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| Beltrami |
I, Robot: (Marco Beltrami) When Isaac Asimov
conjured the three laws governing robots in 1940 and eventually wrote
them into the
I, Robot screenplay in the 1970's, the heralded
doctor claimed that this story could be made into one of the greatest
science-fiction films of all time. What he could not predict, however,
was the haphazard direction that Hollywood, governed now by its ability
to create wizardry in the special effects department, would take as an
industry. In the era of thousands of CGI spiders, spaceships, and robots
per frame, the integrity of no story is safe. By the time
I,
Robot could be made into a feature film, the industry stood eagerly
awaiting the opportunity to pour every cliche and digital effect into a
recipe in which Asimov had demanded more logic and contemplation as
primary ingredients. Having Will Smith as the bad cop at center stage is
perhaps all the indication you need that
I, Robot was one
massively disappointing screw-up waiting to happen. Compelling theories
of robotics and humanity are summarily replaced by a reckless
Men in
Black wannabe who talks smack and blows away countless evil droids.
What doesn't make sense about
I, Robot is how its director, Alex
Proyas, could produce such a boring, formula-driven film such as this,
especially after he proved to the world with
Dark City that he
could provide stylish and sophisticated science fiction for another
generation of futuristic thinkers. One of the best assets of
Dark
City was its highly underrated score by veteran composer Trevor
Jones, and he was once again slated to work with Proyas on
I,
Robot. Despite a relatively slow period of activity for the
professor, however, the final session dates for this project overlapped
with those for
Around the World in 80 Days. The composer was
extremely disappointed by this conflict, and despite his intense
interest in expanding upon some futuristic sketches he had completed for
the film, he had to bow out with little time remaining, leaving his
loyal following of hardcore collectors equally frustrated.
Perpetuating the trend in Hollywood of having a
replacement composer write a large, orchestrally budgeted score in just
a few weeks, Proyas saw the job go to 36-year-old Marco Beltrami with
only 17 days to render the fully-finished work. Beltrami was introduced
to the summer blockbuster scene in earnest the previous year, with his
adequate, but uninspired score for
Terminator 3: Rise of the
Machines announcing his mainstream arrival. On the upswing, though,
Beltrami's intriguing score for
Hellboy earlier in 2004 showed
signs that the young composer was truly ready for full-fledged fantasy
and science-fiction projects. Beltrami made the best of his 17 days and
wrote a substantial score for 95 orchestral musicians and 25 choral
performers. And yet, in so doing, he reverted back to the stylistic
weaknesses of
Terminator 3, composing a score with all the
makings of a winner, but lacking the passion or cohesive glue to pull it
all together. Beltrami is very loyal to the orchestra in this effort,
putting the electronics in subsidiary role from start to end. This
choice could be questioned, for if Beltrami really wanted to create a
strong ambience for the robots, then perhaps a constant electronic
counterpoint might have been advisable. Thematically, his primary
identity is an evocative highlight of the entire work, a
potential-filled minor-key melody referenced in fragments throughout (as
in "Spooner Spills") but overshadowed by swirls of activity in many
instances. An electronically altered solo string performance (or perhaps
a processed version of a duduk or other Middle Eastern instrument) of
the theme over the end credits is both engaging and interesting, however
the structural problems of inherent in Beltrami's rhythms and his
conscious choice to keep this music off-balanced causes the theme to
lose its attractiveness. Throughout the entirety of his effort, he
emphasizes sharp brass ostinatos that rotate through octaves in jagged
formations, often with wildly hyperactive strings accenting scales in
between those octaves. Perhaps this technique is best described as
Beltrami's sincere effort to emulate the styles of Elliot Goldenthal and
Jerry Goldsmith and roll them into one unique package.
Unfortunately, Beltrami's rather anonymous personality
for
I, Robot doesn't really work as anything better than
basically sufficient background ambience in context. Several major cues
fail to maintain any sense of purpose, though there are short individual
highlights worth mentioning, if only for their resemblance to possible
temp track placements. The "Chicago 2035" cue is saturated with the
influences from Goldenthal's epic writing, for instance, and the final
two cues on the album, "Spiderbots" and "Round Up," begin to offer some
cohesion of rhythm and lofty accompaniment of the choir in a fashion
that recalls Don Davis'
The Matrix trilogy. Moments of suspense
seemingly resurrect portions of John Williams'
Minority Report as
well. A passage at about 2:30 into "Spiderbots" suspiciously takes a
slow, broad thematic statement right out of the pages of Jones'
Dark
City, though the more melodramatic renditions of Beltrami's main
theme on either side of this sequence are a plus. Even in this and
other highlights of the score, the direction of the music shifts
erratically, possibly in an attempt to keep up with the CGI effects on
screen. Moments of resolve and beauty are lucky to last ten seconds, and
the same could be said for the propulsive statements of thrilling
action. In general, much of the post-modern symphonic ruckus during the
chase sequences seems to emulate
The Matrix, though Beltrami has
difficulty achieving the same brash instrumental distinctions as Davis.
An unquestionable lack of focus is the enemy of
I, Robot, perhaps
a result of the last minute nature of the composition, though the
absence of much passion in the score is more significant problem. Until
the redemptive crescendos of resolution in the final two cues on the
album, the score aimlessly meanders, dabbles, blasts, and rips. All of
this material holds your attention, but the existential conflict that
required more emphasis is only muddied by the disjointed thematic
performance over the end credits. Perhaps
I, Robot suffers from
mixing problems that don't allow the electronic and organic elements to
mingle intelligently, and perhaps the time frame for the project may
have allowed oversights in the writing, performing, recording, or mixing
of the work as well. But overall,
I, Robot is yet another
Beltrami score that promises greatness but lacks the passion, cohesion,
or distinctive personality to achieve its top form. Like the film, the
score is all procedural action and no intelligent science-fiction.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Marco Beltrami reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.72
(in 25 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.79
(in 17,109 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert includes a note from the director and a list of
performers in both the orchestra and chorale.
Gosh, he sure sucks in music! *NM*
