Plot Summary
On August 12, 2011, hostile alien spacecraft make landings off the coasts of large cities. Los Angeles is evacuated while Marines from Camp Pendleton arrive, including Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, an Iraq War veteran. Nantz, who was to begin his retirement, is assigned to the 1st Platoon, Echo Company, of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines. Under the command of 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez, the platoon arrives at a forward operating base (FOB) established at Santa Monica Airport. The alien ground forces have no apparent air support while using rapid dominance.
Hence, the Air Force prepares a carpet bombing of the Santa Monica area, and the platoon is given 3 hours to retrieve civilians from a police station. As they advance through Los Angeles, they are ambushed and suffer multiple casualties. Nantz takes Marines Imlay and Harris to look for Lenihan, who is missing from the group. After fighting off an alien, they team up with some soldiers from the Army’s 40th Infantry Division and an Air Force intelligence technical sergeant, Elena Santos. At the police station, the makeshift platoon finds five civilians: veterinarian Michele, children Kirsten, Amy, Hector, and Hector’s father Joe. A helicopter arrives to evacuate wounded Marines but cannot take on the weight of the civilians.
During takeoff, it is destroyed by alien air units, killing Grayston, Guerrero, Lenihan, and Simmons. The Marines commandeer an abandoned transit bus for the evacuation. En route, they deduce that the alien air units are drones that target human radio transmissions; Santos reveals that her mission is to locate and destroy the aliens’ command center controlling the drones. When their bus comes under attack by aliens on an elevated freeway, the Marines rappel the group to street level. In the ensuing battle, Marines Stavrou and Mottola and the remainder of the California Army National Guard soldiers are killed.
Meet the Cast
Info & Stats
Director:
Jonathan Liebesman
Writer:
Christopher Bertolini
Stars:
Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan
Categories:
Science Fiction, Action
Budget:
$70,000,000.00
Revenue:
$211,800,000.00
Age: PG13Â Â |Â Â Duration: 1h 56m
Watch the Trailer