Battle Force (2012)

So much average

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

To be fair, I watched only the first 20 minutes of this movie, so my comments are only based on that. I might have hung around if WWII Sicily's "landscape" wasn't so easily recognizable as that of Southern California. I gave up hope when several shots showed the film's characters walking along railroad tracks on top of modern concrete ties with modern signals in the background.I get the feeling this movie was a film school project. And if it was, then I guess it's OK for that purpose. If not, at least it was a good opportunity for inexperienced actors to put something in their blank resumes.The combat special effects were OK... enough has been said by others regarding the realism of the combat itself, but I thought the special effects used for weapons discharge and bullet flight was OK... more realistic than those we used to see 15-20 years ago. That earned this movie its 3rd star.

It's better than a blank screen. Otherwise, stupid characters, predictable plot, bad acting, poor effects, generic sound effects, on and on. What happens when you run in front of the guy firing a machine gun behind you? You walk away. What happens when shots are fired at you? You put your hand on your head and wait for the fake sparks to go away. What happens when you see a "Nazi"? You grin and shoot three magazines worth of bullets from one. Really a pathetic attempt with an old story line. Don't pay anything to watch this one that's for sure. Your grade 8 film club could do a more convince job with wooden rifles. It would be a better investment to pay them!

A special forces group fighting against odds on a suicidal mission. So much to the story, which is a workable plot. Equipment, at least on the Allied side, looks authentic. Individual acting is not bad, sometimes above average, maybe even too slick at points. The Nazi officer is overdrawn. The problem is the lack of combat feel. Some of the worst shootings in movie history. Special forces not able to aim, the Germans not doing any better. Tactics, group movement, avoiding ambushes (if there were any)...forget it. Surprisingly good close and knife combat between the LT and an Italian guy. A few minutes later, surprisingly underwhelming close combat between the LT and some other guy (saving the spoiler). The amusing thing is, the movie is not the typical B class movie that needs 30 seconds to quit, but is entertaining in its own way, with its mix of setting and dialogue, esp. with the Missouri GI. 70% watchable, the rest is running around and shooting...and missing.

I love World War II movies. I have enjoyed ones made during World War II through the present. I have enjoyed all countries of origin from the Nazi propaganda turkey "Stuka" on. I enjoy movies about all sides and all theatres of the war, if it's a well done movie. Alas, Battle Recon definitely is not.It's normally a very bad sign when the director, the writer and the top billed star are all the same person. It was. With ludicrous acting and an utterly cliché script there was little to save the movie. The even had utterly cliché characters like the classic black on black trench coat evil SS officer.The script wasn't just cliché, it was 21st century politically correct cliché. The day had to be saved by two Italian partisan women.It's not difficult to get historical continuity in World War II movies. There are so many armchair experts to assist you. Obviously they didn't bother to go to gunboards.com and ask for a decent one. The German uniforms were clearly East German uniforms with Nazi insignias sewn on. They were almost all SS insignias, like they had hired cheaply a bunch of re-enactors.They couldn't even get basic continuity items right. The Italian partisan's gun kept switching between a Mauser and a M1 Garand. It was as if they put down their guns between shots and couldn't even tell everyone to pick up the right one between shots.Don't bother with this one, not with thousands of better World War II movies out there.