By Jonathan Terbeche
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A futuristic, hostile, alien race invades American soil because of some precious resource that is ever-present and commonplace for us. Does the premise sound familiar?

In “Battle Los Angeles” aliens invade the coasts of key cities around the world. They are colonizing our planet for fuel which so happens to be water. On of the key cities is, of course, Los Angeles.

The movie opens with a hectic moment that actually takes place later in the film. Once all of the introductions of characters and setting have taken place, the stressful adventure begins again.

Immediately a sense of dread and hopelessness fills the theater as SSgt. Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) and 2nd Lt. William Martinez’s (Ramon Rodriguez) squad of rookie marines must try to save civilians in the middle of LA.

Eventually the dwindling group of marines take up the task of eliminating the alien’s command center in hopes of saving the already abandoned LA. They aren’t just marines, but super marines.

While the plot of the film may be rather unremarkable, the acting is its saving grace. Aaron Eckhart’s character is sincere, troubled, and very heroic. The nightmares of his lost marines haunt him and play a role in how he behaves in tough situations. All of the emotions feel very real.

Not just the acting, but the special effects are a high point of it as well. From the metallic appearance of all the alien technology, to the loud, eerie sounds of all the gunfire, the effects go a long way towards involving the audience. However, it’s not entirely surprising that the visuals were good, considering not much detail was placed on anything.

“Battle Los Angeles” may not be the most complicated, or beautiful movie ever made, but it has great moments and is a great roller coaster ride. You would find it hard not to enjoy your time in a war-torn LA!