: (Alan Silvestri) The efforts of
Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios to adapt the classic Marvel comic
book heroes to the big screen in the 2010's has revolutionized the
production methodology of blockbuster films. Playing like
extraordinarily expensive television series, these Marvel films tie
actors into multi-picture contracts, cost an extraordinary amount of
money to make, and require significant forethought in story-telling. The
films combining the Marvel cinematic properties, starting with
in 2012, have all been good for roughly $1.5 billion in
worldwide grosses each, dominating the list of top-earning movies of all
time. Topping those audience favorites is 2019's
, the short-term conclusion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
and much anticipated antidote for the previous year's sour
. There reaches a point where the quantity of
characters, and, in this case, timelines, becomes so massive and diluted
that it seems like the whole point of the production is to work in as
many connective nuggets as possible. But critics and audiences forgave
for realizing such aspirations, the studios
vowing to let the franchise take a pause thereafter. The deaths and
retirements of a few major characters are diminished by the knowledge
that everything in these concepts is negotiable, the magic of the
universe allowing damn-near anything to happen, if only in an alternate
timeline. It suffices to say that
brings peace
to the franchise and will allow individual characters to forge onward in
their own films. Despite all the extensive planning for the coordination
of these productions, the consistency of the music has been poor at
best. Only through the efforts of veteran action composer Alan Silvestri
in the majority of
films has
some lasting identity formed in the original scores. Like many of these
films,
features numerous songs interpolated
into the picture, in this case reprising some placements from previous
entries. But Silvestri's work is the highlight of the soundtrack for
, with the cue "Portals" considered so highly by
the studio that Marvel produced an official music video for it.
With Silvestri's continued presence, the music of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally started to gel. Part of that
triumph is the composer's utilization of not only his own prior themes
for the franchise but those of other composers as well. Whether the
interpolations are re-recorded or dropped wholesale from the prior
scores doesn't always matter; most characters' presence on screen is so
limited in time that the distinction is not important. The inclusion of
Pinar Toprak's material from
Captain Marvel, Michael Giacchino's
Doctor Strange, Christophe Beck's
Ant-Man, Tyler Bate's
Guardians of the Galaxy, and Mark Mothersbaugh's
Thor:
Ragnarok helps to smooth over the franchise's haphazard musical
handling of the
Iron Man and
Spider-Man concepts. For the
occasion, Silvestri returned to 95 musicians from the London Symphony
Orchestra and flavored the score for
Avengers: Endgame with a
comparatively unusual blend of singular stylistic character for
individual locations, times, and characters. But the highlight of the
composer's toil is the enhanced adaptation of his main rhythmic figures
and theme from
The Avengers, its utilization widespread and
adapted for a variety of personalities. It's clear that Silvestri wished
to adopt the instrumentation of the composer's themes into his own
existing themes as a preference to reprising all of the other themes at
every chance. Casual fans will likely latch onto Silvestri's blazing
fanfare statements of his main theme in "Arrival" (or "No Trust,"
depending on which album you have), "One Shot," "Portals," and "Main on
End," and these convey the roaring, percussion-pounding Silvestri style
of yesteryear that continues to function well. In the absence of a theme
for Tony Stark's leadership of the group of heroes, this identity is the
best available. Unfortunately, that lack of theme for Iron Man forced
Silvestri to write a new one for
Avengers: Endgame as means of
closing out his narrative arc and bringing the Avengers team together
emotionally. This "family theme" is highly reminiscent of the sensitive
parts of
Ready Player One and is introduced fully in the middle
of "I Figured It Out." The emotional scene of solace "The Real Hero"
conveys the idea with melodramatic force, and Silvestri opens his
credits sequence, "Main on End," with heroically Jerry Goldsmith-like
horn and trumpet counterpoint for the idea.
For the secondary characters in
Avengers:
Endgame lucky enough to have musical identities, Silvestri
charmingly closes out his Captain America theme in "Five Seconds" and
"Go Ahead," with an especially nice send-off in the latter cue. An
appropriate amount of sentimentality is appreciated in the warmth heard
in parts of these cues. The composer's themes for Thanos and the
Infinity Stones are certainly not forgotten, the former best applied
here in "Destiny Fulfilled." The sacrifice motif from two of his other
scores is also reprised, this time occupying the ultra-tragic crescendo
in the latter half of "Not Good" for another high-profile death. Most of
the references to themes by a composer other than Silvestri are not
represented on either album release for
Avengers: Endgame, but
two of them do make notable, if not pleasantly surprising appearances.
