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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you want to hear Alan Silvestri's continuing journey into the realm of monumentally immense and exciting action writing for full orchestra and choir. Avoid it... if you try to avoid scores that knock you over the head with their blunt action rhythms, constant pounding, and obvious themes. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
For Van Helsing, this trend continues, even to a greater scale, with Silvestri utilizing a full orchestra and adult choir to set the standard for summer action once again. To leave the Van Helsing score by simply stating that it is exceedingly noisy would be unfair to the merits of the score, but it is indeed very, very noisy. In fact, don't expect longer than a minute-long break from the full-scale bombast of this action score. With a constantly immense sound and resounding bass, Van Helsing is so huge and relentless in its dark swells and driving rhythms that you have to be prepared and in a proper mood to enjoy its album. Seemingly without much electronic accompaniment, Silvestri overwhelms you the old fashion way, with highly structured orchestral rhythms propelling every cue on the backs of the percussion section. It is a very thematic work, although a casual listener might miss these themes because there is so much frenetic orchestral action occurring all at once (and over the themes). If you prefer your themes simple and obvious, then Silvestri does indulge you in parts, with a hero's theme for Van Helsing, a devious theme for Dracula, a subtheme with traditional guitar for Transylvania, and the hints of a love theme for Anna's character. All of these themes are quite predictable, with simple chord progressions raising memories of both Danny Elfman and Elliot Goldenthal's themes of the Batman series, and the Dracula theme in particular has almost-playful rhythms which, along with timpani and brass use, will intrigue fans of Goldenthal's Batman Forever score. The flourishing harp at the end of the hero's thematic statement, on the other hand, is stylistically similar to Elfman's original Batman. The scope of Van Helsing is also of note; David Arnold fans will also likely enjoy the broad strokes of brass similar to those of Independence Day in the Van Helsing cue, "Who Are They to Judge?" The primary Van Helsing theme is a worthy one for a dark hero, although it only graces the score in full during the "Burn it Down!" and "Final Battle" cues, with sporadic, smaller performances a few places in between. Silvestri instead inserts a plethora of personality throughout Van Helsing. The wild guitars and bells representing Transylvania in the fourth and eighth cues are a notable inclusion, as is the staggering waltz for violin in "All Hallow's Eve Ball" and a choir that performs pulsating crescendos in the style of Don Davis' latter two Matrix scores. A motif of nearly swashbuckling spirit debuts in "Useless Crucifix" and continues through the end of "Final Battle," and this seemingly positive sub-theme in an otherwise dark score seems out of place. The "Reunited" cue is by far the most enjoyable, if only because it finally breaks away from the non-stop action; even this is overly predictable, though, for Silvestri inserts a solo female voice to represent Valerious' curse and a solo flute to shine a ray of light onto a previously hopeless situation. The determined love/resolution theme here elegantly maintains the power of the score's rhythms with snare highlights under each measure. A touch of Jerry Goldsmith's layering of brass over the top of the theme is also to be heard, as is the obligatory final minute of resumed action to send the audience away with hints of sequel potential. Silvestri's Van Helsing follows every guideline in the handbook for action score success, and with a strong execution of that writing by the ensembles, the score is highly recommended. At the same time, though, the score knocks you over the head with its blunt intentions (i.e. constant action), and listeners of the album may very well wonder if there is some equally interesting, softer underscore not included on the 43-minute album. Overall, though, despite the lack of balance between high and low, Van Helsing is one monumentally bold and exciting work. ****
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