Battleship

filmbuffboy · 01-05-2012 2:55pm

It surprises me that people actually went to this film expecting it to be good. I could tell by watching the trailer that it would be a heap of crap.

Its a pity because it could have been really great with a decent director & script.

Zubeneschamali · 01-05-2012 3:36pm

filmbuffboy wrote: »

Its a pity because it could have been really great with a decent director & script.

Yes, if they'd dumped the alien invasion plot, and the US navy parts, and the subplot about the hero being a loser, and the plastic girlfriend, and the beardy scientist, and the guy with no legs, and got a different director, say Scorsese...

Let's see, Kitsch could be a junior Italian American gangster, and Neeson could be this older Irish gangster, and Rihanna and Skarsgard could be G-men undercover...

...it could have been great!

Warper · 01-05-2012 4:41pm

Its not good but its not that bad. Few corny jokes and the end is just cringe-worthy but its watchable. Just about passes.

Liam O · 01-05-2012 7:27pm

filmbuffboy wrote: »

It surprises me that people actually went to this film expecting it to be good. I could tell by watching the trailer that it would be a heap of crap.

Its a pity because it could have been really great with a decent director & script.

For a movie called Battleship the script was grand. Berg is a more than decent director. The movie does what it set out to do, nothing more, nothing less.

CyberGhost · 20-08-2012 8:53pm

Just read some threads on IMDB and what some posters suggested makes sense.

The aliens are the good guys, the humans are the bad guys. The aliens always try to avoid killing and aggression, on the human side there is an aggressive moron for a leader who kills and shoots them.

Aliens are also not armed, they don't carry any firearms at all. They were most likely an expedition crew not a military because their weapons are very basic for an intergallactic traveling species.

Remember, aliens did not start the war, they answered the horn with a horn of their own like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it was never established that they were building the communication towers to ask for reinforcements(and would you blame them?), maybe they were sending a signal back to warn their planet that it was a trap?

So while at first I thought it was just another idiotic military glorifying blockbuster, it is actually the opposite and make more sense when you look at it that way.

Mitch Connor · 20-08-2012 9:50pm

CyberGhost wrote: »

Just read some threads on IMDB and what some posters suggested makes sense.

The aliens are the good guys, the humans are the bad guys. The aliens always try to avoid killing and aggression, on the human side there is an aggressive moron for a leader who kills and shoots them.

Aliens are also not armed, they don't carry any firearms at all. They were most likely an expedition crew not a military because their weapons are very basic for an intergallactic traveling species.

Remember, aliens did not start the war, they answered the horn with a horn of their own like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it was never established that they were building the communication towers to ask for reinforcements(and would you blame them?), maybe they were sending a signal back to warn their planet that it was a trap?

So while at first I thought it was just another idiotic military glorifying blockbuster, it is actually the opposite and make more sense when you look at it that way.

didnt the aliens kill a load of people on the freeway when cutting off the access to the coms tower?

CyberGhost · 20-08-2012 10:38pm

Mitch Connor wrote: »

didnt the aliens kill a load of people on the freeway when cutting off the access to the coms tower?

They did kill some people, but those were a collateral damage, they were not specifically aiming to kill people, or else that thing would've plowed right through that kid, instead it stopped and went past him.

21-08-2012 1:37am

I saw this recently and while it was quite terrible, with some extremely wooden performances (with a rather tired looking Liam Neeson), the graphics used were quite good. I burst out laughing when at one point they almost literally played Battleship. That can't possibly be a spoiler though ...!

what the hell! · 21-08-2012 1:41am

This was absolutely terrible, first film in ages that I had to turn off after about 45 minutes.

stevenmu · 21-08-2012 11:46am

CyberGhost wrote: »

They did kill some people, but those were a collateral damage, they were not specifically aiming to kill people, or else that thing would've plowed right through that kid, instead it stopped and went past him.

Wasn't there an Independence Day rip off bit where the lead guy touched one of the aliens and got a vision of them conquering worlds?

