Everyone knows that the Summer Movie Season is a time when subtle storytelling tends to get thrown out the window, in favor of blockbuster spectacle – and, most importantly, stuff blowing up.
That will definitely be the case with this summer’s Battleship, the impending adaptation of the classic Hasbro naval warfare board game which (based on previous trailers) bears a distinct resemblance to the Transformers franchise, in terms of style and content.
A third theatrical promo for Battleship has been released, and it features a whole lot in the way of not-yet-seen material involving gargantuan alien vessels blasting cities and warships to flaming bits. Suffice it to say, those Transformers 4 jokes aren’t going away anytime soon.
Battleship was directed by Peter Berg (The Kingdom, Hancock) and scripted by Red writing duo Erich and Jon Hoeber – though, in a recent interview with the film’s leading man, Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights), we learned that the both Berg and Kitsch likewise contributed to the Battleship screenplay.
However – as you’ll note while watching the third Battleship trailer below – memorable dialogue and intricate plot twists aren’t exactly the big marketing points for this movie:
So, yeah, everything in the latest Battleship trailer, from the grand-scale shots of Hong Kong being reduced to fiery smithereens by shrieking spiky metal spheres, to closeups of model-turned actress Brooklyn Decker gawking at the devastation – looking like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Transformers: Dark of the Moon - and even the dead-serious cheesy dialogue, feels like something lifted straight out of a Michael Bay movie.
Is that (per se) a bad thing? Not really.
Battleship doesn’t look to feature the juvenile comedy bits or cartoony human characters that people love to hate (or hate to love) from the Transformers series, but will offer similar amounts of bang for your buck. Similarly, Kitsch demonstrated some solid action hero chops in John Carter, and he’ll have backup in the form of Liam Neeson. Most people would agree, that’s definitely a big step up from Shia LaBeouf in the Transformers trilogy.
Look for Battleship to arrive in theaters around the U.S. on May 18th, 2012.
Source: Universal Pictures
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cant wait! thisll tide me over until Transformers 4. i still wouldve rather had a sequel to hancock or the rundown from peter berg but this looks great.
Have The Rock as the villain in Hancock 2 and get the ball rolling already.
The Rock as the villian in Hancock 2 would be awesome.
The Rock as the villian! That would be alright with me. And maybe have Lela Ali as his girl friend/wife in the movie.
This movie looks like it wouldoff looked incredible in 3D. The action sequence look incredible can’t wait.
There’s no way to get around the Transformers comparisons when it comes to this movie. I even think of Pearl Harbor.
I’m not going to say I’ll avoid it all together but this is at the most a Blu-ray rental for me.
I don’t understand. Is blu-ray rental cheaper?
yep, $2
It’s not going to win any Oscars, but it looks like it’ll be a fun way to pass a couple hours. I’ll probably check it out on a Tuesday matinee.
Who needs a Story for this ? Its just mindless action fest !
PopCorn and just action I hope from beginning to the end…yeah !
Looks like a very good time to me !
I’m going to watch this. Peter Berg has a grasp on action from past outings.
Plus…I was USN for 10 years. It will be fun to watch DDG’s like the JPJ blow up and sink!
One detail that really doesn’t help with the Transformers comparisons is the sound effects. They sound like they were ripped right from the audiotrack of any of the Transformers films.
I do love Liam Neeson but it’s hard to get past the transformers vibe
Yup, Its definitely worth the Bluray rental. I’ll just have to not let the fact that its related to the USN bother me and not nitpick since I have put on the uniform. It’s a sci fi movie so…yeah…
So earth gets attacked by grumpy Iron Men, freaky tractor wheels…. oh yeah, and Transformers.
I know she had only one word in this trailer, but by this word you can already tell that Rihanna is a terrible actress…
I thought it was delivered rather well. It’s funny though that you can tell the caliber of acting by one word that is not even shown in context of the scene.
If anything go to the trailer where she has a full on little monologue about what her father warned her about and make that same claim, it will be a lot more believable.
I´ve seen the trailer you mentioned. And it definitely doesn´t change my mind about her acting skills.
@Scapegoat. So i guess this means you’re not in favor of the Bodyguard remake starring Rihanna in place of Whitney Houston!
