History Film / Battleship

* EpicLaunchSequence: The eponymous warship, USS ''Missouri'', is given [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMwQbD3ZI4o a proper revival]] when it's needed for the final assault.

* TechnologyPorn: The reactivation of the ''USS Missouri'' is this so, so much. Bonus points for the scenes shot being ''the Missouri's actual activation after a decade of inactivity''. Lighting the engine, reloading the main guns, propulsion running so hard it makes the camera shake. Listen to that steam engine '''''purr'''''.

* BlindedByTheLight: The aliens have ''really'' low light tolerance, which comes in very handy when unarmored humans have to fight them. Their helmets were shown to incorporate sunglasses.

** Zigzagged with the portrayal of the CIWS. While the real Sampson had one emplacement, the actual John Paul Jones had two.

** Even better? ''None of that was faked!'' The movie showed the actual ''Missouri'' being properly activated by real Navy vets, some of which played ''themselves''.
*** Absolutely not. As indicated earlier, it would take months to years to reactivate the ship, thousands of people, and industrial work, with an entire day just to start the boilers. It's CGI. Glorious and awesome CGI but CGI nonetheless... and actual vets playing their own role for the heck of it.

* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/relatedsearch.php?term=Main

** Alex ''starts the film'' being arrested for breaking and entering, but [[TradingBarsForStripes the US military has not allowed enlistees or officer candidates with criminal records since the '70s]]. In addition, he moves up the ranks to Lieutenant ''far'' faster than is reasonable. [[note]] WebVideo/CinematicExcrement estimated (with help from his father, a retired Navel officer) that it should take a little over eight years '''at absolute minimum''' to achieve that rank, whereas Alex does it in five. [[/note]] (And that's ''assuming'' he has a decent college degree, which is a necessity to be entered into Officer Training School - and given Alex is openly dismissed as a loser, that's not a given.)
*** The military allows waivers for most anything, including criminal records. Also, most Navy LT make that rank about the 4 year mark in the service. By law the minimum time from O-1 to O-2 is 18 months and from O-2 to O-3 is 2 years.

** The military allows waivers for most anything, including criminal records. Also, most Navy LT make that rank about the 4 year mark in the service. By law the minimum time from O-1 to O-2 is 18 months and from O-2 to O-3 is 2 years.

* PointDefenseless: The CIWS mounts on ''Sampson'', ''Myoko'' and ''John Paul Jones'' do their best, but in the end there's too much incoming fire to intercept.

* TheAce:

* HowManyAllOfThem: A variation in the trailer.

** Bringing a museum ship up to fighting capability in under a day is impossible. Even assuming that live ammo and fuel are stored onboard strains belief. In real life it took two years to recommission and Iowa-class battleship (though that did include upgrading and installing new weapons and systems). Firing the boilers alone takes the better part of day.

%%* MickeyMousing: Happens during the ''Missouri'''s reactivation. When Lynch topples the claw machine to get access to the door behind it, [[https://youtu.be/zwVQ7M5IFt8?t=140 the sound it makes]] when it hits the ground is perfectly synced to the "Thun-der" chant from ''Thunderstruck''. Which, admittedly, doesn't actually come into play until later (when the lights in the passage are turned on), but still, props to the guy in post for getting the slow-mo synced up like that.

!!'''Tropes'''

** When the aliens blow up the Sampson, they do so with about 50 shells.

* BreakOutTheMuseumPiece: Battleships have been out of military use for decades, so fulfilling the title in a modern times movie necessarily involved this.

** Alex ''starts the film'' being arrested for breaking and entering, but [[TradingBarsForStripes the US military has not allowed enlistees or officer candidates with criminal records since the '70s]]. In addition, he moves up the ranks to Lieutenant ''far'' faster than is reasonable. [[note]] Web Video/CinematicExcrement estimated (with help from his father, a retired Navel officer) that it should take a little over eight years '''at absolute minimum''' to achieve that rank, whereas Alex does it in five. [[/note]] (And that's ''assuming'' he has a decent college degree, which is a necessity to be entered into Officer Training School - and given Alex is openly dismissed as a loser, that's not a given.)

** Alex ''starts the film'' being arrested for breaking and entering, but [[TradingBarsForStripes the US military has not allowed enlistees or officer candidates with criminal records since the '70s]]. In addition, he moves up the ranks to Lieutenant ''far'' faster than is reasonable. [[note]] Web Video/Cinematic Excrement estimated (with help from his father, a retired Navel officer) that it should take a little over eight years '''at absolute minimum''' to achieve that rank, whereas Alex does it in five. [[/note]] (And that's ''assuming'' he has a decent college degree, which is a necessity to be entered into Officer Training School - and given Alex is openly dismissed as a loser, that's not a given.)

** Alex ''starts the film'' being arrested for breaking and entering, but [[TradingBarsForStripes the US military has not allowed enlistees or officer candidates with criminal records since the '70s]]. In addition, he moves up the ranks to Lieutenant ''far'' faster than is reasonable. (And that's ''assuming'' he has a college degree, which is a necessity to be entered into Officer Training School - and given Alex is openly dismissed as a loser, that's not a given.)

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: Artillery cannon. Headshot. Justified in that small arms proved useless against the alien's armor.

* EyeAwaken: A variant. Alex and the others capture an unconscious alien. He pulls open one of its eyelids to reveal a completely dilated pupil. When he shines a light into the eye, the pupil suddenly narrows down to [[HellishPupils a thin slit]] as the alien regains consciousness.