Battleship

“Missile to E5.” With such innovations in script-writing, it would be a crime not to see this film.

Where Hollywood definitely missed a trick in overlooking Jenga and Hungry Hungry Hippos for inspiration, Battleship delivers a surprisingly cogent and enthralling story for a film based on a plastic strategy game.

When it comes to Liam Neeson films, you can’t really go wrong, and the charismatic, Irish heartthrob again graces our screens, accompanied by a star-studded entourage in this sci-fi blockbuster. Neeson is joined by rising star Taylor Kitsch, who plays Alex Hopper, a hot-headed young layabout, and The Vampire Diaries’ Alexander Skarsgård, starring as Hopper’s conscientious elder brother.

Battleship is set in 2012, shadowing Commander Stone Hopper (Skarsgård) and his brother Lieutenant Alex Hopper (Kitsch) aboard US Naval Fleet ships. The plot starts sedately, introducing Alex Hopper’s unfortunate infatuation with the Admiral’s (Neeson) daughter Sam (Decker), but quickly gathers pace. During a series of international naval exercises, four alien ships crash into the water off the coast of Hawaii and the fleet are dispatched to investigate the gargantuan crash-landed crafts. Inevitably, the hostile ships emit an inconveniently impenetrable force field that blocks most kinds of radio communication and selective electronic equipment. Thus the fate of the world is, somewhat predictably, left in Hopper’s reckless hands.

Even if you're not entirely convinced by the sensational plot, Battleship is most certainly worth watching, if only to witness Rihanna’s unexpectedly plausible performance as badass Gunner, Cora Raikes, or even just for Brooklyn Decker’s gratuitous bikini scenes.

A film characterized by the quote “you sunk my battleship” is not one that can easily be missed.

Georgie Rawson