WTF?! Seriously? The original sucked, why the hell would they… Oh, I forgot. The Twilight generation… Who´s gonna play Costner´s part? Pattinson or that other guy (I forgot his name)?
LMAO…yea i was kidding but you know how hollywood is these days,it’s probably coming sooner or later.
Agreed
In fact I didn’t understand what she was saying, too much swagger, makes it difficult to understand. The boom word is the only edible dialogue I decyphered.
Lets be real, nobody cares if Rhihanna can act, shes there for eye candy. I’m just wondering if there gonna use the line ” you sank my battleship” . Honestly though, how do you make an “adaptation” of a boardgame with no story attached to it. I might be less apprehensive if there was no connection to the game.
If she’s there only for eye candy, they really screwed up. They could go to a local strip club and find 100 girls that are way hotter than Rihanna (and could act better, too!)
She does have kind of a stripped vibe doesn’t she
I saw a character poster for Rihanna’s characater, and I’m sorry, but I just can’t take a person that looks 90 pounds tough.
Bruce Lee weighed like a buck thirty
Bruce Lee was one of, if not the, best fighters on the planet. So your comparison is a BIT of a stretch.
Not if you take Ghost’s original comment into consideration. If you had never seen Bruce Lee fight nor ever heard of him, you would probably think you could beat him as well. It would be a painful lesson.
Difference being is that Bruce Lee had some of the best martial arts skills and was fast. I seriously doubt that Rihanna has that kind of training. Oh, I’m sure she’s probably taken self-defense classes, but those are nothing compared to what Lee was able to do.
Looking forward to it. A few of my friends are going to make a date out of it, with some bringing the bread, some bringing the wine and the movie bringing the cheese.
Comedy gold right here.
Are you a script writer for Bay?
i don’t know what it is , but i can’t get exited for this movie
indeed ;]
Sweet! I thought Transformers 4 wasn’t supposed to come out until 2014?
how much did this cost to make?
$200 million is the budget according to Wikipedia. And looking at those special effects, I think the money was spent well.
Besides the Avengers and Dark Knight Rises I want to see Battkeship,B-7,a hit
cant wait for these movies did not see one movie in 2011 not one 
This maybe a good popcorn flick but i think i’ll wait for the dvd to watch when im posted in the house on a cold winter day.
Eh, everyone keeps referencing “Transformers” but there are no benevolent giant alien robots to fight the evil giant alien robots on our behalf.
It looks like it’s up to us to save our own bacon which I MUCH prefer.
Mashup: Independence BAY !!
A huge bucket of popcorn and a good mindless time. Looks great to me!
i have to disagree on the mindless part. peter berg knows how to develop characters in his films. ever see the kingdom? even hancock was not just mindless action. the rundown is one of my faves, and possibly the rocks best work. i think berg would do well on one of the marvel properties as well. let him do the next hulk flick.
” i think berg would do well on one of the marvel properties as well. let him do the next hulk flick.”
Make it so.
Damn… with the USS John Paul Jones going down, that leaves us with the USS Robert Plant to defend us… oh boy —- LOL. (BTW, I know who the American Naval Hero Cpt. John Paul Jones is.)
Wow, those are some nice visual effects. Definitely seeing it for the action. And the ‘no Transformers-ish comedy’ is always welcome.
Too bad Battleships are decommissioned. Being in the navy ruins all the fun. Smh.
I was thinking that maybe Obama will step out of the mother ship when this over.
Then the spaceships must be powered by windmills. Was that Joe Biden in the spacesuit?
Once can’t deny that this looks spectacular, awesome effects and action aplenty. Peter Berg ca be hit and miss with his directorial efforts, but The Kingdom was an excellent, thought provoking film. Aside from possible deeper characterization, it was a lean 100min+ thriller and the last 25 minutes was full of non stop action, both tense and explosive.
I agree with everyone that the echo of Transformers cannot be missed. Bith the trailer and film itself are similar in terms of sound and visual look The 2nd Avengers trailer infact also carried the same look and tone.
Transformers 3 setting the benchmark for future summer blockbusters?? Who would’ve thought???