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FILMTRACKS.COM
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Review of Iron Man (Ramin Djawadi)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... only if you are a fan of the heavier rock side of the
Remote Control library and enjoyed the pounding score in the film
itself.
Avoid it... if the last thing you need in your film music collection is another Hans Zimmer clone writing simplistic, aimless, and juvenile bombast that strives to be all style and no substance.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Iron Man: (Ramin Djawadi) Defying low expectations
is a task difficult for many superhero films in the digital age, but Jon
Favreau's Iron Man did just that. One would think that at some
point all of the classic Marvel characters will have been expended in
their adaptations to the big screen, and yet here comes another
surprisingly successful one. Similar in many ways to the concept behind
"Batman," the somewhat neurotic "Iron Man" hero uses his wealth to
produce a costume in which he can fight crime and, when not in that
outfit, flirt with women and rattle off sarcastic commentary. The
incredibly surprising popularity of Iron Man's 2008 adventures is
due to two factors: first, it takes advantage of the comic book style of
its heritage without being constrained by the usual limitations of that
genre and, secondly, the casting and performance of Robert Downey Jr. is
a stroke of genius. Favreau had a working collaboration with composer
John Debney for several years, but, unfortunately, he could not resist
the temptation of ultimately using the services of one of the many
clones produced by Hans Zimmer's Remote Control music factory. That
clone is Ramin Djawadi, who has collaborated with Zimmer and Klaus
Badelt since Pirates of the Caribbean and contributed additional
music to films like Thunderbirds and Batman Begins. The
director made it clear to Djawadi that he desired an atypical superhero
score, one defined by rock guitars. Djawadi's background as a guitarist
made that request easier, though the composer has lamented that he did
not have time to perform the electric guitars himself for Iron
Man. His score consists of traditional rock band elements, along
with the seemingly obligatory electric cello and, remarkably, a London
orchestral group. In the end, however, the orchestra's role is washed
away in the mix so thoroughly that the rock band and a set of keyboards
is all that was truly required for this music. Why Djawadi bothered with
the orchestra at all is curious, especially when its orchestrations are
extremely simplistic and its mix back at Remote Control gives it a
harsh, semi-synthetic edge anyway.
If you are among the many film score fans who found Steve Jablonsky's Transformers score from the previous year to be simplistic and juvenile, then Iron Man will irritate you even more. Djawadi has mentioned that he developed the musical persona of the title character over the course of the film and would welcome work on a sequel. The merits of that statement are extremely dubious, for Iron Man is all style and no substance. Not even several examinations of the 40+ minutes of music from the score on album can reveal intelligent development of any ideas over that length. Is the theme of Tony Stark the cool progression in "Driving with the Top Down," the reluctantly heroic chords of "Vacation's Over," or something else? The score never makes that clear. What motifs it does explore in singular tracks are extremely basic, mirroring the pleasantly dumbed-down progressions that define the Remote Control playbook. Djawadi will test your patience with stripped-down minor key pounding in Iron Man, and what attempts at structural complexity he makes are blatantly inspired by Hans Zimmer's work on Batman Begins and other standards going back to the Media Ventures days. An occasional string ostinato from that aforementioned score is typically accompanied by staccato, string-oriented chord hits that are nostalgic memories from The Rock, but whatever orchestrally-inclined ideas along those lines are usually interrupted by heavier, conventional rock rhythms for slapping snare and guitar rips. The rougher of these straight rock cues, led by "Fireman" and "Arc Reactor," tend to degenerate into slapping, tiresome noise that don't offer any instrumental creativity, structural complexity, or even any redeeming harmonic consistency. There are brief moments when individual cues create a hip atmosphere enjoyable enough on their own to sustain the listening experience, but all too often a sudden shift in direction breaks the mood. Also written are some respites from the action material, but cues such as "Extra Dry, Extra Olives" don't extend the musical narrative and neglect to provide the plethora of strong supporting characters with any identity of their own. Perhaps some of the lack of overarching identity in Iron Man (outside of its basic instrumental style) is due to the fact that Djawadi has himself graduated to the level at which he can employ no less than five other clones to contribute additional music to his work. These stereotypical Remote Control scores are getting to the point where it really doesn't matter who leads the clones or with whom the music is recorded, for at the end of the day, the directors (and, unfortunately, audiences) who want to hear this unsophisticated music in blockbusters will continue employing anyone associated with Hans Zimmer to continue accessing that sound. The sole piece of comedy in the soundtrack for Iron Man is the inclusion of both the 1960's theme and current cover version of the classic jingle for the character; Jack Urbont's theme is so diametrically opposed to the Remote Control handbook for simplistic progressions that it's disappointing that Djawadi (or anyone in his flock) didn't take a stab at coherently interpolating it into the new work. A couple of source songs litter the soundtrack album, and of those, "Institutionalized" is so terribly irritating and stupid that it's almost fascinating to hear. Overall, Djawadi's score for Iron Man is so concerned with addressing the slick style of Tony Stark's persona that it's all muscle with no nuance. There's nothing inherently wrong with the idea of anchoring a score with electric guitars; the likes of John Debney, Dario Marianelli, and Danny Elfman have all been able to create music for heroes that merges symphonic complexity with the defiant personality of rock instruments. Iron Man serves as testimony that Djawadi, like most other Zimmer clones (and regardless of a filmmaker's wishes), is not yet ready to provide that level of intrigue. The album should only be the target of those who were aroused by the music's pounding presence in the film. It even has the one Jablonsky/Transformers-inspired cue of grade-school chord progressions and unified ensemble performance in "Vacation's Over." But, as was mentioned at the end of the Filmtracks review for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, the search continues for a touch of finesse, prudence, subtly, elegance, and savoir-faire in today's blockbuster film scores. *
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 54:03
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes extensive credits, but no extra information about the score
or film. The CD itself has artwork eerily similar to that of a Sonic Images "Babylon 5"
CD.
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