Cokeistan · 21-08-2012 2:30pm

what the hell! wrote: »

This was absolutely terrible, first film in ages that I had to turn off after about 45 minutes.

Same here. I normally stick through films even if they're poor, but this was an absolute disaster of a film, hated everything about it, and I'd consider myself a big sci-fi fan!

1/10

spurious · 21-08-2012 2:35pm

I laughed out loud at the oul' lads stepping up to crew the ship.
I was on a plane at the time, so it was kind of embarrassing.

sticker · 21-08-2012 5:42pm

Same here - knocked this off after half an hour - utter dross

Potential-Monke · 02-09-2012 1:22am

Guess i might be on my own when i'm saying that this is one of the best films in it's genre that i have ever seen. And by genre i mean a film that's not deliberately attempting to win all the Oscars.

So for anyone that has seen it, we know there are a few plotholes (or more if you like to completely dissect a film), and some of the acting is not great (for this type of film). However, i believe that this film succeeded in what it was setting out to do: create a film that plays on every other film in that genre. It was extremely entertaining, so much so that i did not want the film to end. I must point out i'm a massive gamer, so this film was ticking all the right boxes, it felt like a proper, true game to film adaptation, except there was no game to begin with (excluding the board game).

The aliens were perfect, and one of the best representations of "aliens" i have seen. They weren't run of the mill kill everything aliens, and as pointed out above may even be a peaceful race but the humans jumped to conclusions. If this isn't the case, i stand to be corrected and accept it, but unless the writer/director comes out and says otherwise i'm going to agree with what CyberGhost says above. Plus they had some kickass suits which blended the Halo and Mass Effect armours perfectly.

The CG was amazing. I mean, i wasn't expecting it to be as good as what it was. The CG was believable throughout.

We knew it was going to have the typical American ending (even with Japanese involvement), so that didn't rattle me.

Overall, one of the best films i've seen this year and completely sickened i didn't get to see it in the cinema. Personally, i want a sequel and for them to flesh out the aliens a bit more. Epic show.

I should also point out that i absolutely hate all pretentious art house crap that comes out that seems to win all the awards, like Donnie Darko and that truly horrible Drive with Ryan Gosling... They, to me, are a waste of time. But i won't belittle anyone for liking them, different strokes and all that.

CyberGhost · 02-09-2012 9:48am

Potential-Monke wrote: »

Guess i might be on my own when i'm saying that this is one of the best films in it's genre that i have ever seen. And by genre i mean a film that's not deliberately attempting to win all the Oscars.

So for anyone that has seen it, we know there are a few plotholes (or more if you like to completely dissect a film), and some of the acting is not great (for this type of film). However, i believe that this film succeeded in what it was setting out to do: create a film that plays on every other film in that genre. It was extremely entertaining, so much so that i did not want the film to end. I must point out i'm a massive gamer, so this film was ticking all the right boxes, it felt like a proper, true game to film adaptation, except there was no game to begin with (excluding the board game).

The aliens were perfect, and one of the best representations of "aliens" i have seen. They weren't run of the mill kill everything aliens, and as pointed out above may even be a peaceful race but the humans jumped to conclusions. If this isn't the case, i stand to be corrected and accept it, but unless the writer/director comes out and says otherwise i'm going to agree with what CyberGhost says above. Plus they had some kickass suits which blended the Halo and Mass Effect armours perfectly.

The CG was amazing. I mean, i wasn't expecting it to be as good as what it was. The CG was believable throughout.

We knew it was going to have the typical American ending (even with Japanese involvement), so that didn't rattle me.

Overall, one of the best films i've seen this year and completely sickened i didn't get to see it in the cinema. Personally, i want a sequel and for them to flesh out the aliens a bit more. Epic show.

