| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Dario Marianelli)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... on album if you couldn't remember hearing much of Dario
Marianelli's music as buried in the film's mix, for it contains some
lovely highlights and smart adaptations of Elmer Bernstein's 1984
score.
Avoid it... if you expect this score to achieve the same brilliant balance of humorous reverence and narrative warmth as Rob Simonsen's superior, preceding entry.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: (Dario Marianelli)
After successfully transferring ownership of the Ghostbusters
franchise to the descendants of Harold Ramis' character, Egon Spengler,
in 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the concept explores an
episodic venture teaming those new main characters with some of the
legacy favorites in 2024's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The
younger Spenglers now operate the original paranormal-encasing firehouse
in New York that was featured in the first two films of the 1980's, with
assistance received from several original characters. The movie attempts
to be two things at once, telling of a demonic god that seeks to destroy
the city and universe, which is completely normal for the concept, and a
coming of age tale about Phoebe Spengler, who is ostracized in the story
because of her younger age. The new threat to humanity is rather mundane
and not really all that scary, and the comedy of the tale is provided by
the bumbling fool whose destiny it is to defeat the monster with the
help of the original Ghostbusters group. The heart of the story lies
with the Phoebe loneliness portion, however, making Ghostbusters:
Frozen Empire a surprisingly serious and at times almost boring
experience. The movie lacks the nostalgic appeal and massive heart of
its predecessor, exposing uncertainty about the path forward for both
the new and old characters. Nevertheless, there is enough familiarity in
the movie to suffice, from Dan Aykroyd's lovably outsized role to
hearing someone to refer to William Atherton's returning Walter Peck
character as "dickless." One aspect of the movie that was very curiously
diminished is its music. The iconic Ray Parker Jr. song, "Ghostbusters,"
returns as necessary in the final scene of victory, but the film
otherwise uses only a couple of source songs and pushes its score to
minimal volumes for much of its running time. More than any other
Ghostbusters movie, the soundtrack is largely irrelevant in
advancing the narrative or feel of the experience.
The soundtrack for Ghostbusters: Afterlife by Rob Simonsen was an immensely surprising deviation for the composer, but he turned the assignment into the pinnacle of his career at the time. His attention to Elmer Bernstein's original 1984 score was extraordinarily admirable; not only was the faithful reprise of the Bernstein sound merited due to the return of several story elements from the first film, but Simonsen proved just how intelligently any franchise's music can be adapted for new characters. Along the way, Simonsen also wrote a heartbreaking theme for the Spengler family that rose to magnificence in the final scenes of that score. Sadly, nothing that he conjured freshly for Ghostbusters: Afterlife survives in the score for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Taking over the director's chair is Gil Kenan, and with him came his prior collaborator, Dario Marianelli, for the score. While the loss of Simonsen was immediately lamented, the addition of Marianelli raised hopes for an equally superb score, as the composer has not only shown himself to be extremely thoughtful but has proven his chops in major adventure scores since the 2000's, including an impressive entry for Bumblebee in the "Transformers" franchise. Thankfully, he did emulate Simonsen in one way: he consulted with Bernstein's son, Peter, to assist in the adaptation of the melodic pieces and instrumentation from the 1984 score into his own. Marianelli deserves credit for taking this approach just as Simonsen had, though he doesn't really succeed to the same precise degree as the prior composer did. The references to Bernstein are definitely present throughout Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, but they aren't as magical nor intricate. The ondes martenot is once again performed by Cynthia Millar just as it was in all its glory years with Bernstein and in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and its employment throughout the score in various emotional guises is really well handled. Marianelli also employs piano, tuba, and woodwinds in ways highly familiar to the source of inspiration. He adds these elements to a full orchestra and occasional choir and synthesizers to produce a broad fantasy and suspense atmosphere for his score. Although Marianelli's technical prowess in conjuring complex action is noteworthy in several instances, his narrative in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is merely adequate and at times frustrating. There