MANILA, Philippines?Not again. Jonathan Liebesman?s ?Battle: Los Angeles? fast-tracks the beginning of Doomsday from 2012 (sorry, Roland Emmerich) to Aug. 12, 2011, which is only five months away?this time, with gun-crazy aliens who want to utilize earth?s water as fuel, by funnelling it through the sewage system of our major cities. Hmm. The extra-terrestrials? machines and high-tech gadgetry couldn?t detect how polluted our waters are?

When you see meteors falling off the coast of Tokyo, you wince at the cinematic timing of Liebesman?s sci-fi flick?as if our poor Asian neighbors didn?t already have enough problems with massive earthquakes, 30-foot tidal waves and nuclear radiation! As a Marine asks in disbelief, ?Aliens?that?s not possible, right?? Well, Hollywood isn?t the Land of Make-Believe for nothing!

As Sgt. Michael Nantz, Aaron Eckhart wears his battle-scarred soul on his sleeve. He must help platoon commander, Lt. William Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez), and Sgt. Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez) lead a team of attitude-heavy US Marines to rescue civilians from a police station?and they only have three hours to accomplish their mission before the Air Force bombs the area to smithereens!

Altruism

But, Nantz?s heroic altruism doesn?t go unquestioned. His subordinates don?t trust him, because he allegedly led his men in Iraq to their deaths?until he straightens out his chismis-loving doubters and launches into a soul-stirring soliloquy about how their mindless deaths continue to hound his every waking hour.

Eckhart, who?s like fish out of water in this cold and illogical movie, makes the aforementioned scene resonate, by using all the thespic gravitas he can muster. For the first?and only?time, you sense some real emotion wafting through the senseless and overwhelming chaos. Now, if they could only have edited out the cringe-inducing schmaltz of having Eckhart mouth off all the dead soldiers? serial numbers?

Alas, Eckhart?s acting ability isn?t enough to lift his actioner?s loud and shallow sensibility. Long before he and his team find out how to even up the score against their nasty alien adversaries, you stop caring if they ever get out of this mess alive!