: (John Powell) Check your brain at
the door, because otherwise the child labor law violations in 2003's
spoof action movie
will set off alarms. The
premise of the story entails teenagers recruited by the American CIA for
espionage duties, in this case turning a 15-year-old high school student
into a secret agent who must infiltrate a crime syndicate because, well,
none of the adults can apparently do the job. In order to get close to
the supervillain in this tale, young Cody Banks has to win the heart of
that bad guy's average daughter in high school. The problem is that the
boy, while trained to be James Bond in every other way, has no skills
with girls whatsoever, so he bumbles his way through his assignment.
Still, the adventure of the
concept demands that
the little fucker succeed, for some reason, so his deceit is eventually
successful enough for him to foil the villain while using all sorts of
futuristic equipment and trying to blend in with actual dorky teenage
boys who are typically more in tune with pulling on their schlongs.
Composer John Powell landed on this film largely because of the name he
had already made for himself with the parody brilliance of
a few years earlier. He had always loved the classic James Bond
sound by John Barry and associated coolness from Lalo Schifrin, and he
saw
as an opportunity to wholeheartedly raise
that style in ways similar to what Michael Giacchino accomplished with
shortly thereafter. In his enthusiasm for the
topic and instruction to bring pure energy to the story, Powell
completely ignored his reinvention of the genre for
in 2002 and instead wrote a total parody of 1960's spy
genre music and the silly comedy methodology of more recent decades. In
parts, he plays the sound seriously, but between his infusion of David
Arnold-era electronics from the Bond franchise and ridiculous
faux-Russian marching for the CIA, the score devolves into absolute
silliness too often to function as attractively as Edward Shearmur's
The whole score for
Agent Cody Banks is eye-rolling
fun, which has its charming appeal, but it does tend to overstay its
welcome. Powell's broad orchestral foundation takes the expected
espionage elements from brass and augments them with retro tones from
finger snapping, vibraphone, and bass flute. Often factoring is
percussive rattling, tapping, and shaking to keep things moving along.
The composer's synthetics and drum pads are pretty annoying as dryly
mixed at the forefront, with the electric guitar growl at the start of
"Snowmobile Chase" really distracting. (In this regard, Powell threw
absolutely everything from all generations of the genre at this wall,
and it causes a lack of focus.) The dryness of the mix is a detriment to
the whole, its enthusiasm and fantasy factors somewhat diminished as a
result. The hip personality of some cues is countered by openly humorous
ridiculousness, with surprisingly few straight-forward action cues to
balance them out, a circumstance that mirrors the previous year's
The
Adventures of Pluto Nash for Powell. By the time kazoos enter the
equation, you know where you're headed. Strategically, while hitting the
right notes most of the time, the score struggles because Powell engages
too many themes in the work, and they don't really function well as a
group. His employment of two hero theme variants for the titular
character is unnecessary, especially with the primary one the score's
most distinctly catchy identity. This main hero theme uses wildly
ascending and descending progressions with swagger, memorable in its
repeated three-note progressions that can be inserted anywhere.
Beginning "Opening" with brazen anticipation of retro style for finger
snapping, vibraphone, marimba, bass flute, and snazzy trumpets, this
theme emerges with muted enthusiasm early in "Hero" and continues with
flighty with attitude in "CIA Lab." It laces "Mr. Yip" briefly, infuses
sadness on solo piano and strings for a short sequence in "Failed,"
reasserts its attitude in "Sparring Match," and streamlines with suave
sophistication and a romantic tilt in "Roadside Briefs." Subtle and cool
in "Banks, Cody Banks," the main hero theme becomes more influential in
the second half suspense of "Break in Part 2," twists into abbreviated
action formations in "Pool Fight," and reprises the same coolness factor
from "Banks, Cody Banks" in "Jr. Jr. Secret Agent."
Fortunately, Powell persists with effective development
of the main theme in the final act. The idea throws an outstanding piano
rhythm under its melody in the attractive "Seaplane," slightly accents
"Escape Fails," guides a moment of confidence late in "Natalie Rescued,"
and shifts to blaring brass counterpoint in "I'll Be Back." At the end
of the story, it wraps the middle of "Hero's Homecoming" on flutes and
trumpets over the finger snapping and concludes the final minutes of
"End Credits" in surprisingly subdued fashion. The other main theme for
the Cody character in
Agent Cody Banks is for his victories, this
heroic identity a rambling, ascending progression that doesn't really
grab you. After anchoring "Skateboard Chase" on electric guitar and
brass in a major announcement, this idea is lightly plucked for humor in
the latter half of "CIA Lab," assists the frantic action late in
"Kitchen Fight," and makes a full-throated return in "Snowmobile Chase."