First, Silvestri adapts Mark Mothersbaugh's cue, "Twilight of the Gods,"
from
Thor: Ragnarok to serve as the theme here for New Asgard
and, by relation, Thor. (The lack of a consistent theme for Thor in this
franchise is another serious problem despite fleeting connectivity
between the scores in the Thor-related films over the years.) The
Hardanger fiddle concocted by Mothersbaugh for this theme returns in
"Snap Out of It," and Silvestri gives the idea a more conventional
orchestral passage early in "The Measure of a Hero." Likewise, a
highlight of the score is the unexpected reprise of Tyler Bates' cue,
"Morag," from
Guardians of the Galaxy for much of "The Tool of a
Thief," Silvestri offering the Bates idea a bit more mysterious
performance personality in its loftier orchestrations. The two
highlights of the composer's instrumental adaptations from previous
scores are led by the Beck-inspired coolness for Ant-Man in "The How
Works," that skittish and jazzy personality carrying the main Avengers
theme well. The Giacchino-style
Doctor Strange instrumentation in
"He Gave It Away" for the Sanctum Sanctorum scene is a little less
obvious but also appreciated. The jazz element in this score is an
intriguing diversion because Silvestri extends it further as the action
moves back in time. By "In Plain Sight," the composer fully revisits his
Who Framed Roger Rabbit tones; it's somewhat distracting given
that the music is dates from several decades prior to the time frame
seen on screen, but at least it's a different tact from the expected
norm, and Silvestri nicely weaves the propulsive Avengers rhythm into
its style.
When you put all of these parts of the score together,
Avengers: Endgame is an intellectually engaging whole that
features some truly enjoyable highlights. The handling of the main
franchise theme by Silvestri is the clear attraction here, especially by
the action material late in the film. To a significant degree, the
composer has managed to avoid creating a disjointed score despite all
the interpolations, though only a truly complete presentation of the
work could confirm that feeling. The jazzy tilt to cues in the score's
middle act do slow the listening experience, which is a problem given
that the initial twenty or so minutes of this work are disappointingly
mundane anyway. It's almost as though Silvestri allowed the prevailing
sense of sorrow from the previous film preclude any opportunity to
unleash even a glimmer of optimism in these passages (outside of a
notable burst of the main theme in "Arrival/No Trust"). The action
sequences later in the work pull the demeanor of the franchise's prior
music back into focus, culminating in a "Portals" cue that serves as the
best victorious climax to the franchise imaginable. The merging of the
family and main franchise themes in this cue may not be entirely elegant
(the same could be said about "Main on End"), but the depth of their
tonal bravado is undeniably satisfying. Vintage Silvestri enthusiasts
will love the hint of
Predator and
Back to the Future
rhythmic percussion under the main theme performance in "One Shot,"
perhaps the score's most appealing guilty pleasure cue harkening back to
the same nostalgia that defined
Ready Player One. The album
presentation of
Avengers: Endgame is much less satisfying than
the score itself as a whole. A digital release of 117 minutes is
challenging to tolerate, the first half of that album significantly
dragging as the heroes regroup and plan their actions. Likewise, the
albums reveal that a cue like "You Did Good," which is badly underplayed
for a scene that required more than slight ambience, can significantly
impede the listening experience. The CD album is 77 minutes long, with
extensive microediting that includes the thematic highlight of "No Trust"
added to the end of "Arrival" and the opening of "Tunnel Scape" added to
the start of "Worth It" on the CD. The rest of "Tunnel Scape" needed to
be on CD, along with "Destiny Fulfilled," as both contain pivotal narrative
or action material. Silvestri accomplished his task well for
Avengers:
Endgame, but both album presentations are incomplete and flawed. A
film that grosses nearly $3 billion can certainly afford the licensing
costs of a proper album, and the franchise deserves it.
@Amazon.com: CD or
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- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on Album: ***
- Overall: ****
| Bias Check: |
For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.39
(in 36 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.28
(in 34,196 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
