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| Jackman |
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle: (Henry
Jackman/Various) Because board games are no longer cool, the Jumanji
concept on the big screen transitioned to video games with 2017's
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a direct sequel to the original
1995 film. A new group of youths, this time a variety of high school
misfits with the usual interpersonal problems, finds itself sucked into
the game digitally and given the task of returning a magic jewel to a
shrine despite attacks from the game's villain and all the jungle
animals under his control. While mainly serving as