Saving Blackhawk Tears of the Private Aliens Independence Down Sun Day Ryan

As TNT has made it impossible for me to catch up on Falling Skies, I felt a need to get my alien fix in this evening. My X-Box is capable of streaming movies, so I decided to check what Zune had to offer.

My movie buddy/brother Tommy and I saw previews last year for Battle: L.A. and were intrigued. It looked like a pretty decent action movie, and Hell, it couldn't be any worse than Skyline. Unfortunately, Tommy got ill, and was in the hospital for a few months, which means we missed our window to see it in theaters (I didn't want to go without him).

Tommy is out now, and I remember him telling me to see it whenever I get the chance and not wait for him, so I did.

The people who derided this movie clearly did not know what type of movie they were going to see. Anyone looking for another Platoon was sorely disappointed. If you went in expecting Ridley Scott's Alien, you left scratching your head. Those anticipating the next Star Wars went back to their basements unfulfilled.

But if you went in knowing this would be a Xenophobic blow 'em up explosion fest could not have gotten a better bang for their buck! This movie was like a mix up of several entertaining movies into one package. There was a little Private Ryan (platoon sent on long shot rescue mission behind enemy lines led by aging veteran who fears his service has taken too great a toll), a little Tears of the Sun (half of the squad gives their lives to save civilian refugees), a little Blackhawk Down (the agonizing horror of trying to travel through a live combat zone), a little Aliens (ragged platoon of hard asses reduced to helpless survivors) and a little Independence Day (aliens invade with superior technology without a peaceful pretense). It had action, explosions, alien ships, street to street combat, heroic sacrifice, character development (although not as much as there could have been).

I thought this movie was very entertaining. It wouldn't win any awards, but if you were expecting it to, you need to rethink your approach to understanding movies. Not every movie needs to be the Godfather.   Sometimes they need to be a fun romp through cinematic chaos, like Battle: L.A. is.