? 

Perhaps on paper you don’t buy it, but Jonathan Liebesman’s highly anticipated and much-ballyhooed _Battle: Los Angeles_ was a refreshingly genuine take on the aliens-invade-Earth genre so commercially glazed over in a thick, heavy syrup via projects like _Independence Day_ or, in certain aspects, _War of the Worlds_. The back of the Blu-ray cover quotes a critic who exclaims this film is like “_Independence Day_ meets _District 9_ – only cooler.” But that’s not accurate. This is indeed – with no doubt – _Black Hawk Down_ meets _Independence Day_ for better or worse. Again, this was a film I was eager to see theatrically, but due to personal matters and a hectic work schedule, I missed it like so many other titles I was looking forward to. The hoopla surrounding _Battle: LA_ was staggering, with blogs upon blogs of insight hitting infinite numbers of Internet “review” and “film discussion” sites; the film was often lumped into that “duality” syndrome, wherein certain films seemed to release together of similar genres, a la _Armageddon_ and _Deep Impact_, being compared to _Skyline_ which was released prior to _Battle: LA_. I didn’t care for _Skyline_, and thought this was a much better film, but, again, like so many others I have seen recently, something _still_ prevents it from being “spectacular” or “ownership worthy” in my opinion. 

If you listen to the commentary by the filmmakers and watch some of the behind-the-scenes features on the disc, you’ll learn all about how _Battle: Los Angeles_ attempted to mix a documentary-style piece of film with a standard Hollywood drama flow – the filmmakers were indeed going for something different with this one, attempting to fuse the nail-biting excitement and pre-alien-attack tensions of _ID4_ and like-minded films with a more gritty, serious, “reality” angle, a la an actual Marine troupe going into battle against robotic aliens, seen through their eyes in the tradition of _Black Hawk Down._ The result was successful in that way, and instead of gooey, greasy and syrupy tentacles hanging down from these aliens, we get metallic-based organisms which are met by our armed forces with the equal intent of doing machine gun-to-machine gun battle with them. It was a refreshing take on the genre, “true dat” as one of today’s hip hop artists would say. 

And, in fact, _Battle: Los Angeles_ does feel very much like _Black Hawk Down_ in its raw, rough execution – there’s that gritty, dirty look to the picture as the Marines are ducking alien gunfire and explosions and mud is being thrown into the air; the shaky camera jerks and angles that suggest you’re running right there with the actors…it’s almost as if Ridley Scott was given the green light to attempt a sci fi alien flick, minus Denzel Washington. Instead, we get a good lead performance from Aaron Eckhart, who plays the role of a Marines staff sergeant cool and straight-ahead, with some backup performances by Michelle “Fast and the Furious” Rodriguez and even Michael Pena _World Trade Center_). The film goes right for the throat upon starting – we get the perspective of a group of Marines stationed outside Los Angeles watching the news reports of strange meteor showers that are firing down on the Earth’s cities from space. The tension is gathered very nicely here, as we watch news reports – a la _Independence Day_, Day After Tomorrow[/i] and even _2012_ – about these “cosmic attacks” and how they’re a mystery to everyone around the world, seemingly taking out people, structures and other elements of our planet as they rocket to the ground and explode. What makes this so frightening and effective is that we can actually _imagine_ something like this happening one day…turning on our TVs and seeing reports from CNN and HLN between episodes of the _Casey Anthony Murder Trial_ that strange beings have landed on our beaches and in our parks, taking out people with their ray guns and the like. And so, that “energy” built up by this opening sequence, as we watch the news reports of the strange meteor attacks, is extremely effective, mixed with the documentary-style shooting as we follow the confused Marines about their headquarters. What is even more genuinely frightening, however – and I said this about _Independence Day_ as well, when the White House staff gathers around a TV to watch a news report about the space ships appearing – is the fact that our military powers actually get their intel from news shows and reports before getting it from their own leaders. Can you imagine? Marines and other divisions are made aware of what’s going on with an alien attack not by their own government leaders – but by a report on CNN or elsewhere. _They_ get the scoop on what’s going down before our government does. That always bothered me.

