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Composed and Produced by:
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Graeme Revell
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Conducted by:
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Tim Simonec
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Orchestrated by:
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Tim Simonec
Blake Nely
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Release Date:
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October 16, 2001
(February 5, 2002)
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Collateral Damage: (Graeme Revell) Due for a theatrical and album release
in October of 2001, the Schwarzenegger action thriller was delayed until
February of 2002 because of the terrorist attacks on the United States in the
month prior to the street date. With sensitivities not ignored, the film's delay
has allowed it enough time to wow psychologically healed audiences with scenes
of America's favorite action hero single-handedly seeking and destroying evil
terrorists. Despite showing Americans what they want to see, the film's
popularity waned considerably after its initial burst onto the screen.
Critically, it was mediocre at best, with most audiences enjoying the
anti-terrorism scenario while it lasted and paying no attention to it
thereafter. The score was, during the summer of 2001, expected to be one of the
autumn season's most exciting, with veteran action film composer Graeme Revell
offering his services to yet another big budget film. Not all had been
successful in Revell's past year, however, with his two most noteworthy scores
of 2001 failing to achieve a minimum combination of critical and popular
success. After a tepid response to his seemingly underscored music for the
television remake of Dune and a disasterously received last-minute score
for Tomb Raider, expectations of film score collectors for Collateral
Damage were cautious, though hopeful. After all, Revell had, at times past,
taken unique approaches to the scoing of his action films, with Red
Planet as a fine example of his creativity.
For Collateral Damage, however, Revell continues his disappointing year
of producing substandard action music. If you recall his mainstream action
scores of the late 1990's, such as The Negotiator and The Seige,
you'll note that these scores often serve their films well, but offer less than
desirable substance on CD. In the case of Collateral Damage, Revell
accomplishes neither. The score barely meets the expectations of stock action
music, and is reduced to a drab and uneventful series of electronic pulses and
rhythms on album. Despite the extra time gained due to the delay in the film's
release, as well as the full orchestral ensemble hired for the film, Revell's
music lacks any thematic material, harmonic sensitivity, and stimulating action
cues. Instead, the two performers on the synthesizers (himself included) are
prefered over the orchestral players and produce run of the mill rhythmic
underscore that could serve nearly any lower budget film. The lack of a theme is
not surprising --both Revell and the director of the film (Andrew Davis, The
Fugitive) have been known to reach that end before-- but the missing element
of action is very surprising. Even during scenes of village massacres, the music
continues its pseudo rock rhythms without regard to specific cues needed for
shots in the film. Even the opening scene of the film, featuring the horrific
terrorist bombing, is scored without emotion or malice. The scenes of
rememberance are approached with such unenthusiasm of heart that it could make
one believe that that main character cares about his deceased family to the same
degree that he cares about his pet rock.
On album, the weaknesses of the score are provided in plain sight. The opening
cue lacks any hook to get the listener interested, the melancholy cues of
emotion are badly underdeveloped, and the last two cues presented, "End Game"
and "It's Over," give you absolutely no indication that there is either a climax
in the film, nor a resolution. It's an album that begins a consistent, ambiguous
set of rhtyhms, messes around with variants of itself thoughout, and simply
quits without warning after 35 minutes. The samples inserted into the rhythms
suffer from an absence of creativity, with a handful of drum samples presented
to authenticate the location of Columbia. Of the more curious choices on the
album is the tapdancing mix in the sixth track, which seemed mysteriously out of
place during the river journey. As a listening experience, the album is adequate
in that it is at least consistent. The duration of the album builds a dull mood
and sticks with it, and without a risk of interest taken by the composer during
the formulation of the score, there is nothing particularly unlistenable on the
CD. Thus, even in its boredom-inducing state, the album's steady course earns it
two stars. But questions about Revell's direction over the past few years are
warranted, with several substandard scores coming from his highly-anticipated
projects. Even if you set aside Tomb Raider as an example of disasterous
assignment handling and exonerate him of the ills of that score, there has still
been a level of drab and uninteresting production from the composer in recent
years. Collateral Damage is a clear example of a score that could have
--and needed to be-- a whole lot more dynamic and energizing. **
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Century City Bombing (4:25)
• 2. Remembering (0:47)
• 3. The CIA (2:01)
• 4. Journey to Columbia (4:28)
• 5. The Roadblock (3:35)
• 6. Journey Up-River (3:11)
• 7. The Lone Wolf (2:11)
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• 8. Selena's Story (1:32)
• 9. Village Massacre (2:57)
• 10. On the Trail (2:06)
• 11. Going Down (2:26)
• 12. Subterranean Chase (1:19)
• 13. End Game (2:33)
• 14. "It's Over" (1:48)
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The insert contains a list of the players for the Hollywood Studio
Orchestra, but no extra information about the film or score.
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