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BATTLESHIP

"Patriotic Action Saves the Day"

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Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

In the science fiction movie BATTLESHIP, a young immature Navy lieutenant, Alex Hopper, must stop alien invaders from destroying the human race. An alien spaceship lands on Earth and destroys two Earth vessels involved in an international training maneuver. Alex is the highest officer left on a nearby third ship. As such, he and the remaining men have to play cat and mouse with the alien mothership and three smaller spaceships armed to the teeth. The good news is that the aliens have lost their communication spaceship. The bad news is that an alien force field prevents Alex and his men from communicating with the rest of the fleet. Working alone, Alex and his men must stop the aliens from using a local Hawaiian satellite array to call for reinforcements.

Once it gets going, BATTLESHIP is a lot of turbo-charged fun. Despite brief corny moments and some possible plot holes, it’s a strongly patriotic, exciting story. It also teaches lessons in bravery, maturity, and humility. That said, there’s plenty of PG-13 foul language in BATTLESHIP. The action is also intense. These things warrant caution, especially for younger viewers.

Content:

(BBB, PPP, LLL, VV, S, N, A, M) Very strong moral, patriotic worldview stressing humility, maturity, bravery, heroism and celebrating the contributions of previous generations, including the World War II generation of Americans; 31 obscenities (mostly “h,” “d,” “s”, and a** words with one SOB), one GD, five light exclamatory profanities, and “MF” is started twice but not heard to the finish, though it might be completed in an unrated version of the DVD package; strong, frequent action violence includes many explosions, humans fight aliens in spacesuits, guns and cannons blast aliens, humans, and their machines, large balls of whirling alien machinery shred human vehicles and ships and copters and planes, men have to jump off sinking ship being destroyed by large balls of whirling machinery that shreds, people run away from such machinery, soccer action includes man accidentally kicked in face, man falls through ceiling of closed convenience store a couple times trying to get a chicken burrito for beautiful girl he just met, and man is tazed twice by police after breaking into this store; no bedroom scenes but there’s a sensual scene where an unmarried adult couple in clothes on a beach talk and kiss while woman kneels on top of man; upper male nudity; alcohol use in a bar; no smoking or drugs; and, man breaks into closed convenience store to get chicken burrito for beautiful girls he just met, but he leaves money behind and gets caught, and irresponsibility and immaturity but they’re condemned and overcome.

More Detail:

BATTLESHIP is another science fiction, war movie about an alien invasion of Earth, but it is based on the old board game by Hasbro. The Navy setting also helps make the movie more unique. There are some corny, predictable moments, but the movie comes together in the rousing, patriotic second half. However, there’s plenty of foul language and intense action violence, so caution is advised, especially for younger viewers.

The story opens with Navy Commander Stone Hopper celebrating his long-haired younger brother Alex’s birthday with a cupcake in a bar near Pearl Harbor. Stone is a little upset that Alex lacks direction in his life.

Alex notices a beautiful blonde entering the bar and asking for a chicken burrito form the bartender. The bartender, however, says the kitchen’s closed and refuses to budge even when Alex asks. Alex tells the blonde, whose name is Samantha, to wait five minutes and he’ll get her a chicken burrito. He goes across the street to a convenience store, but the cashier is just closing up. So, Alex climbs onto the roof and clumsily breaks into the store. He cooks a chicken burrito in the microwave and leaves some money on the counter, but his exit is even clumsier than his entrance. Soon the police arrive, and they taze Alex as he holds the burrito out for Samantha.

The next morning at home, Stone is now even more upset at Alex. Especially since Samantha just happens to be the Admiral’s daughter. Apparently, Stone is mentoring Alex because their parents have died. He tells Alex it’s time to shape up, so he orders Alex to join the Navy.

Several years later, both men are in the Navy. Alex has even become a Lieutenant, and Stone is now captain of a ship. The U.S. Navy is doing a huge exercise with 14 other nations. The nations are celebrating the maneuvers with a friendly soccer tournament. The tournament turns out not so friendly for Alex, who gets accidentally kicked in the face by a Japanese captain, Yugi Nagata. After the match, Alex and Yugi get into a fight on a ship and are reprimanded. This puts a halt to Alex’s plans to ask Samantha’s father for her hand in marriage. In fact, Alex is now in danger of being discharged by the Navy.

Everything comes to a halt, however, when a scouting team of alien spaceships land on Earth after being attracted by an ill-conceived NASA-engineered signal into outer space looking for aliens. The aliens land near Alex and Stone’s two ships and Captain Nugata’s. Alex leads a small boat to investigate the large alien vessel poking out of the ocean. Two other smaller alien spaceships detach themselves from the bigger vessel. Fighting breaks out after the two American ships and Captain Nugata’s ship face off against the aliens in a tense standoff. At the same time, the large alien spaceship sets up a force field around it and the three Earth vessels. The three Earth vessels lose communication with the outside world. They also prove to be no match for the aliens, which destroy Stone and his ship and sink Captain Nugata’s ship.

Alex turns out to be the highest remaining American officer. He wants revenge against the aliens for killing his brother, but he orders his ship to retreat and pick up the survivors of the Japanese ship. Now, Alex has to step up to the plate and stop the aliens from wiping out the human race. The good news is that the aliens have lost their communication spaceship. With Captain Nugata’s help, Alex and his men have to stop the aliens from using a local satellite array on Hawaii to call in reinforcements.

Once it gets going, BATTLESHIP is a lot of turbo-charged fun. Despite a couple corny moments and some possible plot holes, it’s a strongly patriotic story that teaches lessons in bravery, maturity, and humility. At one point, a humbled Alex realizes he has to defer to Captain Nugata’s experience. This sequence also turns out to include a clever, suspenseful homage to the original board game invented by Hasbro. BATTLESHIP also has an inspiring sub-plot where Samantha and a soldier recuperating from the loss of his legs have to help delay the alien platoon working at the satellite array. Finally, the ending has a wonderful homage to previous generations of Navy sailors, especially the average, courageous sailor who makes things run smoothly in times of war.

Thus, BATTLESHIP has a very strong moral, patriotic worldview that’s exciting. There’s even a reference to America’s motto, “In God we trust.”

That said, there’s plenty of foul language in BATTLESHIP. The action is also intense. Alex and Samantha have a lightly sensual kissing scene, but that’s as far as it goes. These things warrant caution, especially for younger viewers. Also, a couple uncompleted “f” words may find their way into an unrated version of the movie on the eventual DVD, so MOVIEGUIDE® advises parents to be on the lookout for that. As always, before you go to the movie, please consult the accompanying CONTENT section for all the details about BATTLESHIP.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


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