Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you have a high tolerance for the brainless Hollywood blockbuster music sound and seek an entry that actually features a better rounded orchestral ensemble and more melodic continuity than most of its contemporaries. Avoid it... if you stopped reading the above sentence at "brainless Hollywood blockbuster music sound." Filmtracks Editorial Review:
X-Men: First Class: (Henry Jackman) If all else fails, hit the reboot button. Wouldn't it be great if real life gave you that opportunity? In Hollywood, it worked wonders for the Batman franchise, so after four somewhat aimless movies in the X-Men franchise, writer/producer Bryan Singer returned to team up with director Matthew Vaughn to tell a somewhat new version of the origins of the famous Marvel Comics characters. Discarding some of the flashbacks in the previous films and staying truer to costumes and other aspects of the original illustrations, X-Men: First Class is a relatively high stakes endeavor for 20th Century Fox that required roughly $150 million for its 2011 release. It tells of the friendship and eventual rivalry between Dr. Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr (Magneto), as well as their assembly of mutants in the 1960's against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis and a maniacal effort by an original common enemy to dominate the planet. The self-identity crises involving the characters are almost as bloated as the one involving the nuclear weapons, but never fear, concept enthusiasts will get a cameo appearance to compensate for any eye-rolling indifference that the brisk pace of the movie still manages to instill. Critics were surprisingly positive about X-Men: First Class and audiences agreed, racking up about $350 million worldwide at the box office. Apparently, a little dose of great naval special effects can go a long way. Not as popular is Henry Jackman's score for the film, mentioned as a detriment to the picture in a few mainstream reviews and met with disdain from film score collectors tired of formulaic summer blockbuster soundtracks dominated by the omnipresent Hans Zimmer/Remote Control sound. At its core, what Jackman and his RC associates have accomplished for X-Men: First Class is far from intellectual art. In fact, its themes are not much more intelligent that the mass of crap coming from the concept's sister franchises. And, as usual with these RC-associated composers, you hear Zimmer melodies and techniques aped in some form or another. But Jackman is no slouch with an orchestra, as his concurrent score for Winnie the Pooh can testify, and he makes a few choices for X-Men: First Class that actually give the score some artistic merit beyond what you might expect. While there are plenty of brute brass themes, a snarling electric guitar, and synthetic loops and string ostinatos to set the pace in X-Men: First Class, there are also elements usually absent from such scores: trumpets, flutes, and violins in higher octaves. In fact, there's a full woodwind section in X-Men: First Class, a shock when considering that such dainty tones are typically off limits nowadays. On top of that, while the electric guitar is often a villain simply because of its brainless application to blockbuster music, its purpose in this score actually maintains a wider performance emphasis and, believe it or not, common sense meaning. The filmmakers wanted this movie to lean a bit on the James Bond style of technology in the 60's, so it's no surprise that the contemporary aspects of the music are somewhat matched to that concept. One could argue either way about the themes in X-Men: First Class; it's nice to hear them so well delineated and repeated throughout the score. On the other hand, they're rather brainless and are referenced so often that the score could become tedious for some listeners. The instrumentation for their statements is where some salvation can be sought. The main theme's impressive standalone performance opens the album presentation in "First Class," a touch of Daft Punk's Tron: Legacy leaking through but otherwise rather dynamic in its shifting of the standard ostinatos to the higher reaches of the violins. The noble brass theme in that track extends to a bold statement at the end of "Cerebro" (under its loyal rhythmic loops). The theme and rhythm turn blatantly electronic in "X-Training" and the melody is slowed for heroic treatment with high choir in "Sub Lift." Opposing this idea is the more obvious identity for Magneto, exploding with force in "Pain and Anger" and easily recognizable with its basic rising structure. This theme seems to enjoy three different regular emotional variants, from the ominous suspense mode of that first performance and "Coup d'Etat" (highlighted by creepy choir and nervous cymbal accents) to the cool and hip but restrained tones of the twangy guitar at the end of "Would You Date Me?" and in "Frankenstein's Monster" (along with pulsating guitar and synths in "Not That Sort of Bank") and, ultimately, the full blown rock-like version at the ends of "Frankenstein's Monster" and "X-Men." A ballsy rock rendition of this theme is contained in its own arrangement to close the album as well ("Magneto"), and at least it doesn't try to hide it rhetorical intentions. Interestingly, despite the character's allegiance to the "good guys" of the story in its first two acts of X-Men: First Class, the Magneto theme is very dark from the start, clearly foreshadowing what audiences already know will happen. A highlight of the score is the overlapping of the two main themes in "True Colours." Another motif at work in the score is a weak homage to Zimmer's rolling "Journey to the Line" theme from The Thin Red Line. Much of "Rage and Serenity" matches the prior cue's descending lines and "Mutant and Proud" ends on trumpet and horn calls of the same motif that satisfyingly answer each other. Some tender interludes are wayward in the score, including the slight passages in "Would You Date Me?" and "The Beast or Not to Beast." Aside from an increasing role for the high choir in the final third of the film, few benefits can be heard in the straight action music for the conflict between the mutant factions and naval fleet at the end of the film. Jackman allows the music to decline into standard RC pounding and thrashing for these sequences, never really recapturing the instrumental intrigue of his early presentations of the two main themes. The album for X-Men: First Class includes an hour of music but comes with some caveats for those who have seen the film. First, fans of the franchise will notice that some footage of the concentration camp scene that opens this movie is reprised from the first X-Men film over a decade prior. Likewise, Michael Kamen's cue, "Death Camp," is heard once again as well (and officially credited), though with some droning overlays in this version. That music is not provided on the album. Also absent is the end credits song "Love Love" by the British group Take That. Finally, it has been reported that the "First Class" cue that opens the album was tracked into several scenes in the movie, so don't expect to hear that material in proper order on the album. Overall, Jackman doesn't stray too far from the dumb, conventional sound of the soundtracks for these kinds of films, especially when the electric guitar is fully unleashed, and nothing in this score will compete with John Powell's superior entry in the franchise. But the composer at least takes steps to try to transcend the stereotypes associated with such music. Some listeners will prefer it to John Ottman's music for the second film, taking heart in the fact that Singer stepped down from the director's chair of X-Men: First Class and therefore did not retain Ottman for the franchise once again. Don't approach this score expecting art. Instead, use your guilty pleasure meter and enjoy the contributions of those surprised trumpet and flute players. *** Track Listings:
Total Time: 60:33
All artwork and sound clips from X-Men: First Class are Copyright © 2011, Sony Classical (European), Sony Classical (American). 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 7/14/11, updated 7/14/11. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2011-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
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