Variety.com reported that Universal Studios set a July, 2011 release date for a movie based on the board game "Battleship". Universal, no doubt, chose this "summer blockbuster" release date to mirror the success of previous summer releases like "E.T.", "Jaws", and the Indiana Jones flicks.
Hollywood being Hollywood, Universal's screenwriters will try to duplicate a successful formula for "Battleship". An adorable tyke lures an equally adorable alien to his home by scattering Battleship game pieces along the way. It turns out that Battleship is a big favorite on the alien's home planet. The alien trains the tyke as a Battleship Master thus gaining the unwanted attention of the authorities. The tyke disguises the alien in Halloween costumes for years until he (the tyke, not the alien) grows up to become a marine biologist. When a giant shark threatens the area, the alien outfits the marine biologist in a leather jacket, fedora, and whip to do battle with the beast (the shark, not the alien). Using his Battleship game techniques, the biologist locates the shark and, in the nick of time, discovers that it is actually an alien shark sent to Earth to return his alien Master to his home planet. After a climactic free-for-all with the US Navy, still seeking the alien after all these years, the alien and the shark ascend to the cosmos.
Mock it if you will, but this plot line is at least as believable as that of "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" and imagine the possibilities for the "Battleship" thrill ride at Universal's Theme Parks.
On deck for Summer, 2012 - "Parcheesi - The Movie". Now there is a challenge for Universal's screenwriters.
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