Incohesive action music not the best way to go about
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
By apparent common consensus, the third in the trilogy of X-Men films, The Last Stand, is considered as the least successful. Providing the apocalyptic conclusion to the team of mutants of Wolverine, Storm, Jean Grey, Cyclops etc., The Last Stand details the invention of a possible "cure" that will make mutants "regular people". This of course does not sit all that well with a certain other set of mutants, lead by a magnetic dude called Magneto, and as a result he recruits a bunch of others to start a war against the cure, which will again pit him and the mutants of Charles Xavier at opposite ends, this time resulting in the most earth shattering of climaxes.
Musically the X-Men series has been one of the most unstable. The first X-Men film was scored by the late Michael Kamen, who took a very restrained and lyrical direction. Due to problems with the scoring process (uncontentedness from the studio that is), Kamen was forced to write the score almost completely anew, which resulted in a very atmospheric and low score that made for a pretty uninteresting listen overall. Most unfortunate was that this didn't give the film much of a strong thematic anchor and indeed X-Men was strangely devoid of a proper "superhero" theme (even though the entire film was running wild with one superhero after another). A slight correction came when John Ottman was hired for X2: X-Men United. For the sequel Ottman completely distanced himself from the previous score and wrote an admittedly very good theme for the heroes. The problem was that Ottman decided to underuse the theme to a significant proportion, rather opting to write some much less than interesting action music that in no way lived up to the theme's power. It tells a lot that the most memorable aspect of that score was the adaptation of Mozart's "Dies Irae" from the Requiem for a couple of scenes.
For the third film, we again see a shift in composer, this time to John Powell, a man who has steadily been building a reputation as being one of the more original composers to come out from Media Venture's factory of composers. For X-Men: The Last Stand, he has finally been afforded the opportunity to compose music for a really major blockbuster, and by that charge he has created perhaps the best score of the trilogy. Taking a notable departure from his generally innovatively percussive work for scores like the Bourne series, Robots, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, he has apporpriately opted for a hugely symphonic approach. What is immediately apparent is the fact how huge the score is, this being set out from the very outset of the opening two cues "20 Years Ago" and "Bathroom Titles," which sets out the main theme for the score. In a streak of continuity, Powell has decided to adapt Ottman's X2 theme and varied it enough to seem more original than it is. The swishingly powerful march will make several appearances in the score in many different guises, but what always remains the same is the hugeness of the theme.
In fact, this must be one of the most overblown scores I've ever heard, which is amplified by a huge percussive section, a gigantic sound, and a sense of melodrama that pushes everything to such lofty heighths it may sound incredibily self-important. All of this is further amplified by a very strong choral presence that ooh's and aah's almost everywhere, giving the score a perfect sense of epicness and gravitas that fits very well with the overall apocalypticness of the similarly overbloated action. The first 13 tracks or so are centered more on suspenseful music that is variously broken by some more outstanding moments, most notably in "Meet Leech, Then Off to the Lake" where the main theme is again reprised in heroic mode, the absolutely beautiful and lyrical "Whirlpool of Love" and the final minute of "Angel's Cure."
The change for all-out action takes places with the absolutely monumental "Dark Phoenix's Tragedy" that is extremely complicated, and works perfectly to underline Jean Gray/The Phoenix's character, a mutant with enough power to destroy the entire world. The Phoenix theme will continue making further appearances in climactic scenes, finally culminating in the incredible "Phoenix Rises." This chaotic theme is interesting in how it places layers upon layers of orchestral sections to create utter chaos. Here Powell piles on flutes, violins, violas, cellos, brass and percussion to wreack an incredible amount of orchestral mayhem you are not likely to hear often. And then, beneath all of this dissonant material, he further adds the lyrical "Whirlpool of Love" theme that combines the qualities of Jean Gray's tragedy and the Phoenix's power, making the theme work on several levels at the same time.