Soon, reports of these “meteors” turn to excited warnings of attacking “things” on the planet, which have come down from the skies and have begun killing humans and destroying our cities. Eckhart is somehow “reduced,” temporarily, in rank, for the mission of meeting these aliens for a conflict, instead having to take orders from a rookie platoon leader, but who looks to Eckhart for leadership advice anyway. _Battle: Los Angeles_ then heats up into the mission that its namesake title implies, as we experience, through the eyes of these Marines, a battle between these attacking aliens and our armed forces on the burned-out streets of L.A. As aforementioned, the aliens appear as metallic robot-like beings that have weapons and guns “fused” onto their chassis – it’s almost like _Terminator_ meets _ID4_. The soldiers engage in an all-out gunfight with the beings, shooting their assault rifles at them while the attackers shoot machine gun/laser-like rounds back at them, turning the fogged up, smoked out streets of L.A. into a total war zone (which isn’t much of a stretch to begin with anyway). We eventually meet Michelle Rodriguez’s character, who plays a tough-edged Marine, as well as Michael Pena’s character, who dies at the hands of an alien attack in front of his young son – but the focus always remains on Eckhart and his troops, as the aliens eventually wipe out nearly every Marine in the vicinity, leaving him and a small band of diehard soldiers left to battle the creatures to the death. The sense of “never giving up” amongst the Marines in the film is explored thoroughly, and keeps the narrative’s pace engaging. We also get an out-of-nowhere performance by Bridget Moynahan, who I haven’t seen in anything personally since she played John Cusack’s pretty fiancé in _Serendipity._ 

Soon, the metallic-like aliens roll out a specialized weapon, which they push down the war-torn L.A. streets towards the Marines, and which shoots incredibly powerful rockets of some sort, instantly destroying whoever is in the way of the weapon. As day turns into night during this campaign, Eckhart and the others realize they must find the source of what’s controlling the other “drones” – there must be a central brain for these aliens (just like the “mother ship” in _ID4_) and they eventually stumble upon it beneath the ground. Massive and nearly the size of a city, this contraption rises from beneath the ground – and one must wonder how the aliens got these beneath our feet, much like in _War of the Worlds_ – as the Marines figure out a way to destroy it, thereby crippling the other alien contraptions being controlled by it. Meanwhile, all around the world, the aliens are destroying major cities like London, as they do in all these flicks, but once the small group of American Marines figures out how to bring these suckers down, they pass the word along…does this sound familiar? 

What made _Battle: Los Angeles_ so different from other alien invasion stories was the way it relied on the gritty, from-the-military perspective in the documentary narrative. The ending was a bit abrupt, what with the Marines figuring out how to defeat the alien beings as we hear what is seemingly Eckhart’s voice into a headset proclaiming _”Let’s retake Los Angeles!”_ after the whole city is in total ruins (it always amazes me how at the end of these films no one questions the possibility that these aliens are going to return after the ones from their planet figure out the other ones sent to Earth to attack it and destroy it didn’t return) but all in all, it was a decent ride, and better than the one it’s always compared to, _Skyline_. The biggest issue with _Battle: LA_, for me, was the ongoing, drawn out battle sequences which get so gnawing after awhile as you’re dropped in the middle of that meat grinder in L.A. for nearly two hours and it’s relentless…but many will say that’s the point of the film, and what made it, as did the drawn out war sequences in _Black Hawk Down._ This just seemed excessive here, and made me wonder just how often I’d take it off the shelf to rewatch – although I rewatch _Black Hawk Down_ on Superbit pretty often, so…

*VIDEO QUALITY ANALYSIS:*

Sony/Columbia presented _Battle: Los Angeles_ in a ridiculously clean 2.40:1 1080p transfer that really strutted its appealing stuff during facial close-ups – my Lord, the upclose shots of Eckhart and some other actors were stunning with eye-popping, realistically rendered detail to the point you could make out every mole, hole, pimple, shave mark and imperfection on their faces, especially Eckhart’s. As the film progresses, the battle sequences with the aliens get a bit gritty – in the fashion of _Saving Private Ryan_ and of course _Black Hawk Down_ -- so the transfer loses a bit of its clarity and essential high def polished look. But these photographic elements are completely appropriate given the subject material – and we’re never once really taken out of the story due to the grit and dirty flying around the frame. 