It punctuates the hope late in "To Lair," gains confidence in the latter
half of "Escape Fails," and finds its footing amongst the outbursts in
"Natalie Rescued" before a dramatic choral ending. Relieved early in
"Hero's Homecoming," this alternate hero theme opens "End Credits" with
gusto for a quick moment and then mingles with the CIA material
thereafter. The boy also has a few secondary motifs of lesser impacts,
starting with one for his awkward teenage self that debuts on tender
celesta and off-kilter strings as an offshoot of the victory hero theme.
Heard there in the final minute of "Opening" and momentarily magical in
the middle of "Silver Button," this theme guides the beginning of
"Sacked," makes a cameo late in "Snowmobile Chase," and intriguingly
closes the "End Credits" without any fanfare. Meanwhile, a theme for
Cody's defeats uses descending phrasing pulled from the main theme and
is previewed in the drama of "Hero." Earning tragic John Barry
formations in "Sacked," the theme becomes the score's prettiest
identity, performed by the ensemble and light choir in "Cody Can't Help"
and reduced to piano again in the middle of "Escape Fails." It turns
positive at the conclusion of "Hero's Homecoming" for the finale and
functions as an awkwardly soft choral interlude at 1:28 into "End
Credits." Far more impactful on the score is Powell's outrageously silly
theme for the CIA, which has all the hallmarks of a 1980's Elmer
Bernstein parody. It's a distinctly (and ironically) Russian tune with
whistling and kazoos in a totally counterintuitive personality.
The composer's oddball theme for the CIA is introduced
briefly in its native march form in "CIA" and twisted into a sickeningly
positive, carnival-like variant in "Field Agent." It definitely touches
upon the
Chicken Run militaristic parody model in "Cody to Duty,"
espousing even a Western feel at times. It's brassy and forceful early
in "Welcome to the CIA" before taking stately string and woodwind
comedy, and it's translated into a quietly noble
Independence
Day-like fanfare in "School Brochure." Prancing through "CIA Cleans
House" with humor again clearly inspired by
Chicken Run, the CIA
theme continues in softer, carefree form in "The Van" before announcing
its seriousness in the middle of "Girl School." It then interrupts the
action in the middle of "Natalie Rescued" and immediately follows the
victory hero theme in "End Credits" and alternates with it, becoming
outwardly jazzy in big band style for the first time. A theme for the
villain and his lair is an elegantly alluring, old school identity.
Powell uses this idea to raise John Barry action and mystery akin to
vintage Bond music in second half of "Break in Part 1," returning in the
same form in the second minute of "Break in Part 2" and even adding
Barry's usual female choir for the mystery element. This theme threatens
in "Sacked," becomes extremely effective at the end of "Seaplane,"
builds its stature throughout "To Lair" on brass, reminds of its
progressions around the victory theme in "Escape Fails," and offers its
most flamboyant crescendos in "Natalie Rescued." In some ways, the
villain theme is notable because it is finally a relief from the
extrovertedly zany expressions of espionage elsewhere. Generally,
Agent Cody Banks accomplishes everything it needs to do with
flair and humor, but it doesn't always translate into a good album
experience. The action cues have pacing issues that make them less
palatable apart from the film, and some will have difficulty tolerating
the constant bombardment of attitude for nearly 80 minutes. These
listeners may find that the entire score lacks a convincing soul or
engaging narrative, too, perhaps suggesting that Powell could have
wrapped together a better product after another decade or two of career
seasoning. The soundtrack album from the release of the film contained
only two score tracks of thematic highlights alongside songs, but
Intrada Records provided the long, score-only presentation alone on a
limited product in 2015. Some Powell enthusiasts may find merit in the
full score, but for every truly cool cue like "Seaplane," there are
several that will test your patience. The film's sequel the following
year was not scored by Powell but would continue utilizing the same
themes.
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- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on Album: ***
- Overall: ***
| Bias Check: |
For John Powell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.3
(in 60 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.12
(in 55,810 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
