| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Deadpool & Wolverine (Rob Simonsen)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... for its smart blend of irreverent coolness and symphonic
conventions, Rob Simonsen providing an intelligent approach to the
superhero realm and the best score to this point in the Deadpool
franchise.
Avoid it... if you expect the references to other franchise themes to be satisfactorily overt, a couple of them blatant and credited but others just a tad too obscure for most casual listeners to appreciate.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Deadpool & Wolverine: (Rob Simonsen) Delayed for
years because of Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the third
film in the Deadpool franchise was altered by its new owners to
mingle it with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. With intellectual
properties, there is no greater friend than the concept of the
multiverse, and 2024's Deadpool & Wolverine makes the most of
this infinite realm of possibilities to bring together a variety of
characters from the Disney and Fox studios' past, even if just as
cameos. The Wade Wilson in this particular timeline is defeated and no
longer conducting ass-kicking as Deadpool, and he learns that this
unfortunate scenario is because the anchoring superhero in his timeline,
Wolverine, is dead. So along the route to thwarting a new supervillain
with the intent to wipe out whole timelines, this version of Deadpool
must steal a blundering Wolverine from another timeline to try to
restore balance. The movie becomes something of a buddy story between
Wade and Logan, with all the cameos and cross-references to other
character concepts keeping audiences amused. And it worked, Deadpool
& Wolverine becoming an immense theatrical success and proving that
Disney is more than capable of providing the R-rated tones necessary for
parts of this universe. With the perpetual shifting of the crews
involved in this particular franchise, it's no surprise that a new
director and composer stepped aboard. What's not controversial is the
immense quantity of pop music that was infused into the picture,
countless placements dominating the movie and forcing the original score
to work a narrative around them. For his part, composer Rob Simonsen,
who continues his collaboration with director Shawn Levy for this
assignment, wrote a substantial amount of music for the film anyway. The
Deadpool movies have never been known for the intellectual
prowess of their film scores, the prior entries by Tom Holkenborg and
Tyler Bates substandard (and at times unlistenable) by even guilty
pleasure standards. Simonsen largely ignores that history for the
character and instead opts for a cameo thematic approach to Deadpool
& Wolverine, supplementing his keen references with a blend of
symphonic and electronic tones that suits the concept well.
For film score collectors, Simonsen's ability to approach this kind of project with a smart eye for the preceding franchise elements is not a surprise. After all, his work for Ghostbusters: Afterlife was a masterclass in the adaptation of a challenging existing musical template into a newer and grander sound. Despite the composer's many nods to prior music by Marco Beltrami, Alan Silvestri, John Ottman, and the likes, however, he's crafted a solid, self-contained superhero score for Deadpool & Wolverine, one far more cohesive than it could have been given the formulaic approach seemingly guiding everything in these movies. Simonson's tone and instrumentation are nearly perfect for the occasion, infusing the necessary grandiose orchestral force for the genre, synthetic and rock influence for the coolness of the crossover, and even a few moments of outright humor for the Deadpool character in particular. The atmosphere is appropriate in all corners, the villain's material stewing through its darkness while the hero prevails with stylish pizazz and other characters struggle with their fates to dramatic effect. A mixed choir lends occasional fantasy impact, as at the end of "I Love This Part," sometimes chanting for the apocalyptic fear that comes with a timeline's foul destiny. Simonsen manages to keep the soundscape tonal in most corners, allowing creative blasts of electronics at times for shock value but not dwelling on those techniques. The orchestrations are fairly crisp through, their mix emphasizing solo piano and horn when needed but also shining in fuller sequences. Guiding the composer's narrative is a distinctly strong set of themes and secondary motifs, the main three ideas applied as appropriate though not necessarily intertwined structurally. The main new theme for Wade and Deadpool features a core three-note phrase with a four-note answer, its progressions a little awkward but adapted well. Simonsen expands greatly upon this core to form a far more romantically fluid theme, and the longer version earns its stripes by the end of the story. The first two tracks on the score-only album illuminate the theme's two disparate personalities, "LFG" being irreverently cool with meowing cat noises for effect. Conversely, "Deadpool Has a Theme" elongates the idea with additional notes from the orchestra for a more somber appeal, though the prior track's electronic tilt returns nicely alongside the ensemble by the end. Throughout the score for Deadpool & Wolverine, Simonsen extensively adapts his main Deadpool theme in creative ways. It offers