*AUDIO QUALITY ANALYSIS:*

I can’t tell you why, but a trailer for _Battle: Los Angeles_ on the DVD for _I Am Number Four_, featured in Dolby Digital audio, sounded punchier, heavier and more aggressive than in the DTS-HD Master Audio mix of the Blu-ray – given the subject matter, I was surprised this wasn’t a more aggressive, tuned up track. Bass seemed a bit shy on my system, and there wasn’t a whole lot of energy to the mix until you brought your master volume up a bit higher than normal. I didn’t understand that.

Surrounds were used aggressively, as expected, but it was the ultimate shallow bass that left me a bit underwhelmed here. This was not a poor mix, by any means – I just expected more. I’m sure there are plenty of you who are going to tell me what you thought about that! 

*SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATIONS:*

Definitely entertaining, and a refreshing take on the alien invasion story, as told through the eyes of American Marines in L.A. as they battle these robotic, aluminum-covered things – it was very much like _Black Hawk Down_ meets the _X Files_, and for that, it deserves applause. As a buy, I’m just uncertain…I personally don’t see much rewatch time on this one, but I’ve been finding that of most every title I come across these days.

I’ll be reviewing the Jennifer Aniston/Adam Sandler comedy _Just Go With It_ next! Tell me what you thought about your experiences with the much-ballyhooed _Battle: Los Angeles!_


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Some corrections were required to the formal italicizing of official film titles, evidenced in the paragraph below and in bold:



> And, in fact, _Battle: Los Angeles_ does feel very much like _Black Hawk Down_ in its raw, rough execution – there’s that gritty, dirty look to the picture as the Marines are ducking alien gunfire and explosions and mud is being thrown into the air; the shaky camera jerks and angles that suggest you’re running right there with the actors…it’s almost as if Ridley Scott was given the green light to attempt a sci fi alien flick, minus Denzel Washington. Instead, we get a good lead performance from Aaron Eckhart, who plays the role of a Marines staff sergeant cool and straight-ahead, with some backup performances by Michelle “Fast and the Furious” Rodriguez and even Michael Pena _World Trade Center_). The film goes right for the throat upon starting – we get the perspective of a group of Marines stationed outside Los Angeles watching the news reports of strange meteor showers that are firing down on the Earth’s cities from space. The tension is gathered very nicely here, as we watch news reports – a la *Independence Day, Day After Tomorrow and even 2012* – about...


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Well there is no doubt that I loved it! The story was extremely basic and the dialogue was cheesy from time to time, but for me that was easily overlooked for the battle scenes and the AQ and PQ.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Dale Rasco said:


> Well there is no doubt that I loved it! The story was extremely basic and the dialogue was cheesy from time to time, but for me that was easily overlooked for the battle scenes and the AQ and PQ.


Thanks for the feedback, Dale!

Did you end up buying the Blu-ray? I liked the film, too, it's just that after awhile, the battle sequences got a bit tiring and drawn out to me -- moreso than in actual war films like Saving Private Ryan or Black Hawk Down. But there was definitely less cheese factor compared to other films in this genre like Independence Day. The from-the-Marines-perspective kept the flow fresh and intriguing, indeed. 

The PQ I found amazing -- but the audio was slightly short of reference I thought. There were some areas that could have been energized with more LFE IMO.

I will reply to your PM regarding Hall Pass next...:T


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

I found just the opposite; I thought both AQ and PQ to be reference level, but I did find the audio slightly better than the PQ. One thing that I figured out early on was that the DST-HD-MA was so perfectly balanced, I actually had to turn my system up about 3db higher than I normally listen to for DTS-HD. As far as LFE; there is some incredibly low material in this mix. Try turning up a little past reference and watch the last part starting where they climb out of the manhole and drop a grenade. That entire final battle is just RUDE!:T And I mean that in a good way!


