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Casino Royale: (David Arnold) For the first time
since the age of Sean Connery's famed stint as James Bond, the franchise
has summoned the roots of its character and closely followed one of
writer and creator Ian Fleming's books. Gone are many of the trademarks
solidified by Roger Moore's wise-cracking, easy-going version of the
agent in the 1970's. Gone is the sophistication and poise instilled by
Pierce Brosnan in the 1990's (and the price tag too high in the 2000's
for MGM to retain him). Gone is "Q" and the majority of the
techno-gadgets. Gone is the concept of the super-villain, though an
organization like "Spectre" is hinted. Most importantly, gone is the
formula in which you --as the audience-- never expect anything truly bad
to happen to 007. Indeed,
Casino Royale brutalizes its main
character's body and mind in ways almost refreshing to audiences, and
it's understandable given the need to shape the future personality of
the character. This is not a pleasant film for much of its running time,
nor is it flashy, and these two factors would weight heavily in the new
direction composer David Arnold would take with the film's music. In
almost every regard,
Casino Royale is different from Arnold's
previous three scores in the franchise, though like the presence of Judi
Dench in the film, it's refreshing to see confidence placed by the
studio in elements of the production, such as Arnold, that don't
necessarily need fixed. Faithful collectors of Bond soundtracks will
often cite
Die Another Day as by far the least appealing of
Arnold's music for the franchise, partially due to the horrific title
song performed by Madonna (which Arnold had no direction over) and also
partially due to Arnold's own cranked up electronics that often served
up an obnoxious dose of classless noise that didn't fit the franchise
now or ever before. But things would change.
He would have to rethink his approach to
Casino
Royale because the film would require a significant number of
conversation cues, romantic structures, and action sequences that rely
on gritty perseverance rather than electronic aides. Even more
pronounced is the simple fact that Daniel Craig's muscle-bound Bond
isn't refined yet in
Casino Royale. In the process of earning his
double-0 status, he stumbles along the way, and Arnold responds
appropriately by hinting at the eventual "coolness" of the character
without allowing its full statement until the final scene. With all of
the above limitations in mind,
Casino Royale is an outstanding
transitional score. Arnold manages to retain the overall formula of the
franchise (with it's opening song and its interpolated themes and
styles) while offering music that reflects the far more serious and
dramatic needs of the plot. The major part of the formula that fans will
recognize is the opening song; after a disastrous misadventure with
Madonna in the previous film (a project for which Arnold himself
criticized the lack of any decent theme in the song to interpolate into
the score), the composer was directly involved with creation and
execution of "You Know My Name." Collaborating with him was the song's
performer, Chris Cornell (formerly of Soundgarden and Audioslave), and
while his vocals may not suit the song's romantic sways as well as a
female vocalist might have succeeded, it's a more enjoyable song than
many of the ones during the Brosnan era of the character. A tasteful
orchestral presence would unfortunately be swallowed up a bit by the
electric elements, though the song's structure has enough interesting
interaction between its primary theme and chorus interludes for Arnold
to have plenty of material to quote throughout his score. Those
quotations are very numerous and varied greatly in tone throughout the
score, giving
Casino Royale a distinct personality not heard with
such effectiveness since
Tomorrow Never Dies.
