A Battle of the Planets Blu-Ray Review

Since 2015, alien sightings have been popping up all around the globe. But when these mysterious events escalate into a full-scale alien invasion, a marine platoon led by Staff Sergeant Nantz (Aaron Eckhart from Black Hawk Down) must intervene quickly and stop them before they decimate humanity altogether.

This movie is full of loud and bombastic military action. While the script and characters may be bland and predictable, one thing the film does have going for it: its technical merits. The Blu-ray release comes equipped with numerous bonuses and looks great.

Extra Features

At the core of this disc is “Command Control”, which enables viewers to watch the film with interview remarks and B-roll footage superimposed at key moments from various cast and crew interviews and B-roll footage superimposed as picture-in-picture windows during certain points in the movie. Cast members discuss characters or specific scenes while crew discuss general principles or techniques; although their discussions might not be as interesting to someone not already invested in the film, but it provides an effective alternative to an audio commentary track.

“Behind the Battle” (6:44) takes an overly promotional route with interviews and film clips; but there is some behind-the-scenes material here, with director discussing his hiring and showing the original demo reel that made all the difference in landing his job. In “Directing the Battle” (6:33) we learn more about his approach; here, he emphasizes real world realism while not always succeeding – often making this feature feel more like an expensive first person shooter video game than cinematic experience.

Battle Los Angeles does have its moments, but they are few and far between. While its fast-paced action may keep viewers engaged for awhile, its repetition soon wears thin. Eckhart, Michael Pena and Bridget Moynahan all give credible performances but this alone cannot elevate Battle Los Angeles above mediocrity – or justify its lengthy running time which exceeds any need or benefit to society.