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Dale Rasco said:


> I found just the opposite; I thought both AQ and PQ to be reference level, but I did find the audio slightly better than the PQ. One thing that I figured out early on was that the DST-HD-MA was so perfectly balanced, I actually had to turn my system up about 3db higher than I normally listen to for DTS-HD. As far as LFE; there is some incredibly low material in this mix. Try turning up a little past reference and watch the last part starting where they climb out of the manhole and drop a grenade. That entire final battle is just RUDE!:T And I mean that in a good way!


Perhaps it was the "perfectly balanced" element which prohibited me from giving this mix an all-star rating -- I normally prefer "overcooked" audio tracks (like the Region 1 release of the War of the Worlds remake in DTS) and can't stand when I need to turn my master volume way beyond what I normally listen at. It's a common trait I am experiencing with modern DTS-HD MA tracks, the most blatant example being the latest Nicolas Cage "demonic potboiler" Season of the Witch, equipped with what I label as an anemic MA mix that needed a ton of master volume push to really heat up.


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

I agree with Osage regarding the audio. While I only saw the DVD version I had to turn up the volume about 5dbs higher than normal to begin to get satisfactory LFE. Even then the LFE wasn't that impressive, although they did a very good job with the surround content. Overall I liked the movie but it doesn't hold a candle to the excellent sound mix of a movie such as Tron Legacy. In fact I put on Tron after I watched Battle LA just to be sure I didn't accidently enable some sort of limiting mode on my receiver.


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## Zeitgeist (Apr 4, 2009)

Infrasonic said:


> I agree with Osage regarding the audio. While I only saw the DVD version I had to turn up the volume about 5dbs higher than normal to begin to get satisfactory LFE. Even then the LFE wasn't that impressive, although they did a very good job with the surround content. Overall I liked the movie but it doesn't hold a candle to the excellent sound mix of a movie such as Tron Legacy. In fact I put on Tron after I watched Battle LA just to be sure I didn't accidentally enable some sort of limiting mode on my receiver.


That's too bad - considering my interest in the movie was largely for LFE.

If the story is mediocre, there must be some redeeming quality.


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Infrasonic said:


> I agree with Osage regarding the audio. While I only saw the DVD version I had to turn up the volume about 5dbs higher than normal to begin to get satisfactory LFE. Even then the LFE wasn't that impressive, although they did a very good job with the surround content. Overall I liked the movie but it doesn't hold a candle to the excellent sound mix of a movie such as Tron Legacy. In fact I put on Tron after I watched Battle LA just to be sure I didn't accidently enable some sort of limiting mode on my receiver.


There seems to be some confusion as to what I stated. When I stated that there are some scenes for bass that rival Tron: Legacy I meant that there are some VLF instances in Battle Los Angeles that Tron just doesn't have. There is some stuff going on in Battle Los Angeles that hits 10Hz or even lower that you guys may just be missing. I didn't mean for my comment to sound like I preferred the overall audio for Battle Los Angeles over Tron: Legacy; my bad. That being said, there is absolutely some incredibly dynamic LFE and VLF going on in Battle Los Angeles.



Zeitgeist said:


> That's too bad - considering my interest in the movie was largely for LFE.
> 
> If the story is mediocre, there must be some redeeming quality.


I would give it a shot before I wrote it off. It is a reference level DTS-HD-MA.


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

You can also take what I said with a grain of salt because I watched the DVD version and there could have been a different/better mix on the Blu-Ray. From what I remember it did sound good and had some low frequencies (after raising the master vol) but it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be - which is probably why I was a little rough on it since I had been looking forward to seeing it for awhile.

I'd put it in the 'Buy It' category with better than most but not as good as some SQ.

I'm looking forward to getting Sucker Punch on Tuesday, I hope it doesn't disappoint!


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Infrasonic said:


> You can also take what I said with a grain of salt because I watched the DVD version and there could have been a different/better mix on the Blu-Ray. From what I remember it did sound good and had some low frequencies (after raising the master vol) but it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be - which is probably why I was a little rough on it since I had been looking forward to seeing it for awhile.
> 
> I'd put it in the 'Buy It' category with better than most but not as good as some SQ.
> 
> I'm looking forward to getting Sucker Punch on Tuesday, I hope it doesn't dissapoint!


