Curator Watchlist
A loud, absurdly overqualified alien-invasion spectacle that works best as a guilty-pleasure action movie rather than a serious sci-fi adaptation. The set pieces, naval hardware, and committed performances give it enough momentum to be entertaining, even when the plot is thin and the product-placement energy is… Read more
Where to watch: Buy
Wed · 2h 11m
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna
When mankind beams a radio signal into space, a reply comes from ‘Planet G’, in the form of several alien crafts that splash down in the waters off Hawaii. Lieutenant Alex Hopper is a weapons officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones, part of an international naval coalition which becomes the world's last hope for survival as they engage the hostile alien force of unimaginable strength. While taking on the invaders, Hopper must also try to live up to the potential that his brother, and his fiancée's father—an Admiral—expect of him.
Peter Berg
Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna
A loud, absurdly overqualified alien-invasion spectacle that works best as a guilty-pleasure action movie rather than a serious sci-fi adaptation. The set pieces, naval hardware, and committed performances give it enough momentum to be entertaining, even when the plot is thin and the product-placement energy is impossible to ignore.
Battleship is the kind of studio movie that seems engineered by committee and then accidentally made watchable by sheer force of momentum. It takes a ridiculous premise, adds alien mayhem, and throws in enough naval procedure, explosions, and swagger to keep the engine running even when the script is running on fumes.
The movie’s appeal is mostly tactile: ships, missiles, radar screens, and water-bound chaos staged with real scale. It also has a weirdly sincere, almost old-fashioned blockbuster confidence, which makes the silliness easier to forgive. That said, the character arcs are boilerplate, the dialogue is often clunky, and the film’s military reverence can feel more like branding than drama.
If you meet it on its own terms, there’s a certain junk-food charm here. It’s not a good adaptation of a board game, but it is a competent, occasionally fun alien invasion movie with enough spectacle to justify a casual watch.
Samuel Scott (1.5★) · 1110 likes
Miss.
Tim Portis (1★) · 725 likes
Battleshit.
Matt (0.5★) · 467 likes
This battleship was sunk even before Rihanna yells "Mahalo, motherfucker!" at a Beyblade...I mean, a Transformer...I mean, fuck this movie.
Chris Evangelista (1.5★) · 311 likes
A movie so stupid it's actually impressive. Like, you would have to *try* to make something this stupid. – Alexander Skarsgård plays a character named Stone Hopper– Rihanna *refuses* to take her hat off; there's even a scene where she falls into the water and makes sure to hold her hat on– Liam Neeson shows up for a few minutes, vanishes, then comes back at the end to remind you he's still here– Multiple AC/DC needle drops… more
Andy Summers 🤠 (3.5★) · 296 likes
Rihanna got wet, do you think she forgot her umbrella, ella, ella.
A bigger, more iconic alien-invasion crowd-pleaser with the same broad appeal for spectacle, teamwork, and city-leveling chaos.
For viewers interested in the military-sci-fi angle, but with sharper satire and a much more subversive edge.
Shares the loud, tactile, effects-driven fun of giant-scale combat and turns it into a more imaginative creature-feature spectacle.
A close match for the noisy, hardware-fetish blockbuster experience and the sense of watching a toyline become a war movie.
Another overblown, patriotic, emotionally blunt disaster blockbuster that runs on momentum and swagger.
A great fit if what you want is muscular, high-energy action with military hardware and a glossy studio sheen.
For audiences drawn to naval-in-space combat and fleet-versus-invader tension, with a classic sci-fi adventure feel.
A more grounded alien-invasion war movie that leans into squad tactics, chaos, and survival under pressure.
If the appeal is large-scale crisis management and earnest blockbuster seriousness, this delivers a similar mainstream disaster tone.
Another effects-heavy disaster film that sells catastrophe through scale, urgency, and broad crowd-pleasing beats.
For the military pageantry, hardware fetish, and slick recruitment-adjacent energy, even though the conflict is very different.
A modern example of polished, high-clarity blockbuster action that values craft, speed, and crowd reaction.
alien invasion, military action, redemption arc, brotherhood, global defense, blockbuster spectacle, technological warfare, disaster survival
alien invasion, naval action, military sci-fi, blockbuster spectacle, destruction, redemption, ensemble action, 2010s, popcorn movie, campy