Battleship
Metascore
41 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 39 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 39
  3. Negative: 13 out of 39
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  1. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    May 18, 2012
    38
    It makes "Top Gun" look like the work of Orson Welles. At least the Tom Cruise movie remembered to cast actual actors.
  2. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Tom Russo
    May 17, 2012
    38
    If only there were more genuine rah-rah fun involved, instead of just endless, thudding, seen-it-all-before mayhem.
  3. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    May 17, 2012
    38
    Battleship has the IQ of a rutabaga and doesn't require much more intelligence than that to watch. Despite spending copious amounts of time with back story and so-called character development, it's really all about the explosions.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    May 18, 2012
    33
    The script is replete with howlers. My favorite, from Kitsch, after the aliens strike: "I've got a bad feeling about this." Indeed.
  5. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: M. E. Russell
    May 17, 2012
    33
    There's almost nothing to Battleship beyond its grindingly dull, digitally rendered naval warfare.
  6. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    May 16, 2012
    30
    This crass and hugely dumb aliens vs. multiple earthling navies should thrill the hyperactive 10-year-old inside you. Adults, on the other hand – and especially genre-fan adults – will be bored to tears and wishing Bay (or at least Jerry Bruckheimer) had something of their own on the marquee out front.
  7. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Pete Hammond
    May 15, 2012
    30
    Its endless parade of explosions, battles and general mayhem makes Michael Bay seem like Ingmar Bergman in comparison with Battleship director Peter Berg.
  8. Tampa Bay Times
    Reviewed by: Steve Persall
    May 17, 2012
    25
    Two flesh-and-blood performers stand out among the machinery. One is pop singer Rhianna, looking lovely as usual despite the military gear and quite comfortable with high-powered artillery. The other is Gregory D. Gadson, an Army veteran who lost his legs to a roadside bomb in Baghdad.
  9. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Amy Biancolli
    May 17, 2012
    25
    It's loud, it's large, it's stupid, and its best gag involves a chicken burrito.
  10. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    May 17, 2012
    25
    Way to go, Battleship: Take the crassest of cynical junk, slather it in jingoism and sell it as rah-rah fun for right-wingers.
  11. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    May 16, 2012
    25
    Battleship is a board game for children, so it stands to reason a film adaptation would also be aimed at kids. But did they have to gear it to really dumb kids?
  12. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Nick Schager
    May 15, 2012
    25
    Shamelessly mimics Michael Bay's larger-than-life dialogue, sweeping cinematography, cornball romance, and military fetishism.
  13. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    May 17, 2012
    0
    The worst humans-fighting-aliens movie I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of humans-fighting-aliens movies.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
4.6 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 299 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 42 out of 116
  2. Mixed: 32 out of 116
  3. Negative: 42 out of 116
  1. Zaphrozz
    3
    I'm a huge fan of Action-Movies, especially Transformers and stuff. When I see this movies, I accept that there is no great story, no plot or the other things that usually make movies good movies. In other words: I turn my brain of and simply enjoy the pictures.
    But this was impossible during Battleship. The whole movie is THAT stupid, filled with the most stereotype plot they could find. Honestly, Rihanna looks badass but is a unbelievable bad actor. In fact, the only good actor in the whole movie was Liam Neeson and he only appeared about 5 Minutes the entire movie. I saw it with a friend and we facepalmed all the time. Normally, I can consume the stupidity of action movies, but this was too much. And even the action scenes were not cool. Maybe I just don't stick with Ships shooting each other, but for me the action was totally forgetable. It is indescribable how dumb the movie is. And I mean for real. I'll just stop now cause I'm not able to describe this. Just don't watch it ever. Only when you are VERY drunk and when you skip the whole movie except the action scenes which are well made and can be a bit amusing for some people and this is the reason I'm giving this movie a 3.    … Full Review »
  2. rodrique
    2
    Noisy,dumb,and with one of the worst scripts i have already seen,this movie is Transformers 2 with ships.Despite some good visual effects by Industrial light and magic… Full Review »
  3. Bikerjames
    3
    Are the transformer movies too intellectually stimulating for you? If so, I have found a movie for you! Cornball, cheesy, implausible, loud, and more loud. Aliens with amazing technology and superior intelligence somehow can't communicate with their home planet without the help of our old school satellite dishes. Yeah, right. I would like to say that Rihanna was a terrible actress, but I'm not sure anyone could give a great performance with the horrible dialogue she was spouting. At one point, after losing over half the fleet and death is all around him, Taylor Kitsch says "I've got a bad feeling about this". Really? You finally have a bad feeling about it? The great Liam Neeson is rarely featured and is simply picking up a paycheck. Why hire a great actor and not use him? He probably read the script and refused to say the cornball dialogue. The special effects are terrific as you would expect from a modern day film made on a computer. There is only one small part of the film that uses the Battleship Game format and it's eye rollingly bad.… Full Review »
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