Battleship is the new action blockbuster directed by Peter Berg [Hancock, The Kingdom] and is a Navy war film that is based on a board game and stars John Connor’s Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgard [True Blood], Brooklyn Decker [Just Go with It], Rihanna and Liam Neeson [Taken, Unknown].
Battleship is a popcorn movie, pure fun, big stars and non-stop action and is a great way to kick start the summer blockbuster movie season with a bang.
The good:
The main attraction with Battleship is the action scenes and there are plenty, for those action junkies and thrill nuts. There are enough scenes of explosive action and set pieces to satisfy the most hard core action fans and the film even boasts of even more action than the whole of Transformers 2 and 3 put together. The special effects are eye popping and dazzling and are pure eye candy.
The other main highlight is the cast, from the films main hero slacker Alex hopper [Taylor Kitsch], who is great as the lead and after his disappointing flop in Disney’s John Carter deserves to have a comeback. There is Liam Neeson and relatively small role that is forgettable as a Navy Officer and Alexander Skarsgard and Alex’s brother who has limited screen time but the scenes he shares with Alex you care about their friendship. Then there is newcomer Rihanna, hoping to make a brake in the film industry as an officer helping to fight of the alien intruders. For a first time film she is pretty with having only a minor role, she handles the action scenes well and has potential for great screen presence, she just needs a meatier role to sink her teeth into.
The film’s main success is all down to the film’s director, Peter Berg, who after directing Superhero flick Hancock and political thriller, The Kingdom, shows he can handle action as well as appealing to mass audience and family-friendly entertainments. He knows what the fans and cinemagoers want to see when they part with their cash. He handles his cast and the action excellently to make sure he gets the best out of everyone.
The bad:
With the success of other sci-fi action blockbusters such as the Transformers franchise with its first installment being a commercial success and then ruins it by spawning two sequels, Battleship also shares the same fate and there is potential for a new franchise and I feel it should be kept as a standalone film. Battleship, as great as it is visually it’s forgettable as a simple, fun, summer blockbuster.
Conclusion:
Overall, Battleship is an enjoyable, fun blockbuster, with a good-looking cast, which kick starts the summer movie season with a bang. It certainly makes its mark in the summer movie market with tough competition.