[size="1"]I should also point out that i absolutely hate all pretentious art house crap that comes out that seems to win all the awards, like Donnie Darko and that truly horrible Drive with Ryan Gosling... They, to me, are a waste of time. But i won't belittle anyone for liking them, different strokes and all that. [/size]

I really enjoyed the movie as well, maybe because of all the bad reviews and lowered expectations, but I did enjoy it and as you said I did not want it to end.

rednik · 02-09-2012 9:51am

The movie was that bad they should change the last letter from p to t, dreadful movie.

Liam O · 02-09-2012 2:02pm

rednik wrote: »

The movie was that bad they should change the last letter from p to t, dreadful movie.

any particular reasons you want to share with us? As I've said throughout this thread the movie surpassed my expectations and I got what I felt was slightly more than a generic action movie. The self degradation and significant time devoted at the start to characterisation instead of cheap action scenes was a highlight and the use of Youtube clips was nothing less than inspired.

rednik · 02-09-2012 9:04pm

Liam O wrote: »

any particular reasons you want to share with us? As I've said throughout this thread the movie surpassed my expectations and I got what I felt was slightly more than a generic action movie. The self degradation and significant time devoted at the start to characterisation instead of cheap action scenes was a highlight and the use of Youtube clips was nothing less than inspired.

I didn't watch it with any expectations either and avoided any reviews. The acting was very wooden, the dialogue was cheesy and the direction felt like a Michael Bay movie.

_Kaiser_ · 02-09-2012 11:21pm

I have to admit, I can normally watch a film and accept it for what it is - I don't watch a vintage Arnie action flick and expect to come away with some deep thoughts.. I expect lots of over the top violence and cheesy one-liners and I thoroughly enjoy it as such - but on this one I really was tempted to switch it off after an hour, but instead "half-watched" the rest.. the "drifting" sequence as referred to above was ridiculous even for this though!

On paper of course this should have been a great movie for me.. lots of sci-fi action and special effects but it was just terrible on so many levels that my suspension of disbelief was completely shattered by the time they started actually playing Battleship.

Awful awful film - even worse than Michael Bay's Transformers films (and I quite enjoyed his early efforts). Couldn't wait for the final credits to roll.

Zubeneschamali · 03-09-2012 12:27pm

Potential-Monke wrote: »

The CG was amazing. I mean, i wasn't expecting it to be as good as what it was. The CG was believable throughout.

I didn't think the CGI girlfriend was very lifelike.

the_syco · 03-09-2012 12:58pm

spurious wrote: »

I laughed out loud at the oul' lads stepping up to crew the ship.
I was on a plane at the time, so it was kind of embarrassing.

Or the auld lads standing all over the ship wondering wtf did this guy want?

Also LoLed at the ship name. The ship in question is equipped with fairly modern tech IRL. Lots of the plotholes had me laughing, but overall I thought the movie was pretty awesome. I knew from the trailers that it was going to be a gun-ho America saves the world film, and I wasn't disappointed. Some nice navy weapons, big explosions, and lots of shiny CGI, and I was as happy as a pig in mud

The Black Oil · 09-10-2012 5:55pm

Watched this on my air travels.

OK, it's not terrible. It doesn't lay on too much cheese, imo, and it's largely a PR job for the US Navy. Liam frakin' Neeson seems to have about 6 lines most of which are 'get me the Samson!' It's as transparent as a sheet of glass and the explanation for aliens attacking is little more than, well, 'blame the Beacon Project'. So 30 minutes in it all starts to hit the fan because we need action after setting up lives of the attractive people. As with most of these affairs, however, the main issue is that you just don't care. I mean that as an overall exercise - let's leaving caring about the characters aside. Pacing's alright, though maybe that's because I was on a plane. Also, I did laugh at the scenes where they just stood around open mouthed - 'who are these pesky alien types attacking us', looking up at the sky moments!

Josey Wales · 09-10-2012 8:54pm

The Black Oil wrote: »

OK, it's not terrible. It doesn't lay on too much cheese, imo, and it's largely a PR job for the US Navy.