slight comedic shades from marimba, choir, and handbells in "It's Been a While" whereas the score's contemplative solo horn returns for more melancholy exploration at the outset of "Reaching Too High," later building to a faux-heroic crescendo at the cue's end. The idea is a bit more determined in the middle of "Make a Wish" but very slight in the ascension to the Silvestri material in "Walk With Me" and in the same role at the start of "They're Coming." It experiences a humorous string aside in "You Were Chest F'd by a Tree," a snazzy reprise of "LFG" in "I Called Some Friends," including the cat noises, and turns jazzy on saxophone at the start and end of the sideshow in "Steadily Great Since Endgame." The main theme is fragmented at the start of "Enjoy My Peter" but later takes a bold, militaristic hero stance while it underpins the action in "He's Not Gonna Make It" before becoming majestically impressive. The theme is again pensive on piano and horn in "Ripper Carnage" but explodes to full coolness with sound effects and electric guitar in "Special Sock," a fitting sendoff. The other top theme in the score represents Logan's Wolverine, and this material is all derived to some degree from Marco Beltrami's main idea for the 2017 film Logan. Although Simonsen provides outright reprises of that score's titles cue in three places here, he also adapts it into a far more romantic identity, one especially well adapted on piano to give it a new personality. It thus eventually becomes a "fallen heroes" theme and is extensively referenced as such. The Beltrami idea is boiled down to solo piano and horn leads in "That's Her," and the horn starts taking the theme in Simonsen's new direction in "The Heroes We Were." The melody returns to piano and joins with cello in "You Were Always the Wrong Guy" but finally finds its heroic mode several times over driving electronics in "Name for Myself." (A far more abrasive, synthetic take on this cue exists in "Name for Myself (Alternate Version)" on album.) This theme continues informing the action in "Death or Enslavement," offers contemplative continuation on piano and murky haze in "I Walked Away," marks a solo horn return in "My Brother Loved You," and is explored in its fully adapted form in "Fallen Heroes" for a nice symphonic suite to close out the album presentation. By the end of the narrative, this secondary theme has really established its equality with the Deadpool material. The third major identity in Simonsen's music for Deadpool & Wolverine represents the threats and weirdness of the multiverse and, by association the villain, Cassandra. This music is anchored by a frequently electric and rising, slurred bass motif, with three notes at its heart but too vague to really suffice as a melody. While synthetics and low strings often carry this feeling of doom, metallic percussion is sometimes employed for the character's powers. These sinister tones are previewed in the first half of "Two Choices" and finally consolidate late in "Finger-Lickin' Dead-Inside Pixie Slab of Third Rate Dime-Store Nut-Milk" and "Your Fingers Are Inside Me, But Not in a Good Way," the latter pounding away at it. Simonsen supplies the cat noises as an accent to the theme in "Hideout" and threatens with it late in "You Were Always the Wrong Guy." The idea stews throughout "We Have Company" on low strings, joined by choir, and occupies "Let's Up the Stakes." Ancillary to Simonsen's other recurring themes are some attractive moments that don't ever quite congeal. The lovely and vaguely Celtic tune at 1:37 into "Walk With Me" returns late in "Two Choices" while similar music intervenes on piano at 1:35 into "Your Fingers Are Inside Me, But Not in a Good Way," yields brief tonal optimism in the middle of "Hideout," and charms in the latter half of "There's Nothing to Fix." Of course, there are also the references to other franchise themes along the way, some of them so subtle that they aren't officially credited. Silvestri's headlining The Avengers theme makes a notable cameo in the middle of "Walk With Me," and drum rhythms in the first minute of "They're Coming" reference his Captain America alternative. John Ottman's music from the Fantastic Four scores obtusely informs the quick buildup in the last minute of "They're Coming." For the Pyro character, Simonsen blends parts of both Ottman's X2: X-Men United and John Powell's X-Men: The Last Stand for the action rhythms at 1:09 into "They're Coming" and, in lesser allusions, "I Love This Part." Finally, the sitar late in "My Brother Loved You" may hint at Danny Elfman's approach to Doctor Strange. Even without these Easter eggs, Simonsen's score for Deadpool & Wolverine is intelligent and forms a remarkably cohesive narrative despite battling so many songs. It is certainly the most entertaining Deadpool score of the franchise to this point. The blend of genre musical norms is handled adeptly, and while cues like "Family Feud," most of "Eat My Feelings" may not serve the album experience with any benefit, the score makes for an appealing listen on its own, cat noises and all. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 66:51
NOTES & QUOTES:
There exists no official packaging for this album.
Copyright ©
2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Deadpool & Wolverine are Copyright © 2024, Hollywood Records/Marvel Music and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 8/1/24 (and not updated significantly since). |
