>
> The Bourne Supremacy (2004) - ****
> John Powell; add’l arranging & programming by John Ashton Thomas
> & T.J. Lindgren;
> orchestrated by B & W Fowler/Moriarty, Liz Finch & Rick
> Giovinazzo; conducted by Pete Anthony;
> synth recording & original album compiled by Dan Lerner; thank you to
> James McKee Smith

Finally!

> This is a bigger, broader version of the sonic universe of the first film.
> You can hear cases of Powell injecting little bits of style from Agent
> Cody Banks and Paycheck into the proceedings, but it still has
> that stripped down feel that fits with the film. Powell also realized that
> the sequel needed more of a traditional theme, so he wrote a new, somewhat
> mournful idea for Bourne - and it’s a doozy, applied sparsely enough that
> it’s not omnipresent but enough that you’re aware of it when a
> contemplative arrangement for strings and piano hits near the end (a gut
> punch equal to Zimmer’s derivative material from the climax of The Last
> Samurai, at least in context). “There was something about Goa and
> Marie where we realized that’s where we should establish a new theme.
> That’s basically a useful device to follow him as he goes through the
> movie.” Its early, energetic arrangement for a Goa beach run ended up
> being so effective that it even showed up in at least one of NBC’s athlete
> perspectives videos for its Olympics coverage four years later.

Yeah, that theme is so beautiful in "New Memories" and "Atonement" at the end is one of the most tragic endings I've heard to an action score since John Barry's OHMSS

> But that doesn’t mean Powell left the relentlessly churning Bourne
> ostinato at home - you get everything from subtle references in some
> tracks to outright building the whole Berlin foot chase around it. Enough
> cannot be said about the 12-minute action finale, a masterful exercise in
> gradually building tension before unleashing a torrent of crazy energy;
> Moscow Wind-Up and Bim Bam Smash should be permanent
> residents on any Powell highlights playlist. And the fact that this work,
> like its predecessor and successor, continued to make use of a uniquely
> high-pitched bassoon for its more personal/sensitive stretches continues
> to help it stand out from its frequent musical imitators which would
> usually ape the tension of this musical trilogy but not its heart.

I love "Berlin Foot Chase" in this film, its too bad Greengrass tracked it in to death in The Bourne Ultimatum, but you're right about those last two action tracks, I love how "Bim Bam Smash" gets really intense at the end, John really makes you feel like Bourne is getting his revenge for the death of Marie.

> “The funeral pyre scene, where he burns the photos of Marie - he’s
> grieving. So, there’s lots of ways of doing that - play the sad music,
> then play action music as he starts getting his things together. I wanted
> to start that idea earlier. I took these massive drums [and played the
> over the sad music] so you have this paradox -a beautiful grief going on
> in the strings and at the same time you have this rage. That’s unusual,
> definitely more influenced by Peter Gabriel than the film scores of the
> past.”

"Funeral Pyre" is without a doubt my favorite track from the album, it never fails to make me emotional with that sad statement of the Jason/Marie theme then it segues right into this brilliant revenge music, this is the track that made me a John Powell fan.

> For the score fans who found Powell’s Bourne Identity a challenge,
> this was a big step up into competence. For those who really liked the
> first film’s music, the sequel score was a revelation. The score is also
> an unintended big middle finger to the music of Bad Boys II - proof
> that you could write distinctive music with noticeable themes for modern
> action films with hyperactive editing without detracting from the story or
> the style.

> The album release was a fairly good representation of the score, though it
> robbed listeners of the wild music for the early Goa car chase and a soft
> variation on the main theme that came right after the final action scene.

Yeah, I love that Latin flavoured chase music and wish it was on the album. The whole Bourne franchise really needs an expanded treatment, especially when you have more recent scores like Interstellar and Knowing already with expanded editions and there is so much good stuff that has never been released, especially on the Ultimatum where there's all of Powell's rejected material that didn't make the film or the rather short album.

> I had this at ***½ stars - one of those “great on film, eh on album” type
> ratings - but the strength of the new theme and the exquisite action
> finale bumped it up a bit. Worth noting - this rundown has made me a lot
> more forgiving of non-traditional scores, i.e., the stuff that no reviewer
> in their right mind would call “fully orchestral”. I get the sneaking
> feeling the picture of Michael Tilson Thomas on that Mahler album is
> judging me again. I don’t care.

> Side note: I think this is my favorite of the three original films. The
> faux-documentary quick-cutting style has been mocked to death at this
> point - perhaps because so many films emulated it afterwards and did it
> way worse, but also because the John Wick films have proved you can
> do cool action movies without bouncing the camera around. But few
> theatergoing experiences have ever been more downright awesome than this
> movie’s final car chase; my dad and I were floored.

My dad is a huge fan of the Bourne movies and the main reason I heard this music in the first place and he loved the Supremacy too, although the Ultimatum is his favorite, my appreciation of Ultimatum dipped however when I found out how badly butchered the score was, so now Supremacy has become my favorite too.

> Thunderbirds (2004) - ***
> Zimmer & Ramin Djawadi; add’l arrangements by Jim Dooley & Mel
> Wesson; add’l electronica by Clay Duncan;
> orchestrated by B & W Fowler/Moriarty & Liz Finch; Trevor Morris
> as score technical supervisor; conducted by NGS

Ah, yes the film where Jonathan Frakes (AKA William Riker) finally got to work with Hans Zimmer.

> Why go into a lot of detail on this adaptation of a beloved 60s TV series
> when you can just quote the series’ creator on what he thought about it?
> “It was disgraceful that such a huge amount of money was spent with
> people who had no idea what Thunderbirds was about and what made it tick..
> The biggest load of crap I have ever seen in my entire life.'

> The score’s not bad though. If anything it has a something-for-everyone
> vibe. Legacy MV action action mannerisms, a few moments that suggest
> Gladiator was in the temp, one moment that’s practically a
> Crimson Tide throwback - they’re all here, but they’re all filtered
> through what feels like a delightfully optimistic Dreamworks lens that has
> lots of similarities to, of all things, the future animation work of
> not-here-yet Henry Jackman (think Big Hero 6). It’s not very
> substantial or original, but it’s still a spirited good time. At least the
> gang had the decency to quote the original series’ theme a few times.
> Also, finger snaps - they’re not just for John Powell anymore!

> Fun booklet facts: this would be the second score in this era that credits
> Clever Trevor Morris for something.
>

> Catwoman (2004) - Not heard
> Klaus Badelt; synth orchestration by Wolfram de Marco, Blake Neely
> & Geoff Zanelli;
> remixes of ‘Outrageous’ and ‘Who’s In Control’ by Junkie XL;
> orchestrations by Bruce Fowler; conducted by Blake Neely & William
> Ross

> Gosh, I wish there were more comments about this on the record. Geoff
> Zanelli said he came on at the last minute to help meet the deadline.

I'm pretty sure that because that's because nobody wants to admit they worked on this film.

> —------------------------------------

> Next time: It gets worse for Jon Broxton.

Find out next time, Same Bat time, Same Bat channel.