Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... only if you are an established fan of James Horner's more introverted, synthetic scores for light rhythms and specialty instruments. Avoid it... if the lack of a theme or other true identity for the Clancy/Ryan film franchise is only the beginning of your problems with Horner's seemingly underplayed approach to it. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Patriot Games: (James Horner) With a smashing success in 1990's The Hunt for Red October, Paramount gave the green light to a franchise of films based on Tom Clancy novels featuring the American intelligence officer Jack Ryan. While Patriot Games and its successors don't technically qualify as sequels, each has been compared to Red October because of that film's strong supporting cast and remarkable technical achievements, especially in the areas of sound and sound effects. Film score enthusiasts also held Basil Poledouris' score for Red October in extremely high regard from its debut, making James Horner's task of scoring the following two sequels a bit more challenging by the simple fact that fans would inevitable compare the Clancy/Ryan scores to each other. Without a doubt, Red October set an expected level of orchestral and thematic excellence for the entire series that Horner would need to contend with, despite the franchise's change of lead actor and crew. Unfortunately, all of that raw, majestic power created by Poledouris in Red October is completely lost in Patriot Games, a curious change in direction regardless of the vast change in setting and plot. Like its predecessor, Patriot Games was a high budget, action-packed powerhouse of a film that begged for a strong score to be delivered in its favor, and there was the opportunity for Horner to write his first monstrous hit in several years. Instead, audiences were treated to an overly simplistic and monotonous, Gaelic reconstruction of Thunderheart. The score would mark a return to the ineffective and somewhat cheesy, electronically dominated action scores that stunk up Arnold Schwarzenegger films like Red Heat and Commando in the 1980's. But, of course, with that Gaelic tilt. Comparisons to Thunderheart are probably the most viable, for both 1992 films featured a rhythmic, synthetic blend with similar specialty instruments and a sense for minimalism and lack of theme. The important distinction to make when comparing Patriot Games and Thunderheart, however, is that the latter film was very well served by the restrained approach; its score was a magnificent compliment to the spirituality of that film. But Patriot Games is a completely different animal, and needed an entirely different kind of approach to its music. Horner's end product for the thriller is contemplative, subdued, and introverted, with no respect at all for the heroic deeds of the main character (no matter how much Ryan doesn't want to be a hero). Horner's music, beyond its obvious lack of substance, suffers for two reasons: first, its construct is unnecessarily low budget in sound. Hearing synthesizer samples from those old Schwarzenegger days is a slap in the face for a film of this mainstream caliber. There are extended sequences of extremely familiar clanging, random flute bursts, and light percussive rhythms... a combination not only tired in sound, but begging questions of ethnic appropriateness. Frenetic arrays of synthesized samples and a constant banging and clanging of irritating metallic synths eventually lead to a badly underplayed cue in "Electronic Battlefield" that fails to offer any of the dramatic punch that the scene demanded. The second major blunder in the score for Patriot Games is Horner's total lack of consideration for the Jack Ryan character and his family. As it would become badly evident in his score for Clear and Present Danger, Ryan has no theme devoted to him, and no sensitivity built for his family. While the character's smaller role in Red October made such an omission by Poledouris more viable, Ryan and his family's integral roles in Patriot Games necessitate a stronger thematic presence for them. Even the Gaelic influences, representing the terrorists, are half-hearted. The Clannad song proves to be a more loyal and interesting performance than Horner's tepid adaptation of a traditional song over the opening and closing moments of the film. While the vocals in those cues may be the highlight of the score for some, they still exist in a daze that defeats the daunting message of the film. The gain mix of these vocals in the film itself is suspect as well, perhaps due in part to the lack of true enunciation of these performances. On the whole, Patriot Games is a rare film that suffered to a degree because of Horner's low-budget meanderings. His refusal to develop the ethnic ties to the villains of the film and address Jack Ryan and his family made the score one-dimensional and uninteresting. The curious aspect of this score's failure is the inclusion of the Clannad song; with the style of Enya and others dominating the music scene in the early 90's, Horner could have used his own keyboards to offer a far more ethnically powerful new-age style of score for Patriot Games (and maybe it would have even been more appropriate than such leanings in Titanic). The album offers a rich bass region in the action sequences, but accents like the wailing flute aren't as clearly rendered as they could be. A running time of 45 minutes is a surprising detriment to the score, easily boring veteran Horner collectors who have heard superior representations of each idea in the score with greater effectiveness elsewhere, including the more convincing album for The Devil's Own. From the sound of the final product, it would seem on the surface that either Horner was horribly restrained by the command of the film's director and/or budget, or he simply did not have the time or interest in producing a superior score for the project. Either way, when considering the potential in such a great franchise, Patriot Games can easily be considered as one of Horner's more frustrating blunders. ** Track Listings:
Total Time: 45:09
All artwork and sound clips from Patriot Games are Copyright © 1992, BMG/Milan. The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 6/24/97, updated 5/10/06. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 1997-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
