Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

Since Independence Day successfully brought back the large scale alien invasion concept, back in the mid 90's it has been a well from which many films have drawn. Battle: Los Angeles (or Battle: LA) brings its own twist to the tale, mixing the epic scope of previous blockbusters, with the gritty war-movie aesthetic usually reserved for much smaller scale endeavours. Unfortunately it also mixing in just about every military cliché in the book, along with some extremely forgettable characters (and this includes the aliens) resulting in a film that reigns some impressive images and sounds down but achieves very little.
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Aaron Eckhart stars as Sgt. Michael Nantz, a man on the cusp of retirement from the Marines who is recalled to fight to reclaim the city of Los Angeles following an alien invasion. Not much detail is given, deliberately, as to the exact nature of the aliens or their attack, we are thrust into the action along with the platoon, who are initially sent to rescue to some survivors holed out in a nearby gas station. After things don't quite go to plan the troop find themselves teamed up with the remnants of the resistance and set out to get to safety. There is rarely a beat or story point in the film that doesn't feel overly familiar, from Eckhart's reluctant hero to Michelle Rodriguez as, you guessed it, a tough no-nonsense soldier (not to mention last surviving member of her platoon). This in itself isn't necessarily a deal-breaker, but the film never carves out any characters that resonate which renders the stakes in many of the protracted action scenes non-existent. The use of the shaky cam, gritty visual style doesn't really help the film either, it does lend a certain immediacy and intensity (and props must be given to the excellent sound design) but when you end up with a series of gun battles in the streets and in building with enemies that are terribly designed (they look like humans wearing odd helmets) you may as well be making an actual war film. There is very little that the alien angle of the film adds, aside from a few pieces of tech and a set-piece surrounding an antenna at the end of the film.
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The alien design is a puzzle, even up close they are forgettable, indistinct humanoid shapes, let alone in the heat of battle. They are also remarkably inconsistent, early on it takes multiple rounds and marines to take one of these aliens down, the specimen is then examined for potential weak spots, a brief note is made about aiming to one side of their chest, but isn't brought up again, and yet as the film requires it the marines wind up mowing down the aliens at ease by the film's conclusion. It's nonsensical and again speaks to a lack of detail, and originality in the whole endeavour.
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That's not to say there is nothing good here, technically the film is impressive with neatly integrated effects and a couple of nice sequences and performances, but the whole feels so unsatisfying and familiar that it accounts for very little, it's not terrible or even bad, it's just bland and unmemorable. There was potential for an Independence Day / Black Hawk Down crossover, but whatever that could have been, Battle: Los Angeles is not it.