You ever search for something and realize the internet is trying to trick you? It happens a lot with the battle of los angeles movie cast. People usually want to see Aaron Eckhart kicking alien tail, but then they stumble upon a weirdly similar movie starring Kel Mitchell.
Yes, the guy from Good Burger.
Honestly, it’s a mess. In 2011, two movies with almost identical names dropped at the same time. One was a $70 million blockbuster called Battle: Los Angeles. The other was a "mockbuster" from The Asylum titled Battle of Los Angeles.
If you’re looking for the gritty, Black Hawk Down-style war flick, you’re looking for the Battle: Los Angeles crew. If you want the one with the dude who loves orange soda, you’re looking for the low-budget Syfy version.
Let's break down who was actually in these things.
The Big Budget Squad: Battle: Los Angeles (2011)
This is the movie most people remember. It was directed by Jonathan Liebesman and tried really hard to feel like a real war documentary. To get that vibe, the actors didn't just show up to a trailer with lattes. They went to a brutal three-week boot camp.
Aaron Eckhart plays Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz. He’s the heart of the movie—a guy about to retire who gets pulled back in for one last nightmare. Eckhart actually broke his arm during filming but kept going. That’s some real Marine energy right there.
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Michelle Rodriguez shows up as Technical Sergeant Elena Santos. She’s basically the queen of tactical gear in Hollywood. If there’s an alien invasion or a fast car, she’s usually in the vicinity.
Then you’ve got Michael Peña as Joe Rincon. He’s a civilian father caught in the crossfire. It was a bit of a departure for him at the time, moving away from his usual comedic timing into something way more grounded and tragic.
The Rest of the Platoon
The cast was actually stacked with faces you’ve definitely seen elsewhere:
- Ne-Yo (the singer!) plays Corporal Kevin Harris.
- Ramon Rodriguez is the young, green 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez.
- Bridget Moynahan plays Michele, a veterinarian who helps the soldiers figure out how the aliens "work" (biologically speaking).
- Cory Hardrict as Jason Lockett.
- Joey King—long before her Kissing Booth or The Act fame—appears as a kid named Kirsten.
The chemistry between these actors felt real because they lived in tents and ate MREs together during training. It wasn't just acting; they were genuinely exhausted.
The "Other" One: The Asylum's Battle of Los Angeles
Okay, so maybe you’re watching a movie and wondering why the special effects look like they were made on a 2005 laptop. You’ve likely found the mockbuster.
The Asylum is a studio famous for making movies that sound exactly like big hits to confuse people at the Redbox kiosk. Their battle of los angeles movie cast is a wild ride of "Wait, I know them!"
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Kel Mitchell plays Lieutenant Tyler Laughlin. It’s a serious role, which is jarring if you grew up watching him on Nickelodeon. He’s joined by Nia Peeples, who plays Captain Karla Smaith.
The plot of this one is way weirder. It involves a pilot from World War II who was abducted by aliens in the 1940s and returns in the modern day to help fight. It’s campy, it’s low-budget, and it’s definitely not the movie that Sony spent millions marketing.
Why the Confusion Still Matters
Search engines often lump these two together. If you’re trying to find out what happened to the actors, you might get a biography of Dylan Vox (from the Asylum version) when you were actually looking for Jim Parrack (who played Kerns in the big-budget version).
Battle: Los Angeles (the big one) actually did pretty well at the box office, raking in over $212 million. Critics like Roger Ebert absolutely hated it, calling it "noisy and stupid," but audiences kind of loved the "Marines vs. Aliens" simplicity.
The movie holds up surprisingly well if you like "shakey-cam" action. The alien designs were unique—they weren't just little green men; they were bio-mechanical organisms that used water as fuel.
Key Cast Comparison
| Feature | Battle: Los Angeles (Big Budget) | Battle of Los Angeles (Mockbuster) |
|---|---|---|
| Lead Actor | Aaron Eckhart | Kel Mitchell |
| Female Lead | Michelle Rodriguez | Nia Peeples |
| Director | Jonathan Liebesman | Mark Atkins |
| Release Date | March 11, 2011 | March 12, 2011 |
| Budget | $70 - $100 Million | Approx. $1 Million |
What the Cast is Doing Now
Most of the big-budget crew went on to massive things.
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Aaron Eckhart is still a staple in action and drama, though he’s stayed away from big sci-fi lately. Michelle Rodriguez is, well, she's still in the Fast & Furious universe, which is basically its own alien planet at this point.
Michael Peña became a massive star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Luis in Ant-Man. It’s funny to look back at him in this movie being so serious when we all know him now for his legendary fast-talking recaps.
If you want to dive deeper into this specific era of sci-fi, your best bet is to check out the "making of" featurettes for the 2011 Aaron Eckhart film. They show the actual Marine Corps advisors who lived on set to make sure the actors held their rifles correctly.
You can find the "big" version of the movie on most major VOD platforms like Amazon or Apple TV. Just make sure you check the thumbnail for Aaron Eckhart's face before you hit "rent," or you might end up with a very different kind of Friday night.
To get the most out of your rewatch, look for the subtle details in the background of the Santa Monica scenes—the production team built massive, destroyed sets in Louisiana to mimic the LA coastline, and the scale is actually pretty impressive for a movie from fifteen years ago.
Check the credits for the name "Christopher Bertolini" to ensure you've got the right script. That's the one that focuses on the 1st Platoon, Charlie Company.