The Movie Known As 'BATTLESHIP'

A lot of people seem to be dismissing 'Battleship' as one of the worst examples of bulls^&t film-making. A movie inspired by a classic board game. "How dare anyone make this thing" seems to be the sentiment. But I'm looking forward to it. Not because of the special effects or the explosions. No, I'm looking forward to it, because I'm genuinely curious about how it will turn out. Its not a secret that new, original, ideas seem to be a bit of a rarity these days. But I love seeing just about anything, so long as it piques my curiosity.
I don't see 'Battleship' as some trashy cash-in playing on a known brand. Actually I see it as an interesting story-telling challenge. The board game has no narrative, it has no characters, it simply is what it is. A game in which you guess the location of your opponents fleet and attempt to destroy them. Whatever fun can be found is usually born out of who you're playing with. So to see the basic premise of two fleets in combat taken to the level of Aliens on a mission, on Earth, is quite interesting.

Although some may say that Aliens are the next Zombies or Vampires, both so common now the language and intent of the concepts have become thinned to the point of non-existence, that Aliens are the safe choice to avoid any sort of political controversy, I don't really agree. When you commit to any sort of genre concept you're committing to a mythology. Now sometimes you reinvent that mythology, or rewrite, or throw it out entirely, but there are still inherent expectations from the audience. With Vampires; you have the thirst, the death by sunlight, the seduction in some cases. With Zombies; the plague, the carnage, the numbers. With Aliens you have; overwhelming technology, the larger than life scale, the complex yet simple nature of their mission. 'Battleship' seems to be not only meeting certain mythology expectations but also inventing some of their own. And I'm looking forward to seeing this new twist on the Alien Invasion genre.
The film-makers may appear to be simply cashing in, but they're still inventing everything as they go. If the film is a success than of course a sequel will be made, furthering the invention. Comparing "original" film-making to whats going on with 'Battleship' is in a way like comparing stand-up comedy to improv comedy. With stand-up you write material from scratch trying, if possible, to construct some for of narrative with that material in the hopes of appealing your audience. With improv you are given certain elements from either your audience or your fellow improvisers and you try to work within those elements and again construct a comedy narrative that would appeal to your audience. Saying 'Battleship' isn't a real movie is a bit like saying improv comedy isn't real comedy because someones feeding you the basic pieces to start with. It is real comedy, just a different form of expression.
I'm looking forward to 'Battleship'. I'm looking forward to it as someone who enjoys movies, as someone who enjoys scifi, as someone who enjoys story-telling. I'm looking forward to 'Battleship' period.