Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

Battle: Los Angeles

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Violent alien invasion movie is a waste of time.

Movie PG-13 2011 116 minutes
Battle: Los Angeles Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 13+

Based on 22 parent reviews

Batesst
Batesst Parent of 15 and 17-year-old
January 20, 2023
age 16+

Has strong messages of: commitment, dedication, heroism, bravery, and the will to overcome seemingly impossible odds.

I don’t know why this movie was not rated well, because my son and I loved it! Great movie! I almost didn’t watch it because of some bad reviews - glad I didn’t listen to them. Amazing battle scenes that were very realistic. The depiction of an alien invasion was well done, believable, and the scenes of the vast destruction of Los Angeles were epic. Majority of acting was good throughout - especially main characters. This movie has strong messages of: commitment, dedication, heroism, bravery, and the will to overcome seemingly impossible odds. Also had some moving dramatic scenes. Very entertaining from start to finish with lots of unexpected things happening. Definitely recommend this movie! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 Parents notes: Zero sex/nudity; zero drugs; frequent, violent war scenes with lots of people dying (not gratuitous, just realistic war scenes); strong language/swearing, but realistically I think most people would have lots of similar language if aliens invaded and were destroying everything and everyone in sight! Not for younger kids due to violent and scary war scenes as well as sadness from people dying.

This title has:

Great role models
Palomo0220
Palomo0220 Adult
February 21, 2021
age 12+

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 22 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In August 2011, meteors begin approaching the Earth; they turn out to be alien invaders bent on colonizing our planet. The military underestimates the threat, and soon everything comes down to one band of scrappy young Marines. Troubled veteran Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) winds up in charge, despite rumors that he once let several of his men die in battle. Making their way through the ruined concrete jungles of the bombed-out city, Nantz and his warriors pick up a few stranded, brave civilians and slowly begin to discover their attackers' secrets. But can they put their knowledge to good use before it's too late?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (22 ):
Kids say (61 ):

Director Jonathan Liebesman unhesitatingly leaps into the fray with his camera twitching and lurching, capturing more flying metal and concrete dust than actual characters or aliens. But even though he chooses, disappointingly, not to linger on the invading creatures, BATTLE: LOS ANGELES is not a subtle movie. It's 100% devoted to rampant destruction.

It's possible to actually recognize some of the actors -- Eckhart, Michael Pena, Bridget Moynahan, etc. -- through the haze and the Marine uniforms and helmets, but none of them has anything much to say; sometimes it's hard to hear anything above the noise, and sometimes the music blares at the top of everything. There's hardly a breather or a moment to connect with anyone. Once upon a time, alien invasion movies were about ideas. They usually managed to tell us something about what it means to be human. Battle: Los Angeles only shows what it's like to waste everyone's time and money.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the movie's extreme violence, fighting, and death. Is it necessary to the story? Does it send any particular message?

  • Is the movie scary? Would it have been scarier or less scary if it had shown more of the aliens?

  • What's the appeal of alien invasion movies? Do they play on any real-life fears?

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate