BOOM! Armageddon. BANG! Independence Day. CRASH! Predator. WHOOSH! Transformers. After a bizarre and funny early gag involving a burrito ("I got tazed! Those things work!"), Peter Berg injects little of his trademark humour and anarchy into this effective but by-the-numbers blockbuster, in which EVERYTHING blows up and everything - dialogue, character arcs, plotting - holds no surprises whatsoever...and yet it manages to be mesmerisingly entertaining. Every year, the bar is raised on the scale and quality of visual effects, and in this respect Battleship provides some quite awesome moments. After a fairly standard opening 45 minutes of set-up all hell breaks loose, but where this film scores over some other blockbusters is that all the pieces are placed effectively and characters and relationships are allowed just about enough time to have an impact later on. Taylor Kitsch again proves to be a likable big-screen presence, Skarsgard and Neeson fulfil their sketchily-drawn stereotypical roles well, and Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna work well to provide some female presence. The nods to veterans - both the disabled and the elderly - are welcome and more than token, being integrated positively into the narrative. The fundamental flaw is that there is no way mankind would stand a chance against these aliens and their machines, so thank goodness the US Navy was there to face the challenge. Battleship is full-on blockbuster mayhem, best enjoyed with brain left in the car park and the biggest bucket of popcorn you can handle.
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