Loud oaf of a movie makes port of call to action protocol

By Christy Lemire
Associated Press

~~<p>"Battleship" is big, dumb fun that knows it's big, dumb fun and enthusiastically embraces its big, dumb, fun nature.</p>
<p>Director Peter Berg has crafted an almost fetishistic homage to Michael Bay — like Bay's "Transformers" series, this is yet another action extravaganza inspired by a Hasbro product — with its epic set pieces, swaggering bravado, panoramic skies and cheesy romance. It doesn't lean all the way into parody, but rather feels more like a faithful and knowing approximation of a very specific, muscular genre: one of those the-world-is-ending-we're-all-gonna-die movies. And because it's a little cheeky and doesn't seem to take itself totally seriously, it's more enjoyable than one might expect from a movie based on a board game created in the 1960s.</p>
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<td><strong>‘BATTLESHIP’ </strong><br />
Rated: PG-13
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"Battleship" is big, dumb fun that knows it's big, dumb fun and enthusiastically embraces its big, dumb, fun nature.

Director Peter Berg has crafted an almost fetishistic homage to Michael Bay — like Bay's "Transformers" series, this is yet another action extravaganza inspired by a Hasbro product — with its epic set pieces, swaggering bravado, panoramic skies and cheesy romance. It doesn't lean all the way into parody, but rather feels more like a faithful and knowing approximation of a very specific, muscular genre: one of those the-world-is-ending-we're-all-gonna-die movies. And because it's a little cheeky and doesn't seem to take itself totally seriously, it's more enjoyable than one might expect from a movie based on a board game created in the 1960s. ‘BATTLESHIP’ Rated: PG-13 Login for more...