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| Lockington |
Journey to the Center of the Earth: (Andrew
Lockington) Little reason existed to give special effects guru Eric
Brevig the reigns to this classic Jules Verne-inspired story outside of
the fact that it represented the first motion picture to use digital
projection technologies in modern movie houses to provide a 3-D viewing
experience. Aside from the novelty of that 3-D creation, there is
nothing of particular note about the 2008 version of
Journey to the
Center of the Earth. Its collaborative script is dumb, the
characters are shallow, the laws of physics are suspended, and very
little of Verne's original concept survives intact. In fact, the 2008
production is a sequel to the events of the 1959 classic film rather
than a remake, though anybody with half a brain can see that it was only
a ploy to provide nearly constant effects sequences with the intent of
thrilling bored summer audiences with half the efficiency of a theme
park ride. This eye candy is truly shameless, and it's fitting that it
would be treated to an equally predictable formula score. The concept of
blockbuster fantasy or adventure music has unfortunately traversed down
a synthetic path over the course of the 2000's, leading to a popularity
of the original Media Ventures sound with mainstream audiences trained
to accept simplistic masculine bombast with no sense of style for their
eye candy films. Bucking this trend for
Journey to the Center of the
Earth is Andrew Lockington, instead writing a throwback score that
reminds of the days when swashbuckling music actually stirred the soul
with symphonic might. This is the first large-scale assignment for the
Canadian composer; his career had consisted of orchestration work for
fellow Canadian Mychael Danna as well as a handful of obscure feature
and television scores to his own credit. Between
Journey to the
Center of the Earth and
City of Ember in 2008, Lockington
made the kind of surprisingly sudden splash in the industry that was
arguably last witnessed upon David Arnold's arrival in the mid-1990's.
The exuberant style with which Lockington outperformed expectations for
Journey to the Center of the Earth leads to obvious comparisons
to Arnold's bombastic style at the outset of his career, and, with a
purely undemanding method of raising symphonic ruckus, you can't help
but admire the enthusiasm that Lockington infuses back into the
genre.
In no way is this music high art. It doesn't reinvent
the wheel. It will beg no comparisons to Bernard Herrmann's commonly
praised score from the 1959 version. It will never be nominated for an
Oscar. But it is damn entertaining, and for a project as ridiculous as
Journey to the Center of the Earth, could you really ask for
anything more? The formula for the recording is predictable. A crisp
symphonic ensemble in London is complimented by slight synthetic
rhythms, mixed choir, and an array of Taiko drums. The style of the
composition owes much to the depth of Alan Silvestri's action romps, the
occasional burst of John Williams complexity, and the mixture of tones
common to John Debney's fantasy scores. The almost unyielding harmonic
optimism in the heroic stature of Lockington's title theme and
supplemental ideas is almost dizzying in its gleaming character. Not
only does this score resurrect the high adventure of film music's Bronze
Age, but it does so without any reservations. By diving head first into
this unashamedly ballsy bombast, Lockington doesn't allow you enough
time to overanalyze his choices. In these regards, it is much like
Silvestri's
The Mummy Returns and James Newton Howard's
Atlantis: The Lost Empire; you have heard most of the key
elements in classic scores of the past, but sometimes a repackaging of
the concept into a shiny new incarnation can be so refreshing that it
transcends the confines of a "guilty pleasure" listening experience and
actually becomes a worthy art form itself. The "Journey Theme" that
guides this score receives its necessary brass introduction of robust
stature, though more impressive is Lockington's ability to manipulate
the idea down to the level of a contemplative solo piano. Also
impressive is the limited role of synthetic rhythmic devices, which
proves that you can indeed employ them without detracting from the
organic feel of the overall composition. Moments of choral majesty
accompany some of the grand sights in the middle of the score. From "The
Center of the Earth" to "Storm," this score is at its best. The first
cue's awe-inspiring fantasy play is followed by two cues of sensitive
thematic development that are a welcome interlude to the action. Then,
the duo of "Building the Raft" and "Storm" is a dynamic powerhouse of
propulsive orchestral ruckus rarely heard in such coherent form these
days.
The lighter moments heard at the start and finish of
the score take advantage of precise piano, woodwind, and tapped
percussion rhythms that embody a sense of optimistic anticipation.
Lockington makes sure to keep even his softer material engaging with a
style of movement that will, in "Morning Routine," remind some listeners
of Thomas Newman's trademark rhythms. A subtle tribute to James Horner's
Star Trek scores at about the thirty second mark into "The
Return" is a neat touch. In its whole,
Journey to the Center of the
Earth impresses because of its very balanced organization. Slight
dissonance brings enough basic suspense to a handful of cues to suffice.
The strong balance between orchestral sections allows each element to
flourish in clarity, and the choir isn't as overused as it is in many
similar productions. Some of the credit undoubtedly goes to orchestrator
and conductor Nicholas Dodd, whose talents have contributed greatly to
Arnold's career. The quality of the recording's mix is engaging, with
just enough reverb to give the brass performances a swinging personality
without swallowing up the softer instruments. The Taiko drums can be
heard in a few places, but they don't play a particularly prominent
role. If this score has a weakness beyond its obvious lack of
originality, it exists in its exhausting length. Most of the best
portions of the score are indeed heard by "Storm," and the action that
follows can become overwhelming after 45 minutes of bravado. The album
release does present more than an hour of the score in a chronologically
true order that tells a narrative outside of the picture. That product
was somewhat difficult to find at retail outlets, available only in
digital download format in America (through New Line Records) though
pressed onto a CD by Silva Screen for European buyers. While
intellectual listeners will likely find
Journey to the Center of the
Earth to be a tedious exercise in predictable genre formulas, this
is one of those scores that requires you to turn off your brain. Every
soundtrack genre has its exceptional entries, and in the area of
shamelessly bold adventure, Lockington has repackaged history's best
swashbuckling techniques and asks for no forgiveness. In a stagnant year
for film music, this score is an obvious respite from the routine. If
only more film music could be so charmingly fun...
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
