Battleship - 2 1/2 smiles

While “Battleship” is implausible and overly loud in a lot of places, as directed by Peter Berg, it’s also energetic and moving and surprisingly better than I expected. Based on the original paper-and-pencil game that was developed into a board and video game by Hasbro, it even manages to include the strategy of deducing the location of opponents’ ships through guesswork and logic, which is at the heart of the game. Of course, the story is about more than trying to sink someone’s unseen battleship. In this case, an alien armada has splashed down in the waters off Hawaii. Responding to the threat is the US Navy, personified by the crew of the destroyer John Paul Jones and its captain, Alex Hopper (Taylor kitsch), a young untested lieutenant who is unexpectedly thrust into the leadership role when the aliens’ initial attack leaves him as the senior officer. Hopper and his ship are left to face the aliens alone when a dome-like force field separates them from the rest of the fleet. This, of course, sets up a cat-and-mouse-like maneuvers that are at the heart of both the game and the movie.

Several elements add depth and texture to this straightforward set-up, including Hopper’s inferiority complex about his older, more seasoned brother (Alexander Skarsgard), a straight-arrow naval commander whose fate, early in the film, precipitates his younger brother’s maturation. Hopper also has a girlfriend, Sam (Brooklyn Decker), back in Hawaii, a physical therapist at a veteran’s hospital whose work with a double amputee (real-life Army Col. Gregory D. Gadson, making his acting debut) plays a crucial role in the fate of the ensuing battle. In addition, there’s a shamelessly stirring twist that involves a group of World War II veterans and the decommissioned battleship, Missouri. It’s been decades since the Navy actually used one of these steam-powered ships, but, no surprise, everything is in working order. The movie’s themes of sacrifice, heroism and honor maybe old-fashioned, but they still work. You can understand why the Navy gave Berg full access to their ships and allowed their sailors to be used as extras. “Battleship” may be overly loud and a bit too long, but it also manages to entertain. 5/19/12