Battleship review

Apr 12, 2012 - 03:00 PM

Battleship

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Director: Peter Berg
Cast: : Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgard
Release Date: 2012-04-12 12:00:00
Quick Take: Classic mindless mayhem

This is the season of sinking ships. Titanic made a return from the abyss in 3D and now it’s the turn of US Naval ships to battle alien sea crafts in old school board game Battleship style. Director Peter Berg’s big budget CGI extravaganza has enough hot air to make it float. But it also has enough dead weight to affect its buoyancy. The movie’s big bang approach and fan boy styling salvage some respect. But this Battleship could’ve packed so much more ammo.

This movie is based on a popular board game where two players sat on either side of a console, not knowing or seeing what’s on the other side. The aim was to sink the enemy’s ships on the other side. For Barbie enthusiasts and Video game geeks, Battleship was like a funky Boney M version of chess. It was a battle of wits, technical expertise and good ol luck. You needed the patience of Job to get through it though. So Peter Berg’s added kinetic energy to that concept in his film. The US Navy amidst their war games with Japan is called upon to investigate an alien landing in the middle of the sea. Of course like it was in Independence Day the aliens are hostile and are here to usurp the planet.

The war between the aliens and the US as well as the Japanese Navy is what Battleship is all about. The makers of this film are also the makers of the Transformers films and toys. And the film carries an uncanny resemblance to the franchise of shape shifting robots. Berg’s filmmaking technique looks like it’s certified by Michael Bay. Berg and his team of writers try their best to incorporate a respectable level of character detailing, but all they manage to do is to ridicule their own cause. With a sense of humour that would make Moe, Larry and Curly proud, Battleship guns its own hull - the worst one making fun of a handicapped US soldier.   

The strength of this film is its brute action. While it’s not half as smart as Einstein’s dog, it’s big and booming. The film features ships exchanging cannon fire and that makes for some pretty nice and loud fireworks. The art of war tact is a bit lame and so are the aliens that look like they’re a cross between Robocop, Iron Man and the Predator. What’s fun is to watch things blown to kingdom come. In its later stages the film creates enough steam to entertain you. And all those loud explosions overshadow the wry humour and wafer-thin story, at least for the moment. Performances by Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna and Brooklyn Decker are as good as they can be. Liam Neeson packs a solid punch in an extremely brief role.

This is popcorn entertainment, light on the grey cells and heavy on the senses. No need to think, just sit back and enjoy the ride.