Battle: Los Angeles
A battle-weary Marine sergeant leads a desperate rescue mission through an alien-occupied Los Angeles before an air strike erases the zone.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Brutal
- gritty
- propulsive
- tense
- action movie night
- science fiction marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film noisy, overlong, derivative, and burdened by war-movie clichés, while conceding that its combat sequences and Aaron Eckhart's performance provide functional entertainment.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The alien assault is experienced through Marine deployment, tactical movement, evacuation orders, and battlefield survival rather than civilian spectacle alone.
Nantz and Martinez must extract trapped civilians before the Air Force bombs the alien-controlled zone in three hours.
The film uses shaky, close-range combat camerawork to place viewers alongside the Marine platoon during the Los Angeles invasion.
Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz is reassigned just as he is preparing to leave the Marines, making duty and leadership central to his trajectory.
Films like Battle: Los Angeles, and why
District 9
shares military science fiction, alien invasion, urban combat, and handheld battlefield intensity
Independence Day
shares alien invasion spectacle, military defense, and large-scale science fiction action
Black Hawk Down
shares squad-based combat, battlefield realism, handheld camerawork, and survival urgency
War of the Worlds
shares extraterrestrial invasion, civilian rescue, and tense urban survival
Movie Details
- Director
- Jonathan Liebesman
- Release Date
- 2011-03-08
- Runtime
- 116 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (3857)
Cast
- Aaron Eckhart
- Ramón Rodríguez
- Will Rothhaar
- Michael Peña
- Bridget Moynahan
- Noel Fisher
- Joey King
- Beth Keener
- Jessica Heap
- Cory Hardrict
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Battle: Los Angeles about?
- A battle-weary Marine sergeant leads a desperate rescue mission through an alien-occupied Los Angeles before an air strike erases the zone.
- What is Battle: Los Angeles like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Battle: Los Angeles as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as simple.
- Is Battle: Los Angeles violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Battle: Los Angeles as brutal.
- What did critics think of Battle: Los Angeles?
- Critics broadly found the film noisy, overlong, derivative, and burdened by war-movie clichés, while conceding that its combat sequences and Aaron Eckhart's performance provide functional entertainment.
- Which films are like Battle: Los Angeles?
- Films with a similar feel include District 9, Independence Day, Black Hawk Down, and War of the Worlds.
- How long is Battle: Los Angeles?
- Battle: Los Angeles runs 116 minutes.
- Where can I watch Battle: Los Angeles?
- In United States, Battle: Los Angeles streams on Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel.
