Movie Review: World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles

A good trailer and promising lead hypes up this movie but the predictability and clichés do little to sustain it. Photo / Supplied

With the reliably stoic Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) in the lead and a cracking trailer, this alien invasion flick had a decent amount of promise.

Unfortunately, it's predictable and obsessed with cramming in every cinematic cliché possible.

Eckhart plays a marine about to retire who is drafted back into duty when alien spaceships attack. His platoon is assigned a civilian pick-up, and they must venture on foot into a bombed-out and alien-infested Santa Monica.

The publicity for this film repeatedly pitched it as "Black Hawk Down with aliens", which is indicative of its dearth of new ideas. The look is polished enough to save it from being a one-star movie, but only the least discerning sci-fi action fans need bother.

Stars: 2/5
Rated: M
Running Time: 116 minutes.

Out now

- Herald On Sunday / View