The other-worldly presence of the Quantum Realm allowed
Beck to explore heavily processed instruments, a detuned violin, and a
variety of old synthetic tones to create an abrasive atmosphere for
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The rhythmic synthetic effects
of the prior scores seem more intrusive in the suspense portions at
times, and there is an excess of this clunky, ambient tension in the
middle of the score, translating into some tough extended passages on
album. When Beck does pull the tone back to the superhero genre with his
London and Vienna ensembles, he often supplies merely generic fare,
losing increasing amounts of the personality from the first score. There
are a few highlights that manage to prevail, but the music may sound
much more pro forma than expected when not pummeling you with the new
villain material. Beck does, to his credit, reprise the major themes you
come to expect in this franchise, including those for Ant-Man, the Wasp,
and both Janet Van Dyne and Hank Pym. Joining those ideas are new
identities for Kang, his henchman, M.O.D.O.K., and the Axia setting.
Listeners dissatisfied with the reduced applications of the main Ant-Man
theme in the prior film of 2018 will appreciate that Beck returns it to
primary status here. The Ant-Man theme's underlying rhythm is used to
better ends in this score as its own driving force; it's all over the
place and sometimes deconstructed, as in "Quantum Nexus." Beck's new
arrangement of the idea for the start of the end credits, "Theme from
'Quantumania'," contains all usual skittish secondary lines that gave
the idea such unique character in the first film. Essentially a faster,
repackaged version of first score's "Theme From Ant-Man," this cue's
stinging electronic effects along with accelerated pace offer a nice new
take on the idea. Elsewhere, the theme appears in a brief moment of
action at 2:06 into "The Hunter" and slows to fanfare mode at 0:32 into
"Honey, I Shrunk the Energy Core," with nice, melodramatic development
in the second half of this cue joined by rare choir. The theme stomps
early in "Sting Low, Sweet Variant," mingles redemptively with the Wasp
theme on strings in "Don't Let Go," and supplies its rhythmic
undercurrents to several other cues. It opens "Hymenoptera" in
compelling string phrasing and muscular brass in anthemic form,
eventually conveying an interestingly dramatic take on the theme,
including its Western percussive colors.
In many ways, Beck's identity for the Wasp is the more
attractive melody in this franchise, and while the idea is a regular
contributor in
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it never
achieves an extended, suite-like presence in the work. The theme makes
its first impact in an action burst at 1:28 into "The Hunter" with
fuller heroics at 2:40, later emerging in the middle of "Fifty Shades of
Kang" with muted confidence. The Wasp theme enjoys a short pair of
phrases at the end of "Quantum Nexus," is yearningly light in the first
minute of "The Conqueror," and informs the hopeful ascending figures in
"Look Out For the Little Guy." Some of the best development of the theme
comes in "Sting Low, Sweet Variant," where it follows the Ant-Man theme
at 0:47. It is stated against the Ant-Man figures in the second half of
"Kang Bang," informs inspirational ideas in "Like Father Like Daughter,"
opens "Threnody for a Reformed Dick" lightly, and helps defeat the Kang
material at 2:11 into "Lang vs. Kang." The other returning themes never
had huge impacts in the previous scores, but their usage has remained
consistent. Here, the Janet Van Dyne theme is teased during the first
half of "Fifty Shades of Kang" while the Hank Pym theme experiences more
glory in this score, building massively throughout "Alien Ant Harm"
until a heroic statement at 2:01. Arguably the new main theme for
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania belongs to the locale of Axia,
its melody seemingly inspired by a phrase of the Janet Van Dyne theme
and espousing a touch of Henry Jackman's
Strange World theme,
too. It sounds like a secondary phrase for another identity, though,
never resolving despite some impressive statements. The Axia theme is
established lightly but dramatically in the first half of "We Should Be
Dead" but becomes obviously massive on brass at 0:21 into "Skies of
Axia," which has a touch of Michael Giacchino's
Tomorrowland in
its midsection. The idea is again massive and fantastic amongst the
action at 1:31 into "Sting Low, Sweet Variant" and later interrupts a
dramatic moment at the end of "Like Father Like Daughter." It ensues
mysteriously at 1:13 into "Don't Let Go" before building to a satisfying
close. While these renditions of the Axia theme aren't particularly
frequent in the narrative, they do represent the most tonally impressive
new material in this score, even if the underlying structure is somewhat
simplistic and derivative.
While the protagonist themes in
Ant-Man and the
Wasp: Quantumania serve their purposes pretty well, those of the
villains struggle to identify themselves beyond their instrumental and
digital tones. The theme for Kang is particularly nebulous, his rhythmic
pounding sometimes manipulated to represent M.O.D.O.K. as well. It
consists of aggressively percussive banging and dissonant electronic
effects, occasionally joined by stomping chords and slurring pitches
with little melodic value. It wiggles into the soundscape at 0:10 into
"What is This Place?" but becomes more obnoxious in its menace and
volume at 0:18 into "The Hunter." This material gains momentum in the
second half of "The Conqueror," consolidating to two-note phrases of
rather simplistic pomp. Its rhythmic force annoyingly plagues the latter
half of "Sting Operation," but it returns to its two-note bravado in the
middle of "Kang Bang." The stomping percussive and electronic rhythms
dominate early in "Lang vs. Kang" as well. More interesting is Beck's
handling of the Darren Cross/M.O.D.O.K. theme, which shares ascending
structural aspects with the Wasp material and develops fully in "He's
Kang, He Saw, He Conquered." For the character's redemptive turn, Beck
takes the theme through a positive transformation throughout "Threnody
for a Reformed Dick," aided by angelic choral tones by the end. Don't
expect to remember either of these identities by the conclusion of the
movie, however. The highlights of
Ant-Man and the Wasp:
Quantumania all feature the Axia theme or new renditions of the
previously existing themes, the nice handling of them in "Sting Low,
Sweet Variant" seemingly punctuated by a blaster beam effect. Along with
that cue is the Hank Pym theme evolution in "Alien Ant Harm" and the
great, punchy performance of the main theme in "Hymenoptera" with
distinctly Western percussive flair. The album also includes a source
track; the somewhat juvenile "Holes" poem performed by David
Dastmalchian's slime-like character is a really awkward way to conclude
the presentation. Ultimately, the narrative of this score is reasonably
appealing at either end of the story, but the middle passages of
suspense and action are surprisingly bland. There's only so much appeal
left in the manipulation of organic tones, and Beck doesn't provide
sufficient interest there. It's a step back overall when compared to the
prior two scores, but there is ten to fifteen minutes of very engaging
music spread over three or four cues that certainly belong with the best
moments of the preceding works.
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