Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you prefer your comic book superhero scores to be dynamically orchestral with strong choral and thematic integrity, John Ottman taking the X-Men franchise to much more extroverted heights than his predecessor. Avoid it... if you scoff at predictable orchestral representations of science-fiction and fantasy concepts, Ottman's approach rather old-school and lacking an abundance of vibrant flair. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
X2: X-Men United: (John Ottman) The first X-Men film was a blockbuster of immense proportions, drawing in over $300 million for Twentieth Century Fox worldwide and opening the doors to a series of other comic-to-screen adaptations to follow in the decade. In promoting its sequel, Fox decided to set a record by globally releasing the movie on the same date in 93 nations, saturating the market with nearly 9,000 prints of the film. The project once again featured the same principal cast from the 2000 original, this time depicting mutant friends and foes not only battling each other in superhuman ways, but fighting humanity for their existence side by side as well. Continued character development leads to new alliances and new enemies, with the story exploring a typical comic book line of reasoning. An excess of interpersonal relationships makes each one difficult to develop as well as fans might hope, leaving the spectacle of the whole to suffice in these ensemble-centric films. After bucking some initial disappointment and witnessing X2: X-Men United become regarded as a well respected sequel, Fox extended the franchise into several more films in subsequent years. Director Bryan Singer forged ahead to build upon his commitment to the franchise, and his choice of composer was once again his good friend John Ottman. An artist of abundant talent rising through the Hollywood ranks since his work on The Usual Suspects, Ottman is rare breed of director, editor, and composer, with strong talents in all three fields. He was unavailable to write the music for Singer's original X-Men due to his work on his own directorial debut for Urban Legends: Final Cut. Singer instead hired action veteran Michael Kamen for the 2000 film, resulting in a serviceable though thematically uninspiring score that suffered from some discontent within the production and was heavily rearranged when placed in the movie. Nevertheless, Kamen's X-Men translated into a popular album purchase for die-hards of the comic cult who, as you may imagine, snatched up anything related to the futuristic story. For the 2003 sequel, with Ottman free of other commitments, he was hired by Singer to not only score X2: X-Men United, but edit it as well. Ottman had been known for his creativity in orchestral instrumentation and thematic inclinations, turning otherwise average horror and intrigue films into noteworthy events. For the X-Men franchise, unlike other well known film series, he technically had little to expand upon from Kamen's original. While Kamen's music for X-Men sufficed, it did not offer any truly defining sound for the concept, choosing instead to bypass a dominant theme and accompany the visuals with a consistently strong action mosaic of anonymous structure. Ottman, leaving no stone unturned, did take Kamen's style to heart, utilizing the same general avenue of melodramatic and challenging orchestral action for X2: X-Men United. As usual, though, Ottman takes the music a step further, introducing a decent, though not particularly overwhelming theme for the favorite mutant group. It's not the kind of in-your-face, top flight superhero theme that you heard from Danny Elfman in the Batman or Spider-Man films, but a reasonably charged major key climb for moments of victory in the story, not terribly unlike his eventual franchise theme for The Fantastic Four in personality. The suite at the beginning of the original album for X2 features a lengthy performance of this theme, and Ottman inserts it appropriately throughout the score for consistency. Some listeners have argued that Ottman's ability to provide convincingly robust superhero themes of his own is among his greatest weaknesses, with the identity for this score and his two The Fantastic Four ventures lacking in depth (his best entry in the genre, Superman Returns, employed existing themes for its main appeal). To an extent, such criticism is merited, because Ottman's superhero themes do have a tendency to sound frivolous and awkwardly cute (if such a word could be applied in this context). He did attempt to incorporate several secondary themes and motifs into specific character circumstances in X2, but with mixed results. The villain's theme (for Magneto's victories) is a rather generic but effective descending phrase that repeats ominously. Ottman sets the framework for John Powell's Jean Grey/Phoenix material in the next film by giving her a distinctly beautiful but melancholy theme that resonates with choir in the finale of this film. A secondary theme for the new Pyro character is particularly potent in a couple of places, including "God Among Insects" on the official expanded album of 2012. Other identities are defined more by their instrumentation than their progressions, including erotic female vocals for Mystique and wild percussive clanging for Deathstrike. Perhaps the most disappointing thematic representation in X2 is the one for Stryker, an identity that fails to really stick in the mind for long. Generally, the most interesting difference between Kamen and Ottman's work for the concept is that the latter composer extends the action music to include a sense of awe and fantasy. Whereas