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Review of Godzilla (2014) (Alexandre Desplat)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you remain loyal to Akira Ifukube's original sound for
this franchise and desire for an intelligent adaptation of its
foundations into a challengingly textural but rewarding successor.
Avoid it... if you typically have difficulty emotionally bonding with Alexandre Desplat's themes, his handful of identities in Godzilla not often clearly enunciated above his smartly boiling orchestral ruckus.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Godzilla (2014): (Alexandre Desplat) Bless the
Japanese for their bizarre cultural obsessions, from massive fighting
robots and animated sexuality to talking toilets and city-leveling
radioactive beasts from the deep. In the early 2010's, there was wishful
talk from director Guillermo del Toro about combining the kaiju concepts
of Godzilla and the fighting robots for an American extravaganza tribute
to Japanese pop culture, though perhaps humanity will not experience the
ultimate in triumphant Japanese thrills until the beasts, robots,
toilets, and sex anime all figure prominently in the same picture.
Americans have been trying to copy some of these Japanese concepts for
decades, but the category of radioactive primordial beasts, after a
splurge of attempts with giant octopuses and ants in the Ray Harryhausen
era, has proven somewhat elusive. In the realm of massive lizards laying
waste to cities, you have only 1998's unfortunate Godzilla and
the more intriguing Cloverfield to examine, neither really
eliciting the same public zeal that the original Japanese market seems
to experience with the concept. The 2014 American reboot of
Godzilla, originally meant to be a short IMAX feature before
revolving through studio doorways, is a bit more measured in its
tackling of the adaptation, going further to paint the titular beast as
a hero in many ways, shifting the burden of humanity's adversary over to
other radioactive creatures called MUTO's. These alien and insect-like
nasties are a pair in 2014's Godzilla that cause many of the
insurance claims to physical property throughout the western portions of
America, and in parallel plotlines to humanity's continued fumbling with
nuclear weapons as a false solution to the problem, there is the kind of
beast on beast fighting in this film that would make the Japanese
heritage of the concept proud. While this rendition of Godzilla
was not specifically designed to open a new series in the franchise, its
gross of over half a billion dollars worldwide might cause
reconsideration. Fortunately, the soundtrack for this version of
Godzilla, though it did offer some source and pop culture
material to varying levels of distraction, was generally authentic in
its application of music that certainly would not have embarrassed Akira
Ifukube, composer of the original 1954 classic and the guiding musical
identity of the franchise.
While David Arnold's score for the 1998 version of Godzilla remains something of a guilty pleasure for many film music collectors, Arnold's approach to the concept was more streamlined in its bombastic Hollywood mannerisms and seems closer to an alien invasion soundtrack at times (is anyone surprised?). On the other hand, Alexandre Desplat's plan for 2014's Godzilla is more measured in its adherence to some of the guidelines unofficially established by Ifukube, including several key instrumental techniques. Desplat may be known in mainstream circles for his multitude of scores in other genres, from lighter dramas to tense political thrillers, but there has been a strain of his career that has occasionally afforded him the opportunity to unleash unbridled orchestral chaos, The Golden Compass remaining the most intriguing of these entries. Thankfully for the giant radioactive lizard in Godzilla, Desplat doesn't allow his intellectual compositional mannerisms to take a leave of absence, resulting in perhaps the most orchestrally accomplished music in the franchise to date. As already mentioned, you hear pieces of Ifukube's identity in places, most frequently in the applications of brass, but in conjunction with the density that you expect from Desplat at his more rambunctious, a learned film music collector will hear similarities to Elliot Goldenthal's frightfully complex methodology of the 1990's and the brutal low brass usage akin to Don Davis' The Matrix trilogy as well. Desplat doubled the size of the brass section for this score, allowing both low concentrations of brute force and, when necessary, several overlapping lines of action without sacrificing power. To enhance the bass further, he brings his own trademark electronic bass pulse into the equation, too, and while this tone can prove really obnoxious at times, it's really only a problem when he allows it to ramble. In the opening cue, "Godzilla!" and at the outset of "Following Godzilla," this is the case, but later in the score, Desplat seems contented applying it as simply a whole-note bass accentuation tool, a technique that is far more palatable. The composer's use of ethnic Japanese flutes and Taiko drums is tastefully handled to avoid stereotyping, and his insertion of more primal jungle tones in the first half of the work, including vocalizations, is commendable. Some listeners may be reminded of John Williams' Jurassic Park at times given how well these colors are splashed onto the canvas without really defining the larger picture. It's difficult not to admire Desplat's accomplished textural and emotional accompaniment to the script in Godzilla, his score often so smart in its execution of distinct loud lines of action that you can't help but appreciate the tenacity. The flipside of that benefit, however, is the digestive issue listeners might experience with the music. There are not many tonally pleasing moments of grandiose payoff in this score, the rhythms of "Golden Gate Chaos" and thematic culmination in "Back to the Ocean" yielding this work's few "ear candy" moments. Part of the dissatisfaction some listeners might have with this score is its underplayed prominence of themes. To say that it doesn't have themes is asinine, for Desplat does quite well at establishing identities for Godzilla, the family of humans at the emotional heart of the story, and even motifs for the MUTO's and their battles with humans and Godzilla. The main beast's theme takes significant time to evolve from the opening cue (the film doesn't reveal him until relatively late), but the switch to the major key for the heroic statement at the conclusion of the score is not to be missed. The string family theme in "To Q Zone" and "Back to Janjira" is somewhat muted compared to everything else, but it is a nice break. The rhythmic figured for the radioactive creatures in general (and the MUTO's by association) are all over the score, one of which ironically reminiscent once again of Williams' Jurassic Park. Action rhythms near the end of "Entering the Nest" combine this minor-third element with vintage James Horner brutality. The use of a wailing cry throughout the score is a convenient and attractive tone-setter. The choral layer is not very impactful as mixed, so don't expect the fantasy element to compete at all with the action one, especially in such a dry mix. Overall, you have to be patient with Desplat's Godzilla, for its opening third rumbles and toils in spectacular but not always memorable ambient textures. The middle begins to reveal the enticingly overbearing action in more tonal shades, and the final five or six cues form a powerhouse suite with the themes exposed for your enjoyment. The Desplat-only soundtrack album can be a tiring experience, but its highlights balance intellectual and accessible construction for an outstanding 20 minutes of smart sonic force. The trailer and parachuting scene in Godzilla utilize "Requiem, for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, 2 Mixed Choirs & Orchestra" by Gyorgy Ligeti, and this track is unfortunately missing from the album. Still, if you have grown weary of dumb and derivative summer blockbuster scores of the era, then Desplat's aptitude at adapting to nearly any genre will merit your strong consideration. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 60:53
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers and a diagram of their arrangement in the
recording studio.
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