Unyielding Barrage
Review by Richard Buxton
Planet earth has been taking a real beating in recent months. Having only just recovered from the events of SKYLINE, the USA’s west coast is once again the victim of alien invasion, an invasion choreographed by South African director JONATHAN LIEBESMAN.
Having previously directed psychological thriller THE KILLING ROOM and horror DARKNESS FALLS, both scored by BRIAN TYLER, the two join forces once more for BATTLE: LOS ANGELES. With a worldwide invasion underway, the film follows the efforts of a single Marine platoon against the extraterrestrial antagonists. Prior to release the film was frequently described as ”Black Hawk Down with aliens”, suggesting a more personal and emotionally visceral experience when compared to most examples of the alien invasion genre. What transpired was perhaps less emotionally engaging than the filmmakers had hoped for, but BATTLE: LOS ANGELES pulls no punches in its delivery of relentless action as mankind faces the greatest threat of its brief existence.
Regardless of any shortfalls in the storytelling found in BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, the nature of the film has provided composer BRAIN TYLER with the opportunity to flex his action muscle, and he has certainly hasn’t shunned it, providing audiences with a bombastic and relentless barrage of ubiquitous action and bravado on an epic scale.
