: (Brian Tyler) No matter how
different alien invasion films try to be in their continuous attempts to
strive for originality, it's funny how they always end up relying upon
previous entries in the genre to explain their basic circumstances. In
the case of
, the aliens once again seek our
planet's natural resources, but need to eliminate humanity for their
convenience. And, of course, their superior technology is countered when
humans examine one of them up close, learn how their technology works,
and destroy the command ship(s) to render alien fighters defenseless or
uncoordinated. If that sounds like
an appropriate dismissal. The 2011 film is a glorified video
game experience with the feel of a recruitment pitch for the American
Marines, seeking to tackle the topic from the serious perspective of the
fighting men and women who struggle to protect their country while in
disarray. It's hard to take topics like this seriously, however, when
the script and its shooting is so sloppy, not to mention the fact that
alien forces should never be so stupid as to once again try to invade
the Earth with such piss poor command and control capabilities. These
nasty creatures must have an equivalent of Sarah Palin running their
armed forces to perpetually lose to such lowly human technology. None of
these fallacies of logic kept money from changing hands between action
aficionados and theatres, however, and
generated substantial box office returns that in America alone exceeded
its budget during its run on the big screens. Director Jonathan
Liebesman had worked previously with composer Brian Tyler on multiple
occasions, and the two extended that collaboration for an assignment on
that is likely among Tyler's most substantial
in scope and length. The amount of music spotted in the film is
considerable, with very long cues extending uninterrupted over several
major scenes (albeit often at lower levels in the overall sound
mix).
Tyler has handled his fair share of war-related films in
the past, and from
Rambo to
The Expendables, he's been
progressively transforming his own compositional style into a sound that
can't be described as anything other than an affiliate of the Remote
Control/Hans Zimmer clone factory. It seems to be that if an executive
or director seeks a reliable, somewhat more intelligent variation on the
RC/Zimmer sound these days (at a reportedly more affordable price, too),
then Tyler might be the best go-to guy. There is no doubt that Tyler's
skill level remains well beyond the music you hear in
Battle: Los
Angeles (his knowledge of film music history and performance talents
testify to that potential all the time), but it's hard to knock the guy
for earning paychecks by grinding out effective action scores even if
they don't provide the film music listener with anything substantially
new. Like most Tyler action scores of the late 2000's, there are aspects
of
Battle: Los Angeles that impress and entertain while there are
also detriments in the form of recycled concepts and questionable
mastering. When considered in sum, such music is typically quite
palatable but inevitably forgettable, effective but naggingly
underachieving. The intent with which Tyler and Liebesman approached
this score is clear. You won't hear typical orchestral action or
science-fiction music along the lines of David Arnold's
Independence
Day here. There are few synchronization points and abrupt changes of
direction within cues, causing the score to play over long periods in a
consistent line. Additionally, there seems to be some overwrought
heroism evident in the hymn-like themes in
Battle: Los Angeles,
and one could joke that the primary theme glorifies the endeavors of the
Marines to the same rugged extent as Mark Isham's famous theme for the
Army's abundant television commercials. Like John Rambo, the tired
American military heroes here are deemed deserving of adagio treatment
by Tyler, maintaining their stature through stoic sorrow rather than
blaring, trumpet-led patriotism.
Aside from a few moments of dissonant screeching from
synthetic elements throughout the score for
Battle: Los Angeles,
Tyler's approach is largely comprised of easy, simple shifts on a
friendly harmonic scale. When you throw in the emphasis on the lower
ranges of the orchestra with a choir, such techniques beg for comparison
to the Hans Zimmer spin-off sound. Think about the primary thematic
material from
Rambo, strip away the exotic elements, beef up the
scope of the remaining pieces, and you have an idea about what the
entirety of the dramatic portions of
Battle: Los Angeles sound
like. While you hear counterpoint techniques and a few other bits of
Tyler's previous writing in this melodramatic music, one can't help but
be reminded far more strongly of Steve Jablonsky's music for the
Transformers franchise. At 1:10 into "Evac," Tyler steals some
inspiration from Jablonsky's typical string ostinato figures for the
prior scores, and at the start of "Rebalance," the deep piano thuds
under choral majesty once again recall that franchise's music. BT's
highlights from
Stealth are revisited in "Elegy." The
Zimmer-related references in the score aren't always intuitive, however;
at 1:40 into "For Home, Country, and Family," for instance, you hear a
passage strikingly similar to the opening of
Hannibal. The main
theme has faint hints of Brad Fiedel's famous melody for
The
Terminator, too. Tyler enthusiasts will always find references to
fragments of melodies from the enduring
Children of Dune in
practically all of his large-scale scores, and those do exist
infrequently here as well. The relative lack of complexity in the lines
of activity makes many of the cues of resolute bravado redundant, too,
an issue complicated by yet another marathon album presentation for a
Tyler score. Despite the initial intellectual concerns a veteran film
score listener may have upon hearing that lengthy album for
Battle:
Los Angeles the first time, there is a definite upside to it. The
consistency of the score's demeanor causes the presentation, with the
exception of those few dissonant passages (reminiscent of
Timeline), to pass by for over an hour with little variation from
the feel-good, ball-busting attitude evident at the very start.
So even if you can't dig the lack of originality in
Battle: Los Angeles, at least it makes for a quite decent,
mindless background experience. There are innumerous sequences of pure
choral beauty as well, and someone could perhaps arrange these into a
fantastic guilty-pleasure suite. Another distinct positive that needs a
fair amount of recognition is Tyler's application of electric guitars to
the score. There are a number of reasons why the instrument exists in
this context, whether it involves the location, the thrill of the fight,
the contemporary weaponry, or the target demographic in the theatre
seats. But guitars can often wail away obnoxiously in scores like
Battle: Los Angeles, and Tyler deserves major kudos for finding a
way to integrate their tone into the mix in such a way as to be
contributors rather than soloists. During some of the most impressive
statements of the main theme, as in "Battle Los Angeles" and its
separate "Hymn," he allows the instrument to quietly strum in the
background and produce another line of depth to the standard orchestra.
At other times, as in "Shelf Life" and "We Are Still Here," the guitar
contributes quite coolness in a primary role. More up front, however,
are Tyler's performances on percussion, not surprisingly, led by a
brutal layer of snare rhythms throughout the score. The subtle
combination of electronics and percussion often yields the personality
of the alien forces, which don't seem to receive any theme of their own.
Overall,
Battle: Los Angeles is a solid entry in Tyler's career,
but one that will require you to check your brain at the door. It is a
clear companion piece for Matthew Margeson's music for
Skyline
from the prior year, another variation on the RC/Zimmer sound with
highlights of equal interest and kind (Margeson actually had a role in
the arrangement and programming of this Tyler score, to little
surprise). One final sour note about this soundtrack has to be made in
regards to the overbearing mix for the album. Once again, yet another
score of this type has been cranked up in gain levels so high that you
hear distortion during volume spikes (it's awful in "Evac" at 1:50,
2:05, and beyond). Thus, you get more muscle but less nuance, and what
you gain in power is more than negated by the lack of a truly dynamic
soundscape. Then again, anybody looking for nuance in this score is
probably missing the point.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Brian Tyler reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.32
(in 32 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.1
(in 15,328 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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