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Review of John Carter (Michael Giacchino)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you constantly yearn for a return to the days of John
Williams' symphonic adventure and fantasy style of bombastic and dynamic
"space opera" grandeur from the late 1970's and early 1980's.
Avoid it... if you expect Michael Giacchino, despite his uncanny ability to emulate some of the best Williams techniques, to reach the same level of narrative mastery despite writing an enthusiastic and entertaining throwback romp.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
John Carter: (Michael Giacchino) It only took one
hundred years for Edgar Rice Burroughs' 1912 science fiction novels to
be adapted to the big screen, but not due a lack of trying. The concept
was originally set to become the first feature-length animated movie in
American history in the mid-1930's, though MGM pulled the plug after
years of production work because the concept was deemed to outlandish
for audiences at the time. Through the subsequent decades, the concept
languished in limbo due to perpetual assessments that special effects
technology had not matured enough to do justice to the story. When
Disney finally went ahead with John Carter in the 2010's, the
studio envisioned a trilogy of adventures, the first establishing how
the titular Earthling came to become a hero on Mars. The former American
Confederate Cavalry solider is transported accidentally to Mars in 1868
and finds himself in the midst of a civil war between various races of
creatures that range from normal humanoids to the tall, nasty-looking
green aliens more commonly associated with the planet. A mixture of
beasts from Middle-Earth and flight technology from the future collide
in this conflict, and Carter fortunately discovers that due to Mars'
lesser gravity and his own bone density, he has movement and fighting
capabilities beyond those of the native inhabitants. There is, of
course, a princess involved, as well as massive battles for control of
the planet and some misdirection back on Earth to set up a cinematic
sequel. Disney, however, did not impress critics and American audiences
upon the debut of John Carter, the highly mixed reviews (largely
praising the look but lambasting the script) translating into
surprisingly poor domestic box office numbers. While the international
earnings for the movie were substantially better (seemingly bringing
overall grosses nearly even with the $250 million budget), Disney
publicly declared the film a massive loss after all considerations.
Oblivious to all of this turmoil was composer Michael Giacchino, who was
instructed by director Andrew Stanton to write a hugely orchestral space
opera score from the height of the 1970's and 1980's for the concept.
Giacchino had affirmed his feature career scoring Pixar movies in the
2000's, but for Disney and John Carter, he impressively supplies
music of a different level of bravado and scale in the fantasy genre.
It's the kind of throwback assignment that typically makes composers
giddy, especially with the resources available to Giacchino for this
project.
For enthusiasts of John Williams' redefinition of fantasy and adventure music during the height of his career, Giacchino's approach to John Carter will be a pleasure to hear. Few composers were allowed to dominate films with shamelessly melodic and massively orchestral music in the 2000's, and such emotional sentimentality was clearly the intent here. It helps that Giacchino was once considered a possible clone of Williams back in the days of his "Medal of Honor" video game scores; while he largely abandoned that emulation after his transition to television and cinema, the composer finally returns to resurrect some of that Indiana Jones character once again for this context. To lesser degrees, you also encounter influences from Maurice Jarre (who unintentionally seems to have defined the sound of sweeping desert vistas on any planet) and James Horner (whose common use of "hanging," anticipatory bass notes resolving a few beats late is utilized several times in this work). The scope of the score is broad but conventional, using orchestra and choir in standard methodology for most of the score's duration. Exotic solo vocals and spicy percussive flavoring are afforded to the civilizations of Mars, offering some of the most intriguing moments of music in the film. The orchestra is the centerpiece, however, and Giacchino wastes little time exercising to define the score's main themes with grandeur. Two themes dominate the work, the first for the primary character (and the general adventure mode) and the second for Princess Dejah and their relationship. These ideas are woven into nearly every corner of the score, each suggested when not obviously called for and performed by conflicted sets of instrumentation to denote conflict and/or conquest. The main theme is a rollicking affair introduced in full near the outset of "Get Carter," stated with heroic brass layers and prefaced by the Williams-typical pulsating bass string rhythms. The progressions of this idea are vaguely reminiscent of Lawrence of Arabia, soliciting the aforementioned Jarre connections. Its tempo resides closer to the swashbuckler domain, however, easily applying the melody to whipping and roaring action sequences later in the film. Giacchino cleverly adapts the theme to the instrumentation of Mars with increasing saturation as the score progresses, pitting it in sonic battle with the percussion of the warring species and eventually stating it fully in the choral spirit of the planet's softer tones in "Thernabout." The translation of the theme into a full-blooded waltz for the comedic "Gravity of the Situation" is a surprising highlight and a great exhibit of the composer's sense of humor. The love theme in John Carter will be blindingly obvious to Giacchino collectors in each of its performances because of its adherence to progressions and instrumentation nearly identical to a pivotal theme from the "Lost" television series. Teased out in "Thark Side of Barsoom," this theme flourishes with melodrama in "A Change of Heart" and poignantly punctuates the end of "Not Quite Finished." It joins the main theme in anchoring the meaty second half of "John Carter of Mars." Giacchino's secondary melodies for the various species and interests on Mars are not stated as clearly for suite purposes, but his integration of these representations is equally impressive. The themes, which range from hopeful three-note phrases to domineering five-note fanfares, cover the spectrum of the planet's peoples and their conflicting motives. The quasi-religious end is covered in the flowing theme of "The Blue Light Special" (repeated in the mid-section of "John Carter of Mars") while the militaristic alternative is handled with brass figures of dread over Giacchino's usual infusion of creative percussion sounds, in this case emphasizing metallic clicking and clanging. The composer keeps the score fresh by constantly rotating between these themes, and it always helps to have a core of robust action cues of Williams-like style. The pair of "The Prize is Barsoom" and "The Fight for Helium" are a highly engaging and enjoyable pinnacle to the action featuring the main theme, the latter even referring back to the waltz sequence for a moment. Few moments of outright dissonance (usually reserved for crescendos and stingers at the ends of cues in "Lost" style) exist in John Carter, making its listening experience on album a smooth one. The lengthy sequences of easily digestible, tonal calm or light suspense, including nearly the entire post-battle storyline at the end of the film, are worth noting for their Up-like sincerity. The final cue confirms that Giacchino's primary themes are memorable enough to anchor a trilogy, should Disney decide to take the chance. The score as a whole is extremely enjoyable, and skeptics of the sometimes deadening, muted mix of the composer's work by Dan Wallin will be relieved by a more vibrant presentation here (though reverb is still too diminished for a fantasy score of this size). The weaknesses of the work relate to its somewhat muddy enunciations of its Mars-related secondary themes and a seeming inability by Giacchino to nail the narrative flow of the story through satisfying transitions (with an extended sense of anticipation). A more clearly delineated suite of all the themes would have been merited as well. The level of Williams' story-telling mastery is constantly suggested but remains an arm's length away. Still, it's a romp of a score that touches upon several of the composer's best attributes with dynamic enthusiasm. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 74:13
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers and short notes about the
score from the composer and director.
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