The problem with this movie exists at the very deepest level of plot: if these characters are brother & sister, they can’t wind up together and all their great chemistry is to no effect.

So while there were things I liked and some nice performances, it’s ultimately not what the viewer of a romance really wants to see. And the romance that does feature as a B-plot was shown so minutely in the film that you never really get to root for it.

I don’t think I know a single other person who saw this. It was crazy hot that day, and I can’t afford to turn on my air conditioning, and it was the only movie starting within the next 30 minutes. Also: Chris Pine is yummy.

One of those “let’s make up a baloney plot as an excuse to sing these songs” movies (see also “Mama Mia”).

It was just as bad as you can possibly imagine except for two things:
1) How awesome to hear all these songs again all one after the other.
2) Tom Cruise KILLS IT. Say what you will about him, but when he COMMITS to a role, he COMMITS. This was as thunderously over-the-top yet wonderful as his Tropic Thunder performance. He’s the only one who doesn’t visibly appear to be lip syncing (even if they are all lip syncing to their own vocals/recordings of these songs). He’s the only one that just outright goes for the ridiculousness of his part.

Yes, we did come out of this movie and spend a good 45 minutes discussing all the huge, gaping, ridiculous holes in the plot.

I enjoyed the watching of it DESPITE ALL THAT. So. Award-winning? No. Logical and well-done? No. Enjoyable anyway? Why, yes.

Also there are lots of visual (and otherwise) ties to previous movies in the franchise, especially noticeable since V. and I had just (re)watched Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection over the previous week in preparation.

Beautiful, amazing costumes, particularly for Charlize.

Beautiful set design, art direction, filming, special effects, etc. Some really visually stunning moments.

Lame plot, bad dialogue when there even was any, and then it.just.ends.

Enjoyable, enough.

Not as good as: Ironman (1).
Better than: Ironman 2. Thor.

Has Gwyneth Paltrow given up shoes? I couldn’t figure out why she was barefoot in both her scenes in this movie.

Ignoring the actual few and far between tie-ins to the game of Battleship, which were actually the best parts of the movie and used so sparingly you almost didn’t notice them:

This was the schmaltziest, most sentimental, ridiculously attempting-to-pull-at-your-heartstrings action film you will ever see. The minute that group of WWII soldiers starts to walk across the deck? COME ON, NOW.

Sadly not very good at all.

I say sadly because hello a) SKARSGARD, b) Peter Berg, c) Taylor Kitsch, d) Liam Neeson, e) sailors, f) ships, g) aliens. Those are all things I like.

So. Let’s see. I enjoyed this movie while watching it but in discussing it afterward with my fellow viewer who had NOT read the books, it really seems the movie’s a bit THIN. Certain scenes ONLY MAKE SENSE — or have a very important part of them that only make sense — if you’ve read the books and can say “oh, well that’s because of X thing not shown in the movie.” So that’s one problem.

And the choices they made around certain plot points, particularly those toward the end of the film, mean that while this was an adequate movie of book 1, it will be nigh impossible to make even adequate movies of books 2 and 3.

I liked the mood and tone, I think they got some of that stuff right. But I think they got enough stuff wrong that it’s only adequate. And I think they’ve screwed up the avenues that would have allowed them to do a decent job going forward

Perhaps some of that is because I reread the book right before I saw the movie. (And then came home and reread books 2 and 3.) But if it can’t stand up to that kind of scrutiny, then it doesn’t work.