There’s something to be said about having a slow, somber score under cut crazy action on screen. The effect brings gravitas to an otherwise standard sequence and somehow (I’m not sure how, there’s probably some senior thesis on it somewhere) makes it seem more legit. The trailer for Battle: Los Angeles employs this peculiarity that The Social Network perfected earlier this year. Aliens are attacking LA with greater regularity these days (Skyline opens today) but I think (based on their trailers alone, of course) that Battle: Los Angeles may be the better picture.
Sure, Skyline represents the best of DIY filmmaking, but when the studio actually puts good people in the creative chairs, you get something really amazing. B: LA has Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez in the leads and yeah, you really can’t find two better actors for these roles. Also, this appears to be a realistic attempt to depict what an alien invasion would look like. Granted, that is a pretty far fetched event to envision, but it doesn’t appear that B: LA pulls any typical Hollywood punches. I know it might be a little premature, but I think I’m going to go ahead and call B: LA the better of the “aliens invade Los Angeles” sub-sub-genre that is emerging.
