Battleship Salutes the Real Heroes

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As many of our readers surely remember, we've had our doubts about Universal Pictures' efforts to make a movie based on the Battleship board game. That doesn't mean they don't deserve some credit for trying to get things right.

They've cast vet Col. Greg Gadson as Special Forces Army Officer Mick Canales and convinced the DoD to give the production access to both the gear and the men and women who currently serve in an effort to add more realism to the production. In addition, several dozen wounded warriors served as extras during the movie's one-day shoot at San Antonio’s Center for the Intrepid, a rehabilitation facility that treats amputees and burn victims and was specifically built to provide care for our heroes, U.S. servicemen and women who have served in military operations in the Iraq War and in Afghanistan.

Even better. the Battleship production has partnered with the USO to launch the REAL HEROES contest. Facebook users can honor their friends, family, or other loved ones in the military by sharing their stories. Users can write a story, upload a photo, and share their Real Hero with the Facebook community, as well as be entered for a chance to win a screening of Battleship in their hometown. You can submit your story at either the Battleship Facebook page or the USO Facebook page.

Like we said before, we really want to like Battleship. Director Peter Berg made the Friday Night Lights movie and The Kingdom. The footage included above looks a lot like the documentary footage we've seen from Top Gun, interviews that featured a lot of folks who wanted to get things right in a movie. Plus, Rihanna with magenta hair.

Of course, then there's the trailer's Michael Bay vibe, the sinking feeling that things could end up as a cross between Pearl Harbor and that lame second Transformers movie.

While we try to keep our hopes up, check out this footage from Battleship's day of filming at the Center for the Intrepid:

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