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| Tyler |
The Expendables: (Brian Tyler) Impressive casting
isn't everything. That's the lesson to be learned by writer, director,
and actor Sylvester Stallone from the disappointing critical and arguably
underachieving domestic box office reactions to his 2010 mega-action endeavor,
The Expendables. So much time was spent on coordinating the ultimate in
kick-ass action casts (the ensemble includes Stallone, Bruce Willis,
Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture,
Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, and even Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger in a cameo) that apparently little though was given to a
decent story or even a satisfying set of one-liners. Also a detriment in
The Expendables is Stallone's choice to embrace the haphazard,
frenzied style of camera work that makes many action thrillers
impossible to follow nowadays, a move symbolic of the role of this film
as one massive excuse for nonstop violent action. In that limited
purpose, the cast of
The Expendables shines, and one area in
which Stallone actually stays true to his 1980's action roots in his
choice of music for the project. Aside from the application of Southern
rock and bluegrass elements applied in the songs chosen for parts of the
film, Stallone wanted the emotional depth of a large-scale orchestral
score. He turned once again to his
Rambo collaborator Brian Tyler
to handle this assignment, specifically requesting a score that not only
uses live symphonic elements to propel the action, but an emotional
heart to address the sense of redemption felt by the protagonists. The
melodramatic theme and choral accompaniment that results from Tyler for
the highlights of
The Expendables are an example of that
divergence from the norm in straight technologically-dominated action
scoring in this era, and that speaks to the composer's tendency to hold
on to 1980's and 1990's sensibilities in his music (making him a good
match for Stallone in this case). While the industry barrels further
into the realm of sample-oriented, hyperactive, synthetic action styles,
Tyler is among the few in the younger generation of composers (along
with John Ottman and a few others who defy the dominant Hans Zimmer
influence in industry and audience expectations) who seem to truly
advocate an orchestral foundation for scores that otherwise would be
generated with few, if any, live players. Had one of the plethora of
Zimmer clones from Remote Control handled
The Expendables, a
basically effective but highly derivative two-star score would
undoubtedly have resulted. While Tyler's work for the film isn't among
his best, it still suits both the topic and his orchestral inclinations
well enough to classify it as above average in its whole and outstanding
in its highlights.
Although the score for
The Expendables
ultimately becomes a bit redundant and generalized in its latter half
(the album simply runs too long; while it's nice to have 70+ minutes to
enjoy, some of the material betrays the listening experience), Tyler as
usual presents an interesting piece of orchestrally-geared ruckus. Among
the highlights of the score is a subtly of its construct; if you compare
this score to the frantic ostinato style of synthetically-aided,
rhythmic action as in something like James Newton Howard's
Salt
or the John Powell scores from which that was somewhat derived (or even
Tyler's own
Eagle Eye), you hear pieces of Jerry Goldsmith
mannerisms battling to survive in
The Expendables. Longer lines
of harmonic development over slower tempos exist at the heart of many
action cues in this score, masked for sure by wildly explosive secondary
lines for violins and others, but still a welcome holdover at the
foundation from Stallone's heyday. Some listeners will hear some
additional elements from the ensemble mess otherwise known as
The
Rock, especially in the rather tragic, simplistic minor-key muscle
of the cues with choral depth that search for questionable sympathy.
Like most related Tyler scores,
The Expendables is a treat for
percussion enthusiasts, though listeners expecting the composer to whip
up a significant amount of Latin flair for the setting of the film might
be disappointed. There are guitar interludes for conversational moments
and items like maracas and castanets employed at times, but it's easy to
hear that the 80 orchestral players in Prague were the primary focus of
the composition. The title theme isn't as memorable as others
representing Stallone films, but its major performances of simplistic
harmonious glory are satisfying. The opening, "The Expendables," is
easily the highlight of the score (and possibly a candidate for cue of
the year), and development from the soft reflective expressions in "Lee
and Lacy" to the quickened pace and larger scope of "Massive" will
appeal to most collectors. Unfortunately, after the first five tracks on
the album for
The Expendables, the score largely spins its
wheels. Perhaps there is a ceiling to the level of intelligent
development in this kind of assignment, for after an hour's worth of
this music, it fails to hold much interest. The personal connections
that Tyler makes in the opening cues are replaced by effective but
somewhat stale action cues that try desperately to maintain an
adrenaline rush to meet the need for such a feeling for so long in the
film. Overall, however, Tyler succeeds in his task of bringing a bit
more depth to today's average action fare, and had the album been
trimmed to 40 minutes of score (and perhaps included some of the
Creedence Clearwater Revival songs from the film), a 4-star rating would
have been merited. While most composers of his generation would be happy
to serve up two-star trash to earn a paycheck for this kind of movie,
Tyler continues to strive for better results.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on Album: ***
- Overall: ***
| Bias Check: |
For Brian Tyler reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.32
(in 32 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.1
(in 15,020 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a note from the composer about the score.
