Friday, April 13, 2012

Dinesh Kamath's review of movie 'Battleship' that was published in Newsband




Battleship is an upcoming 2012 American science fiction naval war film based on the children's game that was originally published by Milton-Bradley. The film was directed by Peter Berg and will be released by Universal Pictures. The film stars Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, and Liam Neeson.
The film's world premiere was in Tokyo, Japan on April 5, 2012.
The movie has an interesting story. In the Hawaiian Islands, an international naval fleet at Pearl Harbor engages in a dynamic and intense battle against an alien species known as "The Regents". The aliens come to planet Earth on a mission to build a power source in the ocean. Upon their visit, they come in contact with the naval fleet. The film is also purported to show both sides of the story, from the aliens' perspective as well as the humans', so the audience knows exactly where the opponent's ships are.
The film has * Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones. He was originally an enlisted sailor and wishes to marry Admiral Shane's daughter Samantha against his superior's wishes. * Alexander Skarsgård as Stone Hopper, Hopper's older brother, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson. * Brooklyn Decker as Samantha Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper's girlfriend. * Rihanna as Petty Officer (GM2) Cora Raikes, crew mate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones. * Liam Neeson as Vice Admiral Shane, Hopper and Stone's superior as well as Samantha's father. * Tadanobu Asano as Captain Nagata, JMSDF, Commanding Officer of the JDS Myoko. * Peter MacNicol as The Secretary of Defense. * Josh Pence as Chief Moore. * Stephen Bishop as OOD Taylor. * Gary Grubbs as Air Force Chief of Staff. * Jesse Plemons as Ordy. * Griff Furst as BIP Technican. * Marcus Lyle Brown as Land Commander. * John Tui as Beast.
Filming took place in the United States on the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Oahu, as well as in Sherman Oaks, California to do a few apartment scenes and in Playa del Rey, California where they filmed a driving scene along with a shootout. Battleship was also filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States.
Jeremy Renner had been considered for the role of Hopper, but with conflicting schedules, the actor chose to star in a Paul Thomas Anderson drama filming at roughly the same time. Barbadian R&B singer Rihanna makes her acting debut in the film, acting as a sailor. Tadanobu Asano also has a role in the film.
Actual U.S. Navy sailors were used as extras in various parts of this film. Sailors were taken from various ships stationed at Naval Station Mayport, Jacksonville, Florida. USS Hué City and Vicksburg were two of the ships that provided sailors.
The film's world premiere took place in Tokyo on April 3, 2012. The event was attended by director Peter Berg, actors Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgård and Rihanna. Later on they initiated a Press Tour visiting Madrid and London to promote the film.
In Russia, the film garnered 9 out of 10 stars in GameScope with the critic praising special effects, humor and "the ironic attitude of the movie's characters to its events enhancing their personalities making them more living and interesting" as long as "the wise refusal to come out in 3D choosing IMAX instead", but wishing more screen time for Liam Neeson.
Milton Bradley's enduringly popular strategic board game makes the leap to the big screen in Hancock director Peter Berg's epic sci-fi adventure pitting an international naval fleet against an army of invading aliens. When the two forces find themselves evenly matched, each must rely on strategy and cunning in order to emerge the victor.
Battleship belongs to Action / War / Drama genre
Peter Berg ("Hancock") produces and directs Battleship, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro's classic naval combat game, Battleship stars
Summer 2012 begins with the biggest battle of all: Battleship.
Despite the seemingly simple plot, Battleship actually has some interesting plot points and ideas, such as the appearance and nature of the aliens and the tactics the navy develop to fight this new threat. The motivation for why the aliens are on earth is never explained and only hinted at, which adds some much needed intrigue and mystery to the antagonists.
The film has many action scenes. The graphics are top notch and the explosions are big. Most people expected this to be similar to Transformers, but it's actually closer to Independence Day and the scenes of destruction are on a big scale. The combat segment between the alien ships and naval craft are really engaging and inventive, with plenty of allusions to the original board-game. The film depicts slow moving, grey coloured metal boats one early action scene between three navy destroyers and three alien craft is really impressive.
There is a fascinating subplot featuring Hopper's girlfriend (model Brooklyn Decker) as a physiotherapist who works with wounded soldiers, including real life double leg amputee Colonel Gregory Gadson, as they fight the aliens invading the mainland. This subplot explores how victims of war deal with their injuries, trying to find their place in the world, as Gadson questions who he is now he cannot be a soldier. Battleship is very patriotic (almost too much) and pays a great deal of respect to war veterans, to the point that it becomes a plot point near the end.
The real battle begins when a fleet of naval destroyers on a series of off-shore military exercises, miraculously find themselves in the middle of an interstellar battle with an aggressive, extra-terrestrial scouting force from the distant 'Planet G'. Stranded in the Pacific with their alien counterparts, they find themselves locked in an epic struggle for survival, with the outcome ultimately integral to the future of the human race.
In the movie, alien ships burst out of their hiding place in the ocean and trap some battleships under a giant force field inside which the two sides must duke it out. The aliens appear to have weapons with distinctly peg-like shapes, along with some spinning metal balls of death known as "shredders," which were not part of the board game.
The film is an enjoyable, action movie with some good action and graphics. There are ships, there are battles and they will not fail to entertain you.
Thus Battleship scores high on the checklist for blockbuster success: a hero in a life-or-death struggle against incomparable odds, a steamy love interest, a star-studded cast that includes Liam Neeson, and a whole lot of destruction and mayhem. The film is bound to appeal to parents as well as young kids. So do watch the film when it gets released on 13 April 2012.

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