: (Tyler Bates) As most of the Marvel
Cinematic Universe careens into depressingly existential emotional
territory, the
, but it does so with irreverent satire as
its sidekick. Self-deprecating humor allows audiences to laugh as major
characters are killed without meaning, the storyline even taking aim at
other, specific superhero properties and films. The titular X-Men
spinoff attempts to reconcile his place in the universe during this
sequel, joining other mutants in his haphazard effort to seek revenge,
purpose, and relief from boredom as a time-travelling foe challenges him
and his friends for his own vendetta. Don't expect a masterpiece of
emotional depth here, for this flick is a parody of the highest order,
complicating plans the studio is developing to merge Deadpool into the
rest of the MCU in the future. With a new director at the helm,
thrashed its way to critical and box office success,
its juvenile and arguably sexist messaging kicking all the right people
in the loins for audiences to embrace. The humor and profanity of the
script carries over into its soundtrack, much of which, as with the
preceding movie, dominated by song placements. The original song,
"Ashes," performed by Celine Dion, is a brilliant deadpan success, the
performer gorgeously juxtaposing her own rock ballad beauty against the
asininity of the concept. It's a fantastic song in every regard, albeit
one that is not connected in any way to the score. That score,
meanwhile, is, according to its publicity campaign, the first ever to
force an "explicit content" parental advisory on its album for its
incorporation of profanity directly into its musical recording. This
appropriate feat was served up by Tyler Bates, who had collaborated with
newly arrived director David Leitch multiple times and had proven his
chops in the
franchise, where his music
was equally assailed by extensive song placements. The original music
for 2016's
was the sorry work of Tom Holkenborg (Junkie
XL), who provided the concept with arguably the worst noise ever placed
into a Marvel film. For some listeners, the replacement of Holkenborg
with Bates will alone yield enough merit to generate interest in the
sequel score.
The road travelled by Bates to arrive at
Deadpool
2 is an unlikely one; after his blundering imitation job for 2007's
300, his inartful copying forced the studio, Warner Brothers, to
embarrassingly admit that the score had been plagiarized. And despite
his atonement in several assignments since, including a significant
maturation of his symphonic aptitude on display in the
Guardians of
the Galaxy scores, the situation for
300 will be relevant for
some listeners of
Deadpool 2 because of the 2018 score's clear
referencing of previous film music. The difference here, of course, is
that
Deadpool 2 is a project of satirical intent, so a parody
score with plundering of existing material is, to some extent,
forgivable. Still, film music collectors will hear a fair dose of Carlo
Siliotto's rather solemn romanticism in the 2004 score for
The
Punisher, both in the total resurrection of its main theme and in
the style of some of its sparse but heroic orchestral passages. Much of
the score also owes to Christopher Lennertz's parody methodology, with
2008's
Meet the Spartans coming to mind at several junctures. The
technique of overblown, choral interludes with funny lyrics is a direct
carry over from Theodore Shapiro's highly entertaining
Captain
Underpants: The First Epic Movie in 2017. There are also some
singular moments of direct referencing, highlighted by the obvious
homage to Brad Fiedel's 1984 favorite,
The Terminator, in the
first half of "Ice Box." Unfortunately, none of Bates' knock-off
applications of these general ideas can compete with the prowess of the
aforementioned originals, the Siliotto score maintaining a distinctive
flavor that compensates for its sometimes-awkward simplicity, and the
genre veterans, Lennertz and Shapiro, simply superior in all regards of
parody writing. In fairness, Bates' score is a choppy mess of short
recordings due to spotting needs (haphazard pacing in the plot and song
placements), so the highlights in his work are brief by necessity. But,
more importantly, they do not convey the robust stature of the
Guardians of the Galaxy scores when a parody moment calls for
such grandeur to be overwhelming. Instead of sounding like a fantastic
tribute to the superhero genre in satirical glee,
Deadpool 2
instead meanders through rather cheap-sounding imitations for much of
its short overall duration.
Some listeners will applaud Bates' work for
Deadpool
2 simply because it is light years ahead of Holkenborg's music in
terms of supplying some dose of narrative quality, orchestral fortitude,
and, of course, humor. And, on those counts, Bates prevails. He is very
loyal to his main
The Punisher theme, providing it the expected
fanfare performances, sometimes with choral backing, in "X-Men Arrive,"
"Courage Mother Fucker," and "Docking," the last of which segueing
directly into some Hans Zimmer
Gladiator chord progressions. The
melody also receives satisfyingly tender renditions in "Sorry For Your
Loss" and "Let Me In," though just like the fanfare versions, these
softer interludes are too short to really appreciate on album. An
appropriately fleeting theme for the love interest is explored in
"Vanessa," though this material is underplayed in tone and unnecessarily
abandoned. Piano applications for friendship and family yield one
touching moment for the villain in "Cable Flashback." The choral usage
is where this score makes its name, Bates offering female vocalists
chanting "holy shit balls" in "Holy Shit Balls" and "You Can't Stop This
Motherfucker." In "Fighting Dirty," Bates introduces his main action
motif, a rather simple chant over aggressive percussion and electric
guitar with flourishes of flailing brass counterpoint. The
Latin-inspired choral performances in this cue are switched to open
profanity in "You Can't Stop This Motherfucker," in which a supporting
character is supplied some lyrical unholiness. Frankly, this score
required more such brazen choral attitude, as much of it devolves into
rather tepid ambience. Lengthy cues like "Make the Whole World Our
Bitch" and "The Orphanage" do nothing to propel the narrative forward,
stewing in non-descript orchestral and synthetic tones. On the other end
of the volume scale, "Mutant Convoy" resurrects some of the worst
electronic mannerisms of the Holkenborg predecessor. Overall, the main
Dion song is the clear highlight of the overall soundtrack for
Deadpool 2, but don't expect to hear it on the same album with
the score. Bates' parody attempt is an improvement in the franchise and
amuses at times, but it falls short due to blatant referencing at its
best moments and insufficient, dull droning in its worst. Its album
includes only 37 minutes of music, some of which badly edited in an
effort to merge cues for the presentation. From the unnatural fade-in to
open "X-Men Arrive" at the start to the atrocious transition at 0:22
into "Courage Mother Fucker" at the end, the product lacks appeal
outside of one survey for amusement. It's like watching an online video
of a violently overflowing urinal; it earns a chuckle once, but that's
about it.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: ***
- Music as Heard on the Score-Only Album: **
- Overall: **
