Battle: Los Angeles
Short description
Battle: Los Angeles depicts an alien invasion that begins with what are first taken for meteor showers and quickly turns into a worldwide assault. Coastal and riverside cities come under attack, and a group of U.S. Marines is sent into the streets of Los Angeles to fight an unfamiliar enemy and get civilians out.
Aaron Eckhart plays staff sergeant Michael Nantz, a veteran whose career is shadowed by earlier losses, and Ramón Rodríguez plays lieutenant William Martinez, the younger officer leading the mission. The cast also includes Michael Peña as Joe Rincon, Bridget Moynahan as Michelle, Noel Fisher and Will Rothhaar. Jonathan Liebesman directed from a screenplay by Christopher Bertolini, with Neal H. Moritz among the producers. It was Liebesman's third feature, arriving between The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and Wrath of the Titans, in a run of films that also includes Darkness Falls and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Made for about 70 million dollars, the film took in roughly 212 million dollars worldwide, a solid return for its budget. Audiences are divided: it holds 5.7/10 on IMDb from 190,000 votes and 5.8/10 on TMDB from 3,851 votes. A critics' rating of 4.8/10 from 210 reviews puts professional assessments slightly below those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- While performing a stunt, Aaron Eckhart broke his arm, but he didn't miss a single day of filming, even with the fracture.
- Real Marines from Camp Pendleton on the coast of Southern California trained the actors for their roles. Some Marines even appeared in minor roles on screen.
- The film's plot was inspired by a real-life incident that went down in history as the "Battle of Los Angeles" and occurred during World War II. On the night of February 25, 1942, an unidentified object was allegedly spotted in the airspace above the city. It was decided that it might be a Japanese plane, and 1,440 shots were fired from anti-aircraft guns toward the object. No evidence of enemy aircraft in the airspace was ever found at the time, and the incident was written off as a false alarm.
- Sergeant Michael Nantz fires a pistol while running in one scene. And in the next scene, he is holding a rifle that runs out of ammunition, at which point he draws his pistol.
- The plot of the film was inspired by a real case that went down in history as the Battle of Los Angeles. On the night of February 25, 1942, an object was spotted in the airspace over the city, which was mistaken for a Japanese aircraft. 1,440 shots were fired from anti-aircraft guns at the object. No evidence of enemy aircraft in the airspace at that time was ever found, and it was written off as a false alarm. Many conspiracy theories arose around this incident, and a real photograph from the Los Angeles Times newspaper with fabricated headlines is presented in the film as a historical document.
- Since it is customary in the USA to write the month first, then the day, the film's premiere date is listed as 03/11/11. 0311 is the military occupational specialty code under which marines serve.
- Filming in Los Angeles was almost not carried out. For financial reasons, work on the film took place in the state of Louisiana, where sets depicting the streets of Los Angeles were built.
- The actors trained under the guidance of real Marines from Camp Pendleton on the coast of Southern California. Some Marines appear in cameo roles.
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