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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you want to hear the first truly intelligent James Bond score in quite some time. Avoid it... if the sacrifice of the franchise's flamboyancy in its music, or the awkward album situation, deter you from a trusted favorite. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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"). 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.
Score and Song on Album: *** Overall: ****
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