Aside from the Monty Norman material, Arnold coins two
additional themes for the film, one representing each of the women in
the story. The Solange theme for the ill-fated fling in the Bahamas, is
short-lived but notable. Her representation is held understandably brief
from her introduction in "Solange" to her sulking during a card game in
"Trip Aces." Playing a substantially larger role is Bond's treasury
partner, Vesper Lynd, whose theme is the basis for several cues ranging
from the remorseful piano in "Vesper" (the shower scene) to the romantic
highlight of "City of Lovers" for John Barry strings of yesteryear. Her
material, along with the title theme, contribute to several Barry-like
moments of swelling string romance specifically for introductory aerial
shots of the various locations in the film, including the aforementioned
Venice shot and glorious title theme renditions for "I'm the Money" (the
train) and "Aston Montenegro." The straight action cues also make
liberal use of the title theme, including both the film's two major
chase sequences. Early in "African Rundown," Arnold graces the
outrageously staged construction site chase with full brass performances
of the theme over a bed of live drum work (as opposed to Arnold's usual pad sound
you hear elsewhere in the score) and slashing
upper-range metallics from
Tomorrow Never Dies's motorcycle chase
cue, though it should be noted that the percussion isn't overbearing
here as it has been in his two previous efforts for the franchise. The
extended "Miami International" airport chase cue is notable for its one
venture back into the old days of mega-technology awe; at about 7
minutes into the cue, the introduction of a new jumbo jet liner --the
target of the terrorists in the film-- is given a lavish, sweeping
camera angle that Arnold indulges with
Casino Royale's only
over-the-top
Stargate-style gong hits and brass grandeur.
Otherwise, while these two action sequences have been strongly praised,
they won't impress as much as some of Arnold's other music for the
franchise. The absence of obnoxious electronics in the latter track is
welcomed; a tasefully mixed electric guitar for the final minutes of the
cue is an effective compromise.
Other action cues are a tad more anonymous, though "The
End of an Aston Martin" features a classy brass performance of the title
theme before its abruptly dissonant end. Another car sequence is far
flashier; as Bond is sent on his first mission as 007, the Bahamas are
greeted in "Blunt Instrument" with an ultra-cool percussive and brass
performance of the underlying Monte Norman theme with the
Casino
Royale song theme used as counterpoint. Arnold has concocted these
transitional cues well since "Welcome to Baku" in
The World is Not
Enough, and in this case, he uses the opportunity to give the song's
theme and instrumentation its most prominent placement in the film. The
concept of utilizing a wildly cool version of the main theme for
alluring shots of new warm-weather locations goes all the way back to
Barry's
Moonraker, though for
Casino Royale the wickedly
enticing performance comes with Bond at the wheel of a Ford concept car.
This curious product placement somewhat defeats the coolness of the cue
in the film (it's a head-scratcher until you think about Bond having to
work his way up in the world), and makes you wonder if the cue was meant
for the same kind of comedic chuckle that you get if you saw Bond
meandering along the Bahamas in an Explorer or Crown Victoria (veteran
Ford models that are the subject of some impressive destruction later in
the film). The incorporation of the favorite Monte Normal theme is
handled well by Arnold, too. Its placement is just as well planted as
Ford's cars in the film. As mentioned before, it receives its kick-ass,
juvenile "coming of age" performance as Bond first receives his license
in "Blunt Instrument." Then, as Bond is finally properly dressed for his
character in "Dinner Jackets," we hear a more confident electric
bass-driven version of the theme (once again with tasteful use of the
title theme as counterpoint) for a somewhat amusing scene. As Bond
proves victorious at cards in "Bond Wins it All," another combination of
the Norman and title themes whispers with a sense of relief.
In the final action cue, "Fall of a House in Venice," a
more forceful incorporation of the old theme into some fabulous horn
rips shows the character at his height. A slight, but equally
intelligent use of the theme is heard in "The Bitch is Dead," where
Arnold takes the opportunity to finish the last performance of Vesper's
piano theme with echoes of Norman's motif as Bond's future in the
service is solidified. By far the most snazzy performance is that which
appropriately dances into the final scene of the film. As Bond becomes
the man we all knew he would become, Arnold pulls out all the stops with
a swaggering lead-in to the theme as 007 achieves his revenge and
formally introduces himself in trademark fashion. Arnold then unleashes
a full concert performance of the Bond theme (with traditional electric
guitar) over the first half of the end credits. A shorter reprise of the
song then is heard over the latter half of the end credits (a la
A
View to a Kill). In the end, the placement of Arnold's themes, as
well as the trusty Norman one, show that Arnold had the right gameplan
going in to the project. It had been speculated by many film music
critics that Arnold may have lost his edge in the franchise with
Die
Another Day, though the opportunity to portray the character's
origins seems to have put Arnold back on the right track. There are
moments in
Casino Royale that will fail to impress you,
especially in the several conversational cues at the outset of the film.
