People Who Matter:
Aaron Eckhart: SSGT Nantz
Ramon Rodriguez: 2nd Lt. Martinez
Michael Pena: Joe Rincon
Staff Sergeant Nantz (Eckhart) is running on the beach during morning PT. Younger, stronger Marines are passing him with ease. He finishes his run and ices his knee. He thinks (and talks to another Marine) about being old and hurting all the time. Clearly, the only thing to do is get out of the Marine Corps. He files the paperwork that morning and gets his superior (I didn't catch his rank) to sign off on it. They talk about SSGT Nantz's "incident," the one that is referred to throughout the entire movie but never really explained. Long story short, SSGT Nantz made a decision to go forward in a combat situation the last time he was down range, and almost all the Marines under his command died.
I hope you enjoy the first twenty minutes, where they are "building up" characters, at least attempting to make them into people that we can relate to. SSGT Nantz is getting out of the Marine Corps. Another Marine is planning his wedding. Another Marine is about to be deployed. Yeah, I hope those stories enthrall you, because you won't be seeing anything resembling a story for the remaining two hours of this movie.
Later that morning, strange meteors start falling in oceans all over the world, but only around major cities. It's strange, because none of these meteors were seen by the Hubble until a few hours before... meteors shouldn't act like that. The command comes down the line for all Marines to suit up to full battle rattle. They are expecting a fight. SSGT Nantz is put in another platoon as a platoon sergeant. This doesn't sit well with his new platoon. They know his story and think he is a loose canon who gets his Marines killed. Oh, dear.
strange, strange meteors
Very soon, the aliens make their appearance and start fucking everything up. They come out of the water, looking all low-budget and stupid, just shooting everybody and everything. Why the aliens come is never really explained, although it is mentioned that they want our water. They clearly don't need us pesky humans hanging around, so they plan to kill everyone and destroy everything. SSGT Nantz and his platoon are given orders to go behind enemy lines in Santa Monica and hold the city. Similar battles are raging all over the world, and defeat seems imminent. The aliens are simply too strong, have far superior firepower, and their air support renders our Air Force useless.
The only solution the military can come up with to kill the aliens is to flatten the entire city of Santa Monica. Therefore, SSGT Nantz has to get his men and his newfound civilians out of there before the bombs drop. Seeing as how he has the only remaining defense force anywhere around, it should be a fun afternoon.
Blah, blah, blah. There are lots of close-ups in the firefights, lots of screaming, and lots of explosions. There is nothing here that hasn't been in dozens of movies before, and they have done it way better. The characters never say more than three sentences in a row; but if they do, you know they are about to bite the dust. And don't get attached to any character either (if that was even possible), because they die more often than this movie cuts to a close-up of Eckhart's face.
I don't understand why the Michael Bay effect is still happening. Yeah, explosions are cool and blowing shit up is fun, but shouldn't there be more to a movie than that? Is it too much to ask that there be a story that makes sense? Is it too much to ask that the characters not be a rag-tag, culturally diverse group of stereotypes? Is it too much to ask that a movie with such a big budget can make aliens that aren't so... cheap looking? Thankfully, most of the shots of the aliens are wide or the frantic hand-held close shots that don't really show a clear picture of them, but come on.
Now, as much as I disliked this movie, my best friend (a guy) loved it. Maybe as a female I just can't enjoy the mindless explosions and senseless story. Maybe I expect too much... wanting a story out of a movie released in 2011. The nerve I have.
5 out of 10
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