''American Warships'' is a 2012

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

directed by Thunder Levin and distributed by

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...

. It premiered on the

Syfy Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

on May 15, 2012. In the tradition of The Asylum's film catalog, the film is an extremely low-budget

mockbuster A mockbuster (also known as knockbuster or a drafting opportunity) is a film created to exploit the publicity of another major motion picture with a similar title or subject. Mockbusters are often made with a low budget and quick production to max ...

of the

Hasbro Studios Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

film ''

Battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...

''.Anything Horror – The Asylum Answers ''Battleship'' with Their ''American Battleship''... and Guess Who Has the Better Cast??
/ref> Originally the film was titled ''American Battleship'', but Universal later involved The Asylum in a copyright lawsuit over the film due to its resemblance to their film. As a result of the controversy, the name of the film was changed to ''American Warships''.

Plot

is on its final voyage before being decommissioned and turning into a

floating museum Floating may refer to: * a type of dental work performed on horse teeth * use of an isolation tank * the guitar-playing technique where chords are sustained rather than scratched * ''Floating'' (play), by Hugh Hughes * Floating (psychological p ...

. When is attacked and destroyed by a mysterious force,

World War III World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...

looms. The captain of ''Iowa'' chases an invisible ship, which they discover to be an alien force waging war on Earth. Only the crew of this last American battleship stands in their way. (The Iowa's outdated technology is immune to the

electromagnetic pulse An electromagnetic pulse (EMP), also a transient electromagnetic disturbance (TED), is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. Depending upon the source, the origin of an EMP can be natural or artificial, and can occur as an electromagnetic fie ...

(EMP) weapons of the alien.) During the fight, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, General McKraken attempts to steer the high stake game of

brinkmanship Brinkmanship (or brinksmanship) is the practice of trying to achieve an advantageous outcome by pushing dangerous events to the brink of active conflict. The maneuver of pushing a situation with the opponent to the brink succeeds by forcing the op ...

between the U.S. and other world powers as several coast towns in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

were also attacked, in an apparent attempt by the aliens to get the world to destroy itself. McKraken's diplomatic efforts attempt to buy ''Iowa'' time to provide proof of the alien incursion.

Cast

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Va ...

as Captain Winston *

Carl Weathers Carl Weathers (born January 14, 1948) is an American actor and former professional football player. He is known for his roles as boxer Apollo Creed in the first four ''Rocky'' films (1976–85), George Dillon in ''Predator'' (1987), Action Jac ...

as General McKraken * Elijah Chester as Secretary of Defense Alter * Johanna Watts as Lt. Caroline Bradley * Nikki McCauley as Julia Flynn * Devin McGhee as Lt. Cmdr. Juarez *

Mandela Van Peebles Mandela Van Peebles (born June 4, 1994) is an American rapper, film and television actor and producer who has appeared in films such as '' We the Party'', ''Baadasssss!'', and '' Jigsaw'', and the television series ''Reginald the Vampire''. Per ...

as Lookout Dunbar * Josh Cohen as Weapons Officer Clancy * David Polinsky as Admiral Hollis * William Sudbrock as Helmsman * Robin Dale Robertson as Major

Reception

The Geek Twins rated the film 2 1/2 out of five stars.

References

External links

''American Warships''
at

* {{IMDb title, 2175927, American Warships 2012 independent films 2012 science fiction action films 2010s war films 2012 films Alien invasions in films American science fiction action films Direct-to-video science fiction films Films shot in Los Angeles Mockbuster films Syfy original films The Asylum films War adventure films Films set on ships 2010s English-language films Films shot in North Carolina 2010s American films