This alien-invasion thriller feels like something Jerry Bruckheimer might whip up if the Army asked him to take on its "Be All That You Can Be" campaign. Almost every scene features a rousing military drumroll, clichés like "no man left behind," and a square-jawed Aaron Eckhart as the poster boy for grit and sacrifice. Gangly ETs reminiscent of the "prawns" in District 9 have sacked LA and most of the world, so now Eckhart's Sergeant Nantz must lead a ragtag crew through the demolished streets of Santa Monica to extract surviving civilians. The reason for the war is unclear (water?); it's all just an excuse for horror hack Jonathan Liebesman's digital/live-action fusion. At times, the film dazzles with its almost seamless spectacle, but not as much can be said for the needless backstory preamble and an overindulgent aural overload that drowns out the best scenes.
