This movie was ripped to shreds by critcs both professional and amateur and that really didn't come as much of a surprise seeing as how it is a movie loosely based on a board game.
I can understand why they would think it would work because well, someone did make one of the most successful franchises ever that was based on a ride at Disney World (Pirates of the Caribbean.)
I don't suppose there is really much in the way of plot to explain here. A bunch of really good looking people who are for the most part far too young to hold the positions in the military that they do end up getting into a naval battle with an alien spacecraft with superior technology that annihilates the US Naval capacity.

The story, for the most part, is really dumb, even cringe-worthy to be honest but this is why it is still good in my mind: I found the special effects to be wonderful and if you are able to watch this on a entertainment system with a great sound system, you are in for a treat.
This is not to suggest that this movie is good in really any other regard, because it isn't. The typical love story thrown in there is completely unnecessary and although the posters and promotional materials heavily focus on Liam Neeson, he really isn't in a great deal of the movie. The scenes that he actually is in appear as though they were shot at a completely different location and I would be very interested in knowing whether or not Neeson didn't really have time to do the film, or didn't want to do it at all but the price tag was good enough to convince him to dedicate a bit of time to it. The minimum amount.
Probably tame enough to be considered family-friendly, i found Battleship to be mindlessly entertaining. No awards were ever going to be won with this, but it is less predictable than say a movie starring the Rock. I think it is worth seeing and I am glad I did.
This film didn't lose money, but it came really close.