Question: Why did Alex offer up his chair to Nagata?
Question: Are there any battleships still in service within the U. S. Navy, or have they all been scrapped or turned into floating museums?
Question: In more than one scene, various officers are wearing some sort of necklace, apparently permissible additions to the uniform. They are of several different designs. What are they, and what do they represent?
Answer: They appear to be versions of a Hawaiian lei. During ceremonies and celebrations, it is permissible to wear pins, ribbons, and other items as a show of respect or support.
Question: Next to the fact this is a terrible movie, can anyone tell me about what the plot was? I mean, seriously. What did the aliens came to do and why did the Americans attack them?
Chosen answer: The film, loosely based on the popular Milton Bradley board game, has relatively little plot. When Earth discovers there is a similar planet in the solar system, they transmit a signal to it, searching for intelligent life. Aliens on the newly discovered planet detect the signal and send five ships to Earth. One ship collides with a satellite and crashes, while the others land near Hawaii and erect an impenetrable shield around the islands. The lead character, Alex, is a general slacker whose brother, a U.S. Naval officer, had forced Alex to join the Navy after he got into some legal trouble. From within the aliens' shield, Alex is able to lead a resistance against the alien invasion, eventually destroying them after discovering their physical weakness.
Question: Hopper's brother, who died fairly early in the film and really didn't do too much fighting of the aliens received the second highest Navy award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross. Whereas Hopper, who saved the world, who had the initiative after his own ship was destroyed to commandeer a vintage battleship and lead it into battle, knocked out the aliens' ability to communicate, etc, received a lesser honor - the Silver Star. Why the disparity?
Answer: One one hand, his brother's sacrifice could be deemed a greater act of valor. On the other hand, the movie is hardly a documentary on naval matters.
Question: What did stone hopper do to deserve a metal?
Answer: Considering the CO/XO of the John Paul Jones didn't receive any medals it seems to be a plot hole. The only thing I can think of is because Hopper was there to accept the award on behalf of his brother.
Answer: He was in command of a ship on a training mission during an alien invasion and was able to, albeit briefly, engage the enemy against near insurmountable odds, which ultimately cost him his life.
Answer: No. The last battleship was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register and decommissioned in 2006.
MasterOfAll