I hope it doesn't disappoint either, I really liked it but Dave Upton and GranteedV didn't care for it so I will be curious to get your take on it. If you read my review on it, the only reason I compared it to Inception was because it was left open to interpretation, but it isn't anything like Inception in quality or story....


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Infrasonic said:


> I agree with Osage regarding the audio. While I only saw the DVD version I had to turn up the volume about 5dbs higher than normal to begin to get satisfactory LFE. Even then the LFE wasn't that impressive, although they did a very good job with the surround content. Overall I liked the movie but it doesn't hold a candle to the excellent sound mix of a movie such as Tron Legacy. In fact I put on Tron after I watched Battle LA just to be sure I didn't accidently enable some sort of limiting mode on my receiver.


Thank you for your backup on the audio, Infrasonic, even though you sampled the DVD version -- I found this "low volume debacle" prominent on this Blu-ray, as with Season of the Witch, amongst a few other new releases, and I believe there's a mastering issue going on here with the studios. 

And I totally know what you mean about wondering if there was a late night or compression mode engaged after viewing these titles -- my settings were fine, and with DTS signals, there is no compression mode that can be engaged on my receiver (works only with Dolby signals). But the way the soundtrack was delivered, I did think something was wrong with my setup.

I'm not a TRON fan, so I can't comment on the track for that title as I didn't see it, but I know Battle: L.A. didn't have nearly the kind of sonic kick in the pants that Iron Man 2 had on my system.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

I have no intention of renting or seeing Sucker Punch, either. :rolleyesno:


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

Osage_Winter said:


> Thank you for your backup on the audio, Infrasonic, even though you sampled the DVD version -- I found this "low volume debacle" prominent on this Blu-ray, as with Season of the Witch, amongst a few other new releases, and I believe there's a mastering issue going on here with the studios.
> 
> And I totally know what you mean about wondering if there was a late night or compression mode engaged after viewing these titles -- my settings were fine, and with DTS signals, there is no compression mode that can be engaged on my receiver (works only with Dolby signals). But the way the soundtrack was delivered, I did think something was wrong with my setup.
> 
> I'm not a TRON fan, so I can't comment on the track for that title as I didn't see it, but I know Battle: L.A. didn't have nearly the kind of sonic kick in the pants that Iron Man 2 had on my system.


You know, I actually had to go check out other review sites to see if maybe my setup was out of whack or if I was just off the mark, but it appears to be in sync. I wonder if it was hyped too much by the time you guys viewed it...

high def digest
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/4758/battlela.html#Section4

AVS
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1340043

Blu-ray.com
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Battle-Los-Angeles-Blu-ray/21866/#Review


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Dale Rasco said:


> You know, I actually had to go check out other review sites to see if maybe my setup was out of whack or if I was just off the mark, but it appears to be in sync. I wonder if it was hyped too much by the time you guys viewed it...
> 
> high def digest
> http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/4758/battlela.html#Section4
> ...


I didn't read ANY reviews prior to viewing it, so I wasn't aware of the "hype."


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

Good point Dale, maybe I'll give it another listen and see if my original opinion was too harsh.

I do think Osage should rent Tron Legacy and give it a chance. For that movie I had very high expectations for the sound and it lived up to them and then some. Sure the writing and acting isn't so great and there are a couple scenes that could use a little FF but overall it is quite the experience to watch the movie on a good HT system - definitely worth your time!


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

I second that, Osage should definitely check out Tron: Legacy.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

I do have a lot of freelance reviewing projects/assignments on my roster, and Tron isn't one of them -- but I'm not a fan of the "franchise" anyway, even back in the days when I was going to Disneyland in Anaheim and riding on PeopleMovers, seeing all the Tron-inspired teasers and tech...


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## Zeitgeist (Apr 4, 2009)

Dale Rasco said:


> I would give it a shot before I wrote it off. It is a reference level DTS-HD-MA.


I shall! I never meant to start an LFE debate.. I misunderstood the comments..


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