Hollywood has long been criticized for completely running out of ideas. One of the seemingly most obvious examples was the 2009 announcement of “Battleship,” the movie based off of the board game of the same name.
But here it is, 2011, and the first trailer for “Battleship” has officially arrived. And it looks… pretty freakin’ sweet, actually! It has good music (The Black Keys, DJ Shadow), solid cinematography, and a hell of a lot of explosions — exactly the kind you would hope to see from a movie called “Battleship.” Of course, trailers can often be deceptive. This one, however, has a few promising elements — something that’s essential to marketing a movie based on a game that involves pegs and little plastic boats.
Now, you’re probably asking yourself, “What on earth could a movie about Battleship be about?” The answer: Battleships. That and the quest of brave naval officers to save the planet from a mysterious armada of alien warcrafts, of course. The official Yahoo page, where the trailer debuted, describes the movie as “an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force.” So, basically, every action-adventure movie ever.
Directed by Peter Berg, “Battleship” follows brothers Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) and Stone Hopper (Alexander Skarsgård), who are forced to do battle with the alien seamen. Liam Neeson plays their hardened naval commander, Admiral Shane. Pop singer Rihanna has a leading role as Raikes (though she barely makes it into the trailer). And Sports Illustrated supermodel Brooklyn Decker, who plays Kitsch’s love interest, Sam, adds some much-needed, um, femininity to the brawler flick.
OK, so maybe the movie won’t be awesome, exactly. At least not for anyone looking for anything Oscar-worthy. But we’ll bet that if you’re a fan of Transformers (nothing wrong with that), then “Battleship” is almost certainly right up your alley.
“Battleship” will arrive in theaters on May 18, 2012.
