Aaron Eckhart: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

1. Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz - Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

The recurring theme with Eckhart's bad work is that they are boring, wooden or one-note performances. They are the performances of an actor who is either confused by the material (The Black Dahlia), uninterested in the part (Love Happens) or just unable to connect with the role in a meaningful way (Olympus Has Fallen). But when you're looking for a film which combines all these things into one awful package, you need look no further than Battle: Los Angeles. Battle: Los Angeles is a sci-fi action war film which begins with Earth being bombarded by a series of meteorites. The meteorites turn out to contain aliens, who intend to colonise the planet. As an all-out ground war begins in LA, Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Eckhart) is put in charge of a Marine platoon, which sets about trying to evacuate helpless civilians. The film is directed by Jonathan Liebesman, who previously helmed The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning and who is now working on the new Ninja Turtles movie. Battle: Los Angeles is everything you would expect from a war film made by one of Michael Bay's best friends: it's loud, incoherent, horribly shot and has no believable human beings in it. But for all this, Eckhart is one of the film's biggest let-downs: having been given the only half-decent role, he does nothing with it. He spends all his time either looking grim or slightly startled, and his numerous expository monologues are delivered without a hint of nuance or empathy. It's a really dull and pointless performance in an equally dull and pointless film. Disagree with my choices? Drop me a comment below or visit Mumby at the Movies for more reviews...