A squad of U.S. Marines becomes the last line of defense against a global invasion.
Los Angeles and other cities around the world are being bombarded by meteors that seem to be slowing down once they hit the earth's atmosphere. The earth is suddenly being invaded by space aliens that have landed off the shore of LA, and who begin killing everybody along the beach. The military is ordered into action. Marine Staff Sergeant Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), who was about to retire, is reassigned to a new platoon. The platoon, flown by chopper to the forward operating base at Santa Monica Airport, is being led by a new 2nd Lt. Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez). They are sent on a mission to rescue some civilians who are trapped at the police station within alien territory. They only have 3 hours to complete their mission and get out before the Air Force bombs that zone.—Douglas Young (the-movie-guy)
After a meteor shower around the world, the governments learn that it is actually an alien invasion and organize counter-attacks. In Los Angeles, the Marine Sergeant Michael Nantz is ready to retire after a great trauma in the past when he lost all the men under his command in a mission. However, his platoon is assigned to bring the civilians that are sheltered in the Police Department, in an area dominated by the aliens, back to forward operating base (F.O.B.) before the bombs drop on the city. Sgt. Nantz assists 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez and they have to accomplish their mission within three hours. The marines meet few civilians and survivors from other commandos and when they are ready to fly to the base, the helicopter with the wounded marines is shot down and crashes. Now the marines need to reach the base with the civilians through the destroyed streets and highways using a bus. Along their journey, the marines learn how to kill the invaders but only a few of them survive. When the mission is accomplished, Sgt. Nantz and the survivors decide to destroy the alien communication center and consequently their airborne force.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
What seems to be a swarm of meteorites approaching the Earth's atmosphere, soon turns out to be a meticulously orchestrated attack from a technologically advanced extraterrestrial race. Before this all-out alien invasion, the self-sacrificing Marine Staff Sergeant, Michael Nantz, and a handful of loyal men are humanity's last hope, as numerous cities around the globe crash down one by one. However, fate has ordained that the urban jungle of a now battle-scarred Los Angeles will be the nightmarish battlefield for the ultimate confrontation--and as the brave marines risk their lives to evacuate Santa Monica--a massive aerial bombardment is on its way. Will Nantz and his troops rescue as many as possible, and get out alive?—Nick Riganas
On August 12, 2011, a number of apparent meteors land in the world's oceans, near 20 major coastal cities. The objects prove to be spacecraft containing hostile extraterrestrials. San Diego and San Francisco are already lost, and LA has the last military force on the west coast.As Los Angeles (LA) is being evacuated, Marines from Camp Pendleton arrive, including United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), an Iraq War veteran. Nantz, who was to begin his retirement, is assigned to 1st Platoon, Echo Company, of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines.Nantz is not liked by his men due to some snafu in his last tour to Iraq, where many of his men failed to get back to base and were killed. The word spread that it was Nantz's fault.
Under the command of United States Marine Corps 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez (Ramon Rodriguez) (who is just out of military college with no real field experience), 1st Platoon, the platoon arrives at a forward operating base (FOB) established at Santa Monica Airport. The alien ground forces have no apparent air support, so the Air Force prepares to carpet bomb the Santa Monica area, and the platoon is given three hours to retrieve civilians from an LAPD station in West LA (the civilians got stuck at the police station when the aliens over ran their area).
As they advance through LA, they are ambushed and suffer multiple casualties. The platoon is able to survive only when Nantz breaks a fence to find an exit into a house, where they secure the perimeter and establish a safe zone. Nantz takes Marines Corporal Lee "Cowboy" Imlay (Will Rothhaar) and Corporal Kevin J. "Specks" Harris (Ne-Yo) to look for Private First Class Shaun "Casper" Lenihan (Noel Fisher), who is missing from the group. Lenihan is rescued after he manages to kill an alien, but only after hitting it a hundred times and dropping a grenade on it.After fighting off an alien, they team up with some soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division and an Air Force intelligence Technical Sergeant, Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez). Elena and her unit were tracking enemy transmissions in the area, when they were ambushed with pin point accuracy.
At the police station, the makeshift platoon finds five civilians: veterinarian Michele (Bridget Moynahan), children Kirsten (Joey King), Amy (Jadin Gould) and Hector (Bryce Cass), and Hector's father Joe (Michael Peña). A helicopter arrives to evacuate wounded Marines but can not take on the weight of the civilians. During takeoff, it is destroyed by alien air units (which were a new addition to the battlefield), killing Corporal Scott Grayston (Lucas Till), Corporal Richard "Motown" Guerrero (Neil Brown Jr.), Lenihan and Lance Corporal Corey Simmons (Taylor Handley)The unit finds a dead alien and brings it in. Michele helps them figure out their basic anatomy and its weak spots, where it can be killed.
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 the aliens' command and control center, as its destruction should deactivate the drones. When their bus comes under attack on an elevated freeway (Nantz figures out that the aliens are tracking their radio signals), the Marines rappel the group to street level. In the ensuing battle, Marines Lance Corporal Nick C. "Stavs" Stavrou (Gino Anthony Pesi) and Lance Corporal Steven "Motorolla" Mottola (James Hiroyuki Liao) and the remainder of the Army National Guard soldiers are killed, while both Joe and Lieutenant Martinez are wounded fighting the aliens.
Martinez uses his radio to attract the aliens, then detonates explosives, sacrificing himself. Nantz is now in command of surviving personnel Santos, Imlay, Lance Corporal Peter J. "Irish" Kerns (Jim Parrack), Corporal Jason "Cochise" Lockett (Cory Hardrict), Harris, Navy Hospital Corpsman Second Class Jibril A. "Doc" Adukwu (Adetokumboh M'Cormack) and the civilians, continuing their escape from the bombing zone. A news report interviews a scientist who speculates that the aliens are seeking Earth's water for fuel while eradicating the human population.
The carpet bombing never happens. Reaching the FOB, the Marines find it destroyed and that the military is retreating from LA. The Marines plan to escort the civilians to an alternate extraction point. When Joe dies from his wounds, Nantz comforts Hector. Lockett confronts Nantz regarding his brother, a Marine who, with four others, was killed during Nantz's last tour. They come to peace when Nantz explains that he continues to think of them, and recites each person's name, rank and serial number. Nantz motivates the group to move forward to honor their fallen comrades, including Joe for his bravery. They reach the extraction point and evacuate by helicopter.
In flight, the chopper experiences a brief loss of power. Nantz theorizes that they are flying near the alien command center, transmitting intense radio messages to its drones (which knocks out nearby power sources). He orders his unit to accompany the civilians while he stays to reconnoiter the area, but his fighters all join him. Searching through sewers, they confirm the presence of a large alien vessel. Kerns radios in to request missiles, which Nantz manually directs using a laser designating device while the others defend his position. Kerns is killed when a drone homes in on his radio, but the Marines succeed in routing a missile to the command module, which is destroyed. The uncontrolled drones fall from the sky, and the alien ground forces retreat.
The remaining fighters-Nantz, Imlay, Lockett, Harris, Adukwu and Santos-are evacuated to a base in the Mojave Desert, where they are greeted as heroes. They are told that their successful method has been transmitted to the armies battling alien forces in 19 other cities, that Michele and the three children were rescued, and that they can now rest. Instead, they re-arm and join the armed force leaving to retake Los Angeles.