are some major missed opportunities to drive the villain material especially, but cues like the non-descript "The Orb" and some of the action passages tend to obfuscate thematic development. The foremost loss is the absence of the Spengler theme that Simonsen wrote for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This movie badly needed that identity to accompany the continued struggles of that family dynamic and Phoebe in particular. Instead, Marianelli concentrates on bringing back several motifs from Bernstein's score and three all-new themes that are hit and miss in quality. Bernstein's main theme is an oddity in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire because Marianelli, for whatever reason, opted to never express the idea in its default comedy form. Its underlying rhythms are relied upon instead, and the melody is certainly adapted as an action fanfare a few times, but you never get the kind of affable, full rendition that Simonsen provided. Although the theme may seem diminished compared to the last score, it is all over this sequel, starting in large suspense mode at the end of "Manhattan Adventurers Society." It laces the pursuit nicely at 1:24 into "The Sewer Dragon" before becoming heroic at 3:30. Noble fragments on trumpet at the start of "Firehouse" lead to an obtuse rendition of the comedy rhythm. Some of that upbeat personality is exuded at the start and middle of "Chess in the Park" and barely influences the end of "Paranormal Research Center." Bernstein's main theme is lovely at 0:32 into "A Tour of the Firehouse" alongside the harmonic structure of Marianelli's new main theme, and it shifts to a balance of action and comedy in the latter half of "Should We Investigate?" The idea assists in the panic late in "Back to Headquarters," helps drive the action motif in several places throughout "New Proton Packs," and vaguely guides the fantasy crescendo at 1:22 into "Possessor's Mistake." It offers its chords and fragmentary melodic action to the battle early in "Last Frozen Stand" before achieving a massive, gothic presence with choir at the climax. The comedy rhythm returns as the victorious gang leaves the firehouse in "The Thawing" prior to the title song. The loyalty Marianelli shows towards Bernstein's secondary constructs is significant, the composer using the related 1984 mystery and action motifs liberally throughout. The simple rising or falling ondes martenot pitch represents mystery, and it is sometimes paired with orchestral pulses to become a tool of action. The mystery version is heard immediately in "Manhattan Adventurers Society" before it shifts to pulsating action mode at 0:57 on strings with the ondes martenot in tow. The action version blasts at the outset of "The Sewer Dragon," guiding the first minute of the cue, and the familiar, driving action rhythm of Slimer's advance from 1984 is reprised at 1:10 into "A Ghost in the Attic." The mystery element toys with the main theme's rhythm at the beginning of "Chess in the Park" and descends in both "Slimer" and early in "Dadi's Secret Room." The action variant bursts forth in the middle of "Should We Investigate?" before the mystery slurs shine on ondes martenot early in "Dr. Wartzki." The action version opens "The Horns" and "Back to Headquarters" with haste while the mystery motif returns at 0:41 into "Back to Headquarters" alongside main franchise theme. The action rhythm is slowed at the start of "New Proton Packs" for more punch under the mystery motif, the rhythmic pulses then standing alone at 1:32. The mystery motif stutters early in "Possessor's Mistake," but both versions of this idea fade away in the score at that point. Interestingly, Marianelli chose to revisit Bernstein's original Gozer material as the representation of the villain, Garraka, and ghosts in general. Hinted at 0:46 into "Manhattan Adventurers Society" and further previewed on organ at 2:39 into "The Sewer Dragon," this theme opens "When the Light is Green..." in various guises. It stalks momentarily in the middle of "Paranormal Research Center," provides mystery at the beginning of "A Call," is restrained at 1:44 into "Dr. Wartzki" but emerges with more power at the cue's end, and receives slight references at the conclusion of "Patience." The villain's theme opens "It's Your Turn" ominously and builds in the middle of "The Horns" until a momentous announcement at 1:20, much like the first Gozer arrival. It provides a fanfare at 1:42 into "New Proton Packs," stews at the start of "Was Any of it Real?" and surprisingly fails to figure in the climactic battle music before dying off in the last minute of "Last Frozen Stand." Among Marianelli's three new themes for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, one stands apart in its duties and placement despite minimal screen time. This new main theme technically represents the "fabric of the universe," but it is effectively a Melody and Phoebe love theme. Its wonderfully descending phrases of lament often extend to secondary figures that supply all the warmth