Buy it... if you respect Brian Tyler's ability to pay homage to Jerry Goldsmith's legendary themes for First Blood while also updating the franchise's sound to meet the expectations of more densely-weighted blockbuster music in the 2000's.

Avoid it... if that revision of Goldsmith's iconic style for the famed, lonely war veteran is understandably unacceptable to you, especially in Tyler's efforts during this period of his career to adopt many of the same overbearingly masculine tendencies as Hans Zimmer and his many associates for a sound that ultimately betrays John Rambo's personality.

Tyler

Rambo: (Brian Tyler) Despite Sylvester Stallone's insistence upon continuously bringing back his most famous franchise characters in questionable returns, at least he allows his those screen personas to age appropriately on screen. Like boxer Rocky Balboa, war veteran John Rambo has enjoyed a troubled retirement, prodded into battle in his franchise's 2008 entry of many production names but ultimately called simply Rambo against Stallone's wishes. In this fourth call to screen duty (or third, if you consider that First Blood wasn't a battle of Rambo's making), the character is seen residing in a remote area of Thailand near the Burmese border, selling snakes and ferrying passengers on local rivers. When missionaries in Burma become victim to the same violent acts from its government soldiers and mercenaries that plague regional villages, Rambo eventually becomes involved in their rescue and the elimination of untold numbers of Burmese badguys. The amount of killing in Rambo greatly exceeds that in the previous three films, with some of the character's devastating actions giving even enthusiasts of the pulp hero a reason to pause. Stallone makes no apologies for the hundreds of deaths graphically seen in the action sequences, citing the film's effectiveness at bringing attention to the plight of the badly repressed and brutalized people of Burma. Although Burmese military forces fired upon the crew during filming and the country banned the sale of the film in its country, Stallone was successful at getting his message across, Rambo earning enough in worldwide theatrical and home video grosses to be labeled a success (and the actor/writer/director has even hinted at yet another possible film in the franchise). Stallone's satisfying collaboration with composer Brian Tyler began with Rambo, the composer a logical choice to replace the late Jerry Goldsmith in the franchise. Tyler's career overlapped with Goldsmith's for 2003's Timeline and his style in rhythmic brass writing has occasionally been compared to Goldsmith's legendary techniques. Tyler has often confessed a great admiration and knowledge of Goldsmith's music as well, with a proven talent for being able to incorporate or emulate the style of others into his own franchise works (The Final Destination another competent example). Stallone made it clear that he wanted Goldsmith's famous theme for John Rambo from First Blood to be adapted into Rambo, and Tyler was happy to comply. Whether or not Tyler's efforts in all other aspects of this score will satisfy Goldsmith collectors is a trickier question, however.

Outside of the obvious references to Goldsmith's existing material in Rambo, Tyler's own gradual shift towards a generic action/thriller sound in the late 2000's is a much bigger factor in this score. The composer has unfortunately tread close enough to the tired blockbuster style of Hans Zimmer and his army of clones at Remote Control to lose some of the distinctiveness that he exhibited early in his career. Not only have his thematic tendencies strayed into RC anthem territory all too frequently, but the overbearing weight in his orchestrations and the bass-heavy, gain-maxed mixes reduce the perceived intelligence of his underlying compositions. This shift is likely result of supply and demand in regards to studio and producer expectations, which is basically acceptable if you ponder the lack of intelligence in most Hollywood action films these days anyway, but when you're dealing with an adaptation of Goldsmith material for this assignment, you have entirely different, heightened expectations. In some areas, Tyler succeeds in revising the sound of the franchise without completely losing its identity. He uses the two most substantial themes from First Blood throughout this work, loyally employing the proper instrumentation when necessary. The primary theme for the Rambo character is one of incredible loneliness, and it remains one of the most ironically beautiful themes of Goldsmith's career. To hear it performed in context once again is a tremendous pleasure. Additionally, the level of masculinity in the score is cranked up to match the increased violence on screen. Tyler's usual flair for ethnic instrumentation is on display as well, a variety of wind and percussion elements lending musical credence to the location. On the other hand, Tyler completely misses the mark in other regards, changing the tone of the franchise so thoroughly (as described above) that it's almost unrecognizable; this is 90% Hans Zimmer and 10% Jerry Goldsmith, which is an awful shame. The interpolations of the existing themes are largely self-contained, only rarely referenced within the context of a varied cue. The new, original themes are largely derivative of Tyler's own career and/or mundane. The reluctance that John Rambo has always expressed when going into battle is a feeling totally lost in this music. Burdened by its own weight, Rambo makes the title character a generic action star rather than a battered hero of tired, aimless wandering. Solo elements are swallowed up in this score, defying Rambo's singular, melancholy personality by infusing him with unneeded gravitas at every moment. Even the moments of pure homage to Goldsmith's main theme are altered slightly and afforded booming bass to give the character more melodramatic balls than he clearly needs.

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The cautions above shouldn't indicate that Rambo is solely a failure of a sequel score. Even if you're a Goldsmith purist, Tyler's re-envisioning has merit as a guilty pleasure, with fifteen to twenty minutes of very entertaining highlights. Most important in these regards is the strong melodic foundation of the score. The two Goldsmith themes consist of the primary "It's a Long Road" idea, expressed on trumpet or acoustic guitar in the opening and closing titles and in snippets within the underscore. Tyler does mess with the theme a bit in both chord progression and counterpoint (the famous trumpet counterpoint line late in "End Title" is a bit liberal in the interpretation, perhaps making it difficult to handle), but he also alludes to its basic progressions at least twice in the action sequences. Most interesting is Tyler's use of Goldsmith's theme for military service, a common motif throughout all of Goldsmith's scores. This noble duet of brass is frequently referenced in Rambo, a pleasant surprise. Tyler supplies two original themes, one for the village and people persecuted in the film and another one to accompany what the composer calls Rambo's "stoic" side. The latter isn't emphasized in the suite arrangements for the score, unfortunately, but it experiences several full statements in the #2 through #5 tracks on the score's album, occupying nearly the first minute of "Aftermath" before the cue launches into the village theme. That latter idea is often beautifully conveyed, especially in "The Village" and "Battle Adagio." It's in the gorgeous "Battle Adagio" that Tyler runs into some self-plagiarism issues, utilizing an interlude for voice that is nearly a 100% copy of a theme from Children of Dune (much like Partition was also reminiscent of the famous Tyler television score). The action and stalking cues are unfortunately totally forgettable, the composer completely neglecting the character's established bass motif when stalking. So much of the slapping percussion and stabbing brass of these sequences reminds of Zimmer's Tears of the Sun that it will bore those who can even tolerate it for long periods of time. Overall, this score has a variety of plusses and minuses, averaging out to be an interesting but ultimately disappointing listening experience. The album (released by Lionsgate in America and Silva Screen in Europe, the latter more readily available) does it no favors, following Tyler's usual inadvisable methodology of rearranging track order and offering an overly long product. A lack of chronological order and trimming of excess really damages this score on album, despite its honorable references to Goldsmith's legacy and occasional highlights in the original material. It has no chance of competing with Intrada Records' phenomenal 2010 expanded remastering of First Blood, which may very well be the reliable tonic for those dissatisfied with Rambo. ***   Amazon.com Price Hunt: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Brian Tyler reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.24 (in 22 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.11 (in 12,201 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.