Battleship`s premise is simple, but generally effective. We`re introduced to the film via the Earth`s contact with Planet G. Apparently, scientists in Battleship`s world aren`t known for coming up with creative names. We`re also introduced to the film`s protagonist, Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch), a rather hopeless bum who gets shanghai-ed into the American Navy after a chicken burrito fiasco with the smoking hot Sam (Brooklyn Decker), the daughter of Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson).
True to the form shown in John Carter, Taylor Kitsch reprises his role as a flawed military type dude, although this time round he commandeers battleships instead of cavalry. Unlike the tragically ill-fated John Carter, though, Battleship`s script allows Kitsch`s potential charisma to shine through at points, in his role as a talented navy weapons officer whose courage isn`t quite up to scratch to deal with an alien invasion. Indeed, it`s the inherent weakness of Hopper`s protagonist that shores up the whole human drama aspect of what would have been an otherwise entirely mindless alien invasion flick.
While the bottom end of Battleship founders under its own weight of stellar but cumbersome CGI, the final battle sequence more than makes up for this shortcoming. The result is an action film that deserves tentative applause, although a twenty-one gun salute would be out of order.
Summary: Like its title implies, Battleship is cumbersome, but occasionally packs a sizable punch.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Raphael Lim