The actual poker sequences are also scored very minimally (probably as
necessitated), leaving some holes in the otherwise fluid listening
experience on album. There is far more talking in
Casino Royale
than in the Bond films we're accustomed to viewing in recent decades,
and you have to go into the listening experience with that aspect in
mind.
One area in which Arnold has never been lacking is in
his knowledge of the music in the franchise, and his connections to the
previous scores have always made his Bond music intriguing for avid
listeners. Two readily identifiable examples are evident in
Casino
Royale. First, the opening of the theme from
Die Another Day
(what little theme there exists) is performed by somber brass at the
outset of "Nothing Sinister," a curious use for the film's villain.
Second, a chopping low-string motif for the impending destruction of an
Aston Martin car is used to crank up the intensity of its brief chase
sequence here; the same technique was used in
The World is Not
Enough. Most of these cues of interest appear on the commercial
album for
Casino Royale, but like the film and its score, nothing
about the Sony album would follow convention in the franchise. The 25
most notable cues --with perhaps a few exceptions-- were made available
on a 74-minute album that featured only David Arnold's score. Due to
legal entanglements over the ownership of Cornell's title song, it would
be sadly absent from the "score only" album for the film. People who
want to hear "You Know My Name" on album would have to buy the single
(at least initially) on a different label, debuting a month after the
score album. From a fan's point of view, there is no excuse for this
inability for the labels to come to a financial agreement, and the
absence of the song drops the album by one star in the ratings by
itself. On the other hand, Sony made the intriguing decision to appease
fans by offering the complete score on iTunes in a move that will
hopefully start a trend for scores in the future. An additional 13
minutes of Arnold's music in 13 tracks would be available for download
at that service, including a significant portion of the music heard at
the outset of the film (before "African Rundown").
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Sony Score Album: | | |
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Only $9.99
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The most interesting cue offered in this iTunes
material is the prologue, the black and white sequence in which Bond
earns his credentials. While "License: 2 Kills" may not be the most
thrillingly dramatic of cues, it's nevertheless an important one. The
"Mongood vs. Snake" cue is a African percussion source cue. Most of the
remainder of the cues are quick 30-second transitions for low strings
and ambient electronics. The most notable exception would be the
extension of Vesper's theme heard in "I'm Yours." Overall, the situation
regarding the song and score's release are obviously a mixed bag. If the
song had been as hideous as the one for
Die Another Day, then
nobody would have much reason to complain about this dilemma. But the
song here is decent and its theme is integrated heavily into the fabric
of the score, so it absence from the score release does temper the
gesture made by Sony to provide the complete score. Given that fans
eventually obtained the leaked material to
Die Another Day (some
of which was quite good) and distribute it on the bootleg market,
perhaps this is an attempt by Sony and the rights agency to accept the
inevitable and at least make some money off of it. Despite the awkward
situation regarding the album releases, Arnold's music is prominently
featured in the film, contributing to much of the romanticism associated
with the film's various locations. There is no doubt that he has
redeemed himself in his ability to provide fresh ideas for the
franchise, which is especially important for him given the fact that his
Bond scores represent by far his most substantive output these days. His
only obstacle will be fans who expect fewer conversational and darkly
dramatic underscore cues, but these more impatient listeners are bound
to happen. It'll be interesting to see how Arnold handles a return to a
more conventional style of Bond film that likely awaits in the Daniel
Craig era to come.
Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download
Score as Written for Film: ****
Score and Song on Album: ***
Overall: ****
| Bias Check: | For David Arnold reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating
is 3.33 (in 15 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.33
(in 42,389 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The inserts include no extra information about the score or film.
