Battle of Los Angeles (film)
A mockbuster of Battle: Los Angeles, premiering on Syfy in 2011.
Battle of Los Angeles is a 2011 science fiction action film produced by The Asylum, directed by Mark Atkins. It premiered on Syfy on March 12, 2011, and was released to DVD on March 20, 2011. The film is a mockbuster of Columbia Pictures' Battle: Los Angeles, inspired by the Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Mark Atkins
- Writer
- Mark Atkins / Michael Katleman
- Producer
- David Michael Latt · David Rimawi · Paul Bales · Michael Katleman
- Starring
- Kel Mitchell · Nia Peeples · Theresa Jun-Tao
- Distributor
- The Asylum
- Released
- 12 March 2011
- Runtime
- 91 minutes
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The film's plot begins in February 1942, when U.S. armed forces defend Los Angeles from unidentified flying objects. Seventy years later, alien invaders return to finish the attack. In the near future, a large spaceship hovers over Los Angeles, and a human fighter squadron is scrambled, but their missiles act erratically due to countermeasures from the ship. The squadron is destroyed except for Lt. Solano, who ejects. Smaller alien craft attack a military base, and Marine Lt. Tyler Laughlin leads survivors across the Los Angeles wasteland. They encounter Captain Pete Rodgers, a World War II pilot who claims his squadron was abducted by aliens in the Bermuda Triangle in 1942. The group later meets special agent Karla Smaith, who takes them to a secret bunker holding an alien captive. Rodgers reveals himself as an android, kills most base personnel, and discloses the aliens' colonization plans. Laughlin, Smaith, and Solano escape in the captive alien's spacecraft to the mothership, where they plant explosives. Solano sacrifices herself to allow the others to escape; the ship explodes and crashes onto Los Angeles.
Reader's Guide
Battle of Los Angeles is significant as a low-budget mockbuster produced by The Asylum, a studio known for releasing films that capitalize on major studio releases. It aired on Syfy, a cable channel that frequently broadcasts such genre films. The film's plot incorporates elements of the historical Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942 and the Bermuda Triangle, blending World War II and alien invasion tropes. Its official trailer used clips from another Asylum film, War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave. The cast includes Nia Peeples and Kel Mitchell, actors known for television and film work. The film's legacy lies in its role as a direct-to-television and DVD release that exemplifies the mockbuster strategy, offering a quick, derivative alternative to the higher-budget Battle: Los Angeles.
Production, Budget, and Box Office Performance
Battle: Los Angeles is a 2011 American military science fiction action film helmed by director Jonathan Liebesman, with the screenplay penned by Chris Bertolini. The project was a collaborative co-production involving Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, and the Original Film banner founded by producers Neal H. Moritz and Ori Marmur, with Sony Pictures Releasing handling distribution. Principal photography kicked off in September 2009, giving the production roughly eighteen months of development and shooting before its theatrical debut. The film hit U.S. screens on March 11, 2011, and later arrived on DVD and Blu-ray on June 14 of that same year. Financially, the picture proved a solid performer, collecting approximately $212 million in worldwide box-office receipts against a reported production budget in the range of $70 to $77 million. Despite that commercial success, critical reception was largely unfavorable, with reviewers offering mostly negative assessments of the finished product. The film's box-office viability, however, ensured it found an audience well beyond its theatrical run.
Narrative Arc and the Defense of Los Angeles
Set on August 12, 2011, the story opens with hostile alien spacecraft landing off the coasts of major cities. Los Angeles is evacuated, and Marines from Camp Pendleton are called to defend the city. The narrative follows Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, an Iraq War veteran about to retire, assigned to the 1st Platoon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. The unit sets up a forward operating base at Santa Monica Airport and gets three hours to pull civilians from a police station before an Air Force carpet bombing begins. The Marines are ambushed and lose men. Nantz and a few survivors join Army 40th Infantry Division soldiers and Air Force technical sergeant Elena Santos. They rescue five civilians, commandeer a transit bus, and learn the alien air units are drones tracking human radio signals. Lieutenant Martinez sacrifices himself, luring drones with his radio and detonating explosives. The bombing never arrives, the FOB is destroyed, and the military has left the city. In the climax, Nantz manually guides a missile with a laser designator to destroy the alien command module. Drones crash down, ground forces retreat, and the surviving Marines re-arm to retake Los Angeles.
Ensemble Cast and Military Ranks
The film assembles a large ensemble portraying a cross-section of U.S. military personnel and civilians. Aaron Eckhart anchors the cast as Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, the platoon's senior non-commissioned officer. Michelle Rodriguez plays Air Force Technical Sergeant Elena Santos of the 61st Air Base Wing, the intelligence specialist tasked with locating the alien command center. Ramon Rodriguez portrays 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez, the platoon's commanding officer. The Marine squad includes a mix of corporals and lance corporals: Ne-Yo as Corporal Kevin "Specks" Harris, Cory Hardrict as Corporal Jason "Cochise" Lockett, Jim Parrack as Lance Corporal Peter J. "Irish" Kerns, Gino Anthony Pesi as Corporal Nick C. "Stavs" Stavrou, Lucas Till as Corporal Scott Grayston, Will Rothhaar as Corporal Lee "Cowboy" Imlay, Neil Brown Jr. as Corporal Richard "Motown" Guerrero, Taylor Handley as Lance Corporal Corey Simmons, and James Hiroyuki Liao as Lance Corporal Steven "Motorolla." Noel Fisher plays Private First Class Shaun "Casper" Lenihan, and Adetokumboh M'Cormack appears as Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class Jibril A. "Doc" Adukwu. Among the civilians, Bridget Moynahan plays veterinarian Michele, while Michael Peña portrays Joe Rincon, the father of one of the children the Marines must rescue.
Score and Musical Recognition
The film's score was composed and orchestrated by Brian Tyler, who worked in conjunction with the Hollywood Studio Symphony to produce the full orchestral arrangement. Tyler's work on the project was recognized with the BMI TV Music Award, an accolade that highlighted the soundtrack's contribution to the film. The complete score was made available to the public through the Varèse Sarabande music label, with the release date set for March 8, 2011. This placed the soundtrack's availability just three days ahead of the film's U.S. theatrical release on March 11, giving music enthusiasts and fans the opportunity to listen to the full orchestral work before sitting down to watch the movie in a theater. The partnership between Tyler and the Hollywood Studio Symphony ensured that the score carried the weight of a full symphonic ensemble, a fitting choice for a film centered on large-scale military action and an alien invasion scenario. The BMI award further cemented the soundtrack's place as a notable musical achievement of the 2011 film season.
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