Indeed, the combination of "Dark Phoenix's Tragedy," "Farewell to X" and "The Funeral" makes for an incredible highlight of the entire score that is about as good as it will get for this year I warrant. The final length of the album and score, from "Cure Wars" to "Phoenix Rises" is then all out, relentless, frenzied action. Out of this mass of clanging and banging percussion, blasting brass, swirling strings, and shrieking choir, the final "Phoenix Rises" is the absolute highlight where the Phoenix theme rises to such spheres it makes my hair stand up from the sheer scale of it. The album concludes with the very lyrical "The Last Stand" that includes the main theme inverted with the same, though less mournful, style of "The Funeral" and everything is then wrapped up with a final burst of heroic onslaught, with the main theme ringing in an affirmatively positive and exuberant mode.
But as hugely effective this score is, it is not without its problems. The biggest of these results in the amount of different elements at work at the same time. The action cues, huge as they are, are by and far pretty incohesive. A perfect example is the "Phoenix Rises" cue, where every single element is just mixed in there with no apparent sense of direction. The flutes flutter over everybody else, the violins battle the cellos, the trombones fight the trumpets, the percussion section is rolling with gongs, anvils, cymbals and snare with no regard to each other, and above all of this the choir surges with their own melody. In short, the action writing is a mess. All of this brings to mind thoughts that Powell is just trying too hard to impress, even though he really shouldn't have that much of a need for any more at this point. If you happen to be one of those who gets distracted by the fact that every section seems to be playing different things at the same time, then the action music can really drive you insane. How much you can take all of this as a whole will depend how much enjoyability you'll get out of it. Another problem, though much the lesser kind, is that the music overall is pretty unoriginal when it comes to Powell. Many parts remind you of the likes of Jerry Goldsmith's and Alan Silvestri's Mummy efforts, Don Davis' The Matrix trilogy, and various efforts of James Horner and John Barry also coming to mind. Likewise his use of the percussion section is less distinctive than I have come to expect from Powell.
On the whole, though, I have to say I am very impressed with Powell's X-Men: The Last Stand. Despite the hyperactivity of its action, the fact that the score is anchored with a strong thematic base makes it a hugely satisfying summer blockbuster score where no amount of melodrama and feeling is spared. This is the first score of 2006 that has generated this amount of interest with me and it is hugely enjoyable for most of its running time. The album offers a full 60 minutes of score, though for some odd reason it is divided into several smaller bits. Many of the tracks segue right into one another, which raises the question why weren't they grouped into suite like formats instead. It's a small consideration, though, and in no way really harms the listening experience. So as a final thought, I can whole heartedly recommend the score for all its worth. Just don't expect a completely coherent whole.
1. 20 Years Ago (1:10) 2. Bathroom Titles (1:09) 3. The Church of Magneto, Raven Is My Slave Name (2:40) 4. Meet Leech, Then Off to the Lake (2:37) 5. Whirlpool of Love (2:04) 6. Examining Jean (1:12) 7. Dark Phoenix (1:28) 8. Angel's Cure (2:34) 9. Jean and Logan (1:39) 10. Dark Phoenix Awakes (1:45) 11. Rejection is Never Easy (1:09) 12. Magneto Plots (2:05) 13. Entering the House (1:18) 14. Dark Phoenix's Tragedy (3:18) 15. Farewell to X (0:30) 16. The Funeral (2:52) 17. Skating on the Pond (1:12) 18. Cure Wars (2:57) 19. Fight in the Woods (3:06) 20. St. Lupus Day (3:03) 21. Building Bridges (1:16) 22. Shock and No Oars (1:15) 23. Attack on Alcatraz (4:36) 24. Massacre (0:31) 25. The Battle of the Cure (4:20) 26. Phoenix Rises (6:29) 27. The Last Stand (5:29)
Music Composed, Arranged, Programmed and Produced by John Powell Music Performed by The Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Pete Anthony Choir Conducted by Edie Lehmann Boddicker Orchestrations by Brad Dechter, Bruce Fowler, Randy Kerber, John Ashton Thomas, Suzette Moriarty, Rick Giovanazzo, Kevin Kliesch, Conrad Pope, Walt Fowler & Ken Kugler Music Recorded & Mixed by Shawn Murphy Score Recorded at The Newman Scoring Stage, Twentieth Century Fox Music Editor: Tom Carlson Varèse Sarabande, 2006 (VSD-6732)
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