Battleship

I'll answer these questions right off the bat...no, this movie is not "Transformers 4" and yes, people did actually make a movie based on the old board game named "Battleship." It seems that anything can be made into a movie nowadays and while some ideas turn out to be better than they appear, I was extremely skeptical of this sci-fi blockbuster. But as always, I walked into "Battleship" with an open mind and in the end...well, I'm really not sure.
Before I plow through the details, know that "Battleship" has a very simple plot. Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) likes a girl, the girl has a very menacing father who is in the Navy (Liam Neeson), so Hopper must prove his worth in RIMPAC naval exercises where countries come to compete in games on land and sea (kind of like the Olympics for the Navy). There is just one tiny, intergalactic problem: the games are soon interrupted by an overused and often butchered form of story-telling...or you could just say...aliens. Hopper's ship along with two others become trapped in a force field with three opposing alien ships and if his crew can not find a way to destroy this great threat, then the aliens will contact their planet and bring in reinforcements to enslave the planet.
Now there are a lot of great things to like about "Battleship." First off, the way that they incorporated the board game into the film was genius and it made for some great entertainment and explosive action. The action of course is the main focus of the film along with some impressive CGI. The filmmakers handled the action with great care, really making me feel the suspense so that when something blew up, I was excited at the results (I may have shouted out in excitement once or twice). But the climax of the film was the best part. In a last ditch effort, Hopper and his surviving team climb aboard an old battleship to make a last stand. They are aided by retired veterans who add a lot of comedic quips to the young ones and overall this was a very nice ode to the Navy.
And while I would not call the acting in this movie "great," it was much better than I anticipated. When I first saw the trailer I laughed when I saw Rihanna's face on the screen, but I was very surprised at her acting and she often had some good/humorous dialogue. Of course Liam Neeson is enjoyable as always, borrowing a little from his character in "Taken" to play a no funny business Navy Admiral. As for Kitsch, I have never been a big fan of his acting since he did not do the character of Gambit justice in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"(granted none of the actors did much in that film) but he is suited for action movies and if he sticks to that, he'll have a good career.
OK, here is the bad thing about the movie, the thing that washes out all of the good stuff and leaves only disappointment...the script. Cheesy, cliche, laughable, terrible. All of these things can describe the horribly written screenplay. Granted there were a few funny bits but more often than not the film was trying to be funny but fell flat on its face. There was even one moment when, after a line was delivered, I leaned forward to put my face in my hands, in agony of what I had just heard (do I hear a Razzie nomination?)
Also, regarding my quip about this not being "Transformers 4", it practically is. "Battleship" has the EXACT same formula as the Transformers series. The beginning tries to be funny but then it gets serious, there is a very attractive female love interest (except this time she's not dumb), it involves people fighting big alien robots, and so on. I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing, I guess it's up to the viewer.
I am very conflicted with where I stand on "Battleship." I think to myself, there was great action, special effects, suspense, and a killer soundtrack (AC/DC). On the other hand...the script was cringe worthy. In the end I say this, if you ever watch "Battleship" keep the film muted the entire time, you will not have a hard time understanding it and it will turn out to be a great film. If you prefer it with sound, prepare to see exciting explosions ruined to terrible one-liners. I give this film two stars out of four.
"Battleship" has a running time of 131 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action, violence, and destruction, and for language.