: (Brian Tyler) One mainstream
movie reviewer, upon witnessing the spectacle of bloody mayhem in this,
the fourth installment of the
franchise,
referred to the film as "death porn in 3D." The "death porn" part has
been integral to each of the four films, but New Line Cinema and the
writer and director of the second
film decided
to revisit the topic to try to impress audiences by creatively killing
characters in a 3D format that allows the blood splattering to be thrown
right at the viewer. Not unexpectedly, the 2009 version of
(now doing without appended sequel numbers to purpose
even the slightest of originality) was absolutely thrashed by critics,
some major ones refusing to dignify it with any review at all. For those
unfamiliar with the general premise of the films in this franchise, all
you need to know is that a group of young eye candy (sometimes in wet
clothesÉ shocking!) cheats death by evading an accident that was meant
to kill all of them. One of these dorks has premonitions about death
coming to seek them out one by one, and they ignore him at their own
peril. Each one is subsequently brutally murdered in accidents that do
indeed fit the descriptor of "death porn." Unfortunately, anyone who has
enough of a brain to get hung up on fallacies of logic will find only
one redeeming aspect of
: its brief,
75-minute running time. Those who think that auto racing is an asinine
activity might get a chuckle out of it, too. Regardless of its
incredible stupidity, the 2009 film did well enough at the box office in
its first week to grant it a place alongside the previous three variants
of the 2000's. All of those predecessors were scored by composer Shirley
Walker, who defied her appearance (which otherwise would have indicated
that she was too sweet a grandmother figure to even view films like
these) by writing occasionally impressive, mean-spirited orchestral
force for the concept. Her music for
at the
start of the decade was a brutal powerhouse of an orchestral score,
providing the production with an intelligent set of motifs that were
explored in different stylistic forms in the two sequels. She died of a
stroke at age 61 not long after completing
in
2006, however, and the franchise was stripped of perhaps its only
intellectual element.
For the 2009 3D retelling of
Final Destination,
the production turned to the capable Brian Tyler to further explore new
stylistic territory while making substantial use of the structures and
tone of Walker's music. Such assignments have become all too common in
Tyler's career in the late 2000's. From
Rambo and
Aliens vs.
Predator: Requiem to
Fast & Furious and
The Final
Destination, Tyler has spent more than his fair share of time
establishing and re-establishing the sounds of franchises past their
expiration date. His ability to approach these scores intelligently and
provide adequate if not strikingly overachieving recordings is testimony
to his immense talents. His extension of Walker's sound in
Final
Destination is keenly astute, proving again that he is a man who
does his homework. But for films like this, does such an effort really
matter? Why bother? In this case, there is one compelling reason, and it
relates to an affection for Walker's contribution to the industry. In
essence, what Tyler has provided for
The Final Destination is
something of a tribute to Walker, going so far as to revisit several of
her constructs in a lengthy suite recorded just for the album. Her
descending main theme on low strings is the centerpiece of Tyler's
score, mutated into even an explosive hard rock variant in the opening
piece. In
Final Destination 2, Walker started taking the theme in
hip electronic directions, and Tyler does the same with the aid of
slight electronic rhythmic devices that expand the scope of the
otherwise mostly orchestral recording. Tyler references this theme
frequently, though less utilized is the counterpoint that Walker
sometimes placed over the top of it. Perhaps more memorable from
Walker's score was an intensity from the percussion section, with
pounding drums and slapping treble effects often punctuating the death
scenes with a fierce tone. Tyler, always seemingly enthusiastic to let
rip with varied arrays of drums, follows this template as well. On top
of that, Walker often used whining, scratchy strings as a tool for
dissonance with which to represent the suspense of the premonitions, and
Tyler once again reprises that technique (producing the same effect as
in his
Timeline score). Some of the motifs are different here;
instead of Walker's three-note death theme (from key down a note and
back up to key), Tyler employs a more standard minor third alternation
for the same purpose.
Outside of the few cues in which Tyler takes the score
in a more contemporary direction (highlighted by the opening piece but
extending into soft pop variants in cues of solace or pondering), it's
difficult to distinguish a distinctive new personality from Tyler
specifically for this film. The Walker material is so recognizable that
perhaps Tyler was at a disadvantage in these regards, and the score
functions well enough without a fiery new, memorable motif. This is,
after all, a remake. As per usual, Tyler does provide a few genuinely
ass-kicking action cues that merit some attention for his enthusiasts in
the film music collecting community. The suite at the end of the product
is a fantastic summary of the franchise that starts to go beyond
Walker's otherwise dominant material (it would have been nice to hear
the plaintive, solo trumpet counterpoint from the "Main Title" of
Final Destination reprised at the end of this suite, though). But
the highlight of the applied music in
The Final Destination is
"The Movie Theater," which, despite some slightly obnoxious synthetic
effects in its ranks, is about as ballsy an orchestral ruckus as you
will hear. Some will hear too much of the industrial, staccato pounding
familiar to Hans Zimmer's clones in this piece, but in this recording,
as well as the rest of the score, Tyler maintains enough organic layers
to keep the environment from becoming synthetically stale. In some cues,
hearing Tyler's take on the franchise's music is equivalent to hearing
David Arnold's take on the vintage James Bond style. Some listeners will
best appreciate Tyler's more contemplative side, which explores some
seemingly unique thematic material of sensitivity that can be heard in
"Memorial," "George is Next," and other light, typically keyboarded
respites from the shrieking, bombastic horror. Ultimately, the score for
2009's
The Final Destination is a nice tribute to Shirley Walker
and her life and career cut so very short. None of her three scores for
this franchise were released, and there will undoubtedly be some
collectors who wish that those works had been pressed onto a retail CD
instead of this entry. But in the absence of such treatment, Tyler's
recording is an adequate replacement, competently handling the subject
while very carefully maintaining Walker's material for a brief
resurrection. But the heights possible with this assignment were
inherently limited, and while time is on his side, Tyler does need to
carry his talents into a higher level of industry intellect. His
knowledge base and capabilities are too valuable to spend his career
toiling with the embarrassing likes of
The Final Destination.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Brian Tyler reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.2
(in 41 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.13
(in 19,673 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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