I watched this last night and I thought it had the cheesiest moment in a film I've seen in a long time. In fact I can't think of a moment in any other film as bad.

It is the moment

when the sailors end up back on the mothballed ship and wonder how they will operate it. Then all the veteran sailors suddenly turn up. It was hilarious but

I'm not sure that is what Peter Berg intended.

RoyalMarine · 10-10-2012 9:58am

I enjoyed it.

6-7/10.

25-08-2014 3:41pm

After a weekend of rather heavy going cinema I thought it was time for something a little light so a quick search through Netflix brought up Battleship from which I expected little more than explosions, exposition and some nice FX work. It looked like the kind of dumb trash that you can throw on and turn your brain off to and while for the most part that was correct, there was also a little more going on.

The first thing you notice about Battleship is that it's pretty much a watered down Michael Bay rip off, only without the visual flourishes that you'd find in Bay's work. The trademark 180 pan of our hero was here in full effect but simply didn't work given that Berg's version had no background elements in play to create a sense of scope. He similarly utilized the hero looking toward the sky in awe but unlike Bay the moment felt small and unimportant. Bay for all his sins knows how to frame a moment such as that but Berg's just felt like the Asylum's take on it.

Still where Berg does succeed is in allowing his camera to sit still during many of the more frentic, kinetic moments. There's rarely a sense of being lost here thanks no doubt to the lack of quick cuts and a camera man not suffering from the shakes. The action is always in frame and the camera isn't afraid to sit there and let it play out.

For such a dumb idea the script manages a few rather touching moments, performances from Kitsch and Skarsgard are both good and there's an emotional investment in their relationship that makes the inevitable somewhat moving. Tadanobu Asano is easily the best thing here and once again shows what a charismatic and likeable screen presence he is, at this stage he really should have a much bigger career in the US. You also have to hand it to Gregory D. Gadson, a real like double amputee soldier who manages to own every moment he has. He's a rather effective and convincing actor with great presence on screen. Even Rhianna isn't as bad as you'd assume and manages the best Michelle Rodriguez impression in years.

There's a lot wrong with Battleship, it's somewhat generic in it's set up, characters are cliches and it's incredibly cheesy but at the same time when it comes to dumb fun it's one of the better out there. It won't change your life and you'll have forgotten most of it a few hours after but while it lasts it's entertaining and best of all, it actually has a third act which is something most Blockbusters lack.

Warper · 26-08-2014 5:07pm

This is one seriously crap movie. Thats all i have to say on the matter

norrie rugger · 01-09-2014 12:21pm

Warper wrote: »

This is one seriously crap movie. Thats all i have to say on the matter

Your one line comment
Vs
Reasoned explanation of thoughts, post directly above yours, which demonstrates exactly why it is not a crap movie.

I'll take the second option

conorhal · 02-09-2014 1:47pm

norrie rugger wrote: »

Your one line comment
Vs
Reasoned explanation of thoughts, post directly above yours, which demonstrates exactly why it is not a crap movie.

I'll take the second option

It doesn't really require more then one line though. The movie was hidiously stupid, filled with stock characters, bad acting generic action and a tedious over reliance on visual effects.
If you want to watch a Peter Berg movie in which the action litterally leaves you chewing your nails to nubs try The Kingdom.

Thargor · 02-09-2014 3:45pm

conorhal wrote: »

It doesn't really require more then one line though. The movie was hidiously stupid, filled with stock characters, bad acting generic action and a tedious over reliance on visual effects.
If you want to watch a Peter Berg movie in which the action litterally leaves you chewing your nails to nubs try The Kingdom.

I cant believe the amount of analysis people are putting into it in this thread, its mindless mush, the scene where they shoehorn the boardgame in with those buoys and the auld lads walking towards the camera in slo-mo (before reactivating a museum ship in what looks like 2 hours) tell you all you need to know about it. Aliens with the technology to cross between stars and their ships and weaponry are nearly worse than the American Navies.

Whats their battle plan when they get to Earth anyway?

Battleship

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