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X-Men on DVD
• "Remarkable Music" • Dolby Digital 5.1 More DVD info... |
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X-Men on DVD
• "Remarkable Music" • Dolby Digital 5.1 More DVD info... |
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Unlike his notable action scores for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Die Hard, Kamen's approach to X-Men is more appropriately sci-fi and therefore tones back on the recognizable themes and presents more dissonant and unnerving synthesized accompaniment. The majority of the score features a background layer of these electronic whooshes and grinds, and although their dark and sinister nature is the key to the score, they don't carry the music in and of themselves. Instead, Kamen employs the reasonably-sized orchestra to create tension over and beyond the electronics. The majority of highlights in X-Men come with the futuristic, awe-inspiring, minor-key meanderings of the orchestra, and mainly the strings. The first few tracks of the score greatly outshine the second half, opening with a lengthy piano and string lead-in to pounding timpani (I suppose this is along the same inspirational lines as Danny Elfman and Elliot Goldenthal's approach to setting up Batman). More importantly, Kamen inserts in the first few cues a hint of drama under persecution, which is very effective for the mutants' struggles in the storyline. With the futuristic setting of the film comes the tinkling of fantasy and choral accompaniment that develop well in the third and fifth tracks, respectively. While not making great use of it, Kamen's title theme --introduced in the second track-- does mingle now and then, but is ultimately lost in the ambient power of the action sequences during the latter half of the album. Overall, Kamen's music for X-Men needs a more careful appreciation than a cursory first-time, one-time listen and judgment. I didn't find much to my liking during my first listen to the album, labelling the score as an excess of unsubstantiated noise. But there is ten or so minutes of interesting material interspersed between the persistently loud and sometimes tiring action cues. While Kamen finishes the album with a more romantic tone, the track bubbles away into an anti-climactic and unsatisfying end, making the album the type of affair that will require some picking and choosing of favorite parts hidden within. In the end, I have a feeling that this score's comic-book appeal will function infinitely better in the film than it does on album. If you've ever wondered what a cross between the styles of Joel McNeely and Elliot Goldenthal sounds like, then you might give it a shot without seeing the film first. ***
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