in the score. Introduced at 0:14 into "Chess in the Park" on ondes martenot and then violins in suspense, the idea turns serious at 1:59 on the ondes martenot while maintaining a touch of whimsy. It's a smartly foreshadowing cue that unfortunately doesn't receive enough volume in the film's mix. The theme is slightly fanciful but tentative early in "A Tour of the Firehouse," struggles to emerge late in "Was Any of it Real?," starts its turn to redemption at 1:01 at "Last Frozen Stand," and offers a soothing, breathy tone to the outset of "The Thawing" before developing nice string lines thereafter. The suite arrangement of this theme, "In the Fabric of the Universe," follows the Ray Parker Jr. song and mid-credits scene as the bulk of the credits sequence (with "New Proton Packs" and the opening logos music after). This suite concluding the album is an outstanding and gorgeous highlight that unfortunately doesn't fit with the tone of suggested adventure at the end of the film. More elusive are the two other new themes of the score despite their greater prevalence. The idea for the Firemaster is an exotic, meandering woodwind identity with hints of John Williams mannerisms, and don't expect to hear more than fragments of this theme impact the story on screen. In fact, most viewers of the film won't even know it's there despite Marianelli's smart handling of it on frequent occasion. The idea is barely present on woodwinds behind thumping piano at 1:14 into "Manhattan Adventurers Society" and returns with slight suspense at 0:41 into "Ray's Occult," in which the woodwinds are joined by muted trumpets. Interestingly, the Firemaster theme is only barely evident in "Dadi's Secret Room" but mingles well with the Bernstein mystery material in the first minute of "Dr. Wartzki," influencing much of the rest of the cue. Allusions to it open "Patience," and its full form is reprised at 0:20 into "It's Your Turn" in overlapping phrases for the influence of the character on fire. It reforms to become a massive action motif in the middle of "Last Frozen Stand" as appropriate. The final new theme in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will also likely leave listeners cold with no impression whatsoever, representing the Paranormal Research Center and its advanced ghostbusting technology. This theme receives a slightly militaristic persona at the outset of "Paranormal Research Center" that is reprised largely intact at 0:15 into "A Call." Thereafter, the idea is more restrained, shifting to piano solace in the middle of "A Tour of the Firehouse" in a rare moment of obvious placement for the score in the film's mix. The motif's chords only open "Ionic Separator" on synthesizer while the proper theme joins after about a minute. It yields to extremely sad piano and string shades for that scene in a tear-jerking moment of betrayal, and enthusiasts of James Horner's score for Casper may find some ironically similar treatment of the concept in this cue. The Paranormal Research Center theme recurs once again as its technology saves the day while merging with the main franchise theme at 0:25 into "New Proton Packs." No other motif makes a major impact on the score, with something of a Possessor motif utilizing clanging metallic instrumentation in "Possessor's Mistake" but not defining that particular ghost well enough elsewhere. These efficient but forgettable themes together really don't form the kind of cohesive narrative needed for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire to thrive. Some listeners may blame this nagging malaise on the lack of definitive new material for the rather shallow villain while others may struggle to expand the pretty but melancholy love theme to the Spengler family as a whole. In reality, Simonsen's Spengler family theme could have sufficed entirely for the love theme here and would have naturally served the evolution of the relationships on screen. Instead, you have a score that is technically smart and contains no overt weak points, the loyalty in adapting Bernstein's music more satisfying than it could have been. In the end, though, Marianelli's competent and occasionally impressive toil for this film simply reinforces the achievement realized by Simonsen for the previous film. Those who wish to appreciate any of the finer points of Marianelli's score will need to do so on the digital or CD album due to the film's unforgivable diminishment of the music in the mix, and the beautiful "In the Fabric of the Universe" alone supports a fourth star. As with the relationship between Phoebe and Melody in this picture, the music of the Ghostbusters franchise is now a shell of what it has been and could be.
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 61:06
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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 Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire are Copyright © 2024, Sony Classical and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 4/21/24 (and not updated significantly since). |
