Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,812
Written 2/27/12
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Buy it... if you have enjoyed the many similar blends of muscular
Western orchestra, varied choir, and intoxicating Eastern specialty
instruments in the numerous equivalents from other offshoots of the Hans
Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams sound.
Avoid it... if no amount of awesome melodic beauty in the
melodramatic portions of this score can compensate for its rather
sterile and inelegant posture in the action cues.
The Forbidden Kingdom: (David Buckley) Based upon a
variety of fantasy stories combined to form a kung fu adventure set in
ancient China, The Forbidden Kingdom is best known for being the
first movie to ever feature both the legendary martial arts actors
Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Their obligatory fight sequence against each
other near the beginning of the film is a treat to behold, and the
actors confessed to enjoying the ability to shoot their fight scene
unusually smoothly and quickly due to their skill level. Chan plays a
drunken scholar and Li is a monk in The Forbidden Kingdom, the
two teaming up to train a young Boston man (your average, white, urban
nerd) transported magically back in time to China with the help of a
special staff. This American is the unlikely fulfillment of a prophecy
that will bring down the evil ruler of the land and set free the
rightful king from a cursed encasement. Along the way, they pick up a
young woman seeking revenge against the ruler, forming an unlikely
alliance that has to battle through an evil witch assassin and armies of
the enemy before tackling the main warlord at the end. The plot is
utterly ridiculous and occasionally painful to tolerate in its
conversational portions, but entertaining chemistry between Chan and Li
salvage the film from total mediocrity. Their pairing did amuse critics
and audiences enough to generate substantial profits for the early 2008
picture. Given the branching of the Hans Zimmer and Remote
Control-related composing factory into the realm of ancient China at the
time, it shouldn't be surprised that the production sought a low-budget
ethnic score from this group (and its affiliates) in 2007. The
assignment actually went to the offshoot ensemble of artists related to
Harry Gregson-Williams, itself not a stranger to these tones. Based in
part upon a rejected cue that he had written while supplying additional
material for Gregson-Williams' The Number 23, associate composer
David Buckley earned a chance to make The Forbidden Kingdom his
second feature project. The Englishman had been a collaborator with
Gregson-Williams since the mid-2000's, occasionally branching out into
his own assignments, but he was one of the better known composer's
several ghostwriters for a long enough period to earn an avenue into the
industry. With a low budget for The Forbidden Kingdom, Buckley
recorded with the sometimes lackluster Northwest Sinfonia and added
extensive embellishment with the assistance of Gregson-Williams' own
recording studio. The resulting score, not surprisingly, sounds
significantly like an variation on the standard Remote Control and
Gregson-Williams sound, albeit at its better capabilities.
The compliment of specialty instruments to supplement
the Western orchestra is key to the success of
The Forbidden
Kingdom, and Buckley called upon an erhu, pipa, and gu zheng to
produce the expected sound for the location. A little more common is the
electric violin and the various vocal effects, along with the slapping
percussive sounds applied from a more conventional Gregson-Williams
perspective. The mix of the ensemble is heavy on tonal force in unison,
with broad bass emphasis that firmly roots this score, not surprisingly,
in the derivative Remote Control realm. There have been numerous similar
scores to combine the brute Zimmer adventure sound with Eastern
elegance, notably
The Promise by Klaus Badelt and the
Kung Fu
Panda scores by Zimmer and John Powell. In some basic regards,
The Forbidden Kingdom is a close sibling to these other works,
especially when expressing majestic thematic grace with the Western and
Eastern elements in perfect synchrony. There are several crescendos of
grand, melodic resonance in this score, usually accompanying the variety
of beautiful vista shots in the movie but also toned back to address the
mystical side of the tale in conversational scenes. Thematically,
Buckley writes what sounds like a prototypical Zimmer main theme, one
with progressions that wouldn't sound out of place in either the
Kung
Fu Panda or
Madagascar franchises. Its seven notes are
surprisingly malleable, and the composer skillfully adapts the idea into
nearly every cue in his lengthy score, including some faint comedy
references, before its culmination at the end of "As One Tale Ends...."
The secondary themes are arguably stronger, starting with a reverent,
dramatic idea for ancient China fully introduced in "China Begins" and
figuring heavily in the finale. Also of note is the theme for the female
protagonist, the Golden Sparrow receiving a heartbreaking identity
fleshed out in "The Seeker of the Prophecy" and "Her Destiny Was
Written." Other lesser motifs exist for a few characters as well, but
none as interesting. The evil female witch receives an Ennio Morricone
Spaghetti Western tribute motif for electric guitar in "The Tyranny of
War" and "Ni Chang & Her Cult Killers," perhaps the most distracting
negative in the score (along with the inexplicable "...Another Begins").
The action sequences are the score's main fault, the rowdy rhythmic
flair and pounding orchestral hits surprisingly generic and maintaining
little of the ethnic appeal of the majestic portions. Fortunately, the
beautiful parts of
The Forbidden Kingdom occupy a significant
amount of the score's length, making the whole an easily recommendable
diversion. Don't expect high art in this effort (or really anything as
stylishly gripping as in
The Promise), but don't be surprised if
this score becomes a solid "guilty pleasure" in your collection.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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