Kamen's approach was largely introspective and sought gravity over heroics, Ottman instead opts to address characters and situations with a streamlined, extroverted, and arguably old-school sound. He evokes his fantasy tones primarily through the frequent use of an upper range adult choir. There are few deep, bass chants (highlighted by the somewhat distracting but oddly attractive use of Mozart's Requiem Mass quite strikingly in "Nightcrawler Attack"), but the adult voices typically serve to add an effective element of mystery that the mutant tale requires. After all, there is indeed strange science at work here. Don't expect vast sequences of harmonious choral use, though the finale of the "Goodbye" cue begins to achieve that atmosphere. In a handful of earlier cues, there are moments when Ottman's choral use mirrors that of Elfman's initial horror style (and his opening to Nightbreed in particular). A refreshing aspect of Ottman's work is his choice to stay true to orchestral instrumentation in his creativity rather than giving in to the urge to score this film as many probably would have done (and some did later in the franchise): with electric guitars. There is temptation, as always, to address Magneto with some form of metallic musical identity. Henry Jackman chose this route for X-Men: First Class and unfortunately inverted the Ottman theme's progressions. As it stands, X2 is a purely organic entry in the science fiction genre with an elegant touch of majesty at certain points. Ottman uses many shifts from the minor to major keys for softer character development cues such as "Finding Faith" and "We're Here to Stay," a predictable but still functional tactic to address duality. In many regards, you can't help but notice how much Ottman's work here sounds like the early style of David Arnold, especially when combining his deep brass and pounding timpani with an adult choir. Flowing romantic interludes for woodwinds and strings take a page from James Horner's The Rocketeer and other love themes from that composer's early days, serving as a potential highlight of the albums with the lengthy, compelling performances of Jean Grey's material in the middle section of "Suite From X2." It's not hard to hear influences from Horner's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (an admitted source of inspiration for the director and composer) in the finale's transition near the end of the longer version of "Evolution Leaps Forward," too. If there are complaints to be justifiably lodged against Ottman's X2, they include an ability to truly distinguish some of the themes on first pass and a slightly sterile personality in the recording. The composer does employ the colorful vocals and a diverse array of percussive effects, but never in such a way as to distinguish this score as one of the truly fantastic ventures of the genre as he creatively did, for instance, with Incognito or Goodbye Lover. The surprisingly lovely piano and string performance of the Jean Grey theme in the aforementioned suite hints at the possibility that Ottman was headed in the right direction to diversify the score, and perhaps a somewhat over-dampened recording hinders the lively ambience of the orchestral sections (and the strings in particular) from expressing the vibrant power that the score probably could have possessed. Usually, this is a reverb issue, but that doesn't seem true here. The original 60-minute score album from Superb Records in 2003 will suffice well for most collectors, though a 113-minute follow-up from La-La Land Records in 2012 does expose the greater depth with which Ottman developed his themes. Some outstanding cues are expanded ("Evolution Leaps Forward") and important ones are revealed ("Opening Titles" and "Nightcrawler Attack"), and enthusiasts of the concept will finally hear the end credits version from the film (featuring Magneto's theme) and Ottman's adaptation of Alfred Newman's studio fanfare that includes a tasteful piece of counterpoint from the main X2 theme at its conclusion. Music from the first half of the film was scarce on the 2003 album, and the limited 2012 product rectifies this problem while also expanding upon nearly all of the score's later cues. The expanded edition will finally replace the various bootlegs existing for the score, but casual listeners may be discouraged by the quantity of rather mundane, pace-killing conversational filler material sprinkled throughout the presentation. On any album, the music for X2 is a definite improvement over Kamen's original, and Ottman collectors will be pleased with the effort. Because of Singer's departure from the franchise, Ottman has lamented the lack of an opportunity to continue development of his character themes in subsequent scores. He style isn't as flashy as John Powell's stance in X-Men: The Last Stand, nor does Ottman approach the ambitious generation of grandiose, epic sound that Powell would explore. But in X2 he finally introduced a distinguished title theme and consistently harmonic component to the series, and the liberal choral addition roots the score and film in their proper genre. X-Men enthusiasts should especially feast on this one. **** Track Listings (2003 Superb Album):
Total Time: 60:16
Track Listings (2012 La-La Land Album):
Total Time: 113:10
* previously unreleased ** contains previously unreleased material All artwork and sound clips from X2: X-Men United are Copyright © 2003, 2012, Superb Records, La-La Land Records. 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 4/25/03, updated 8/26/12. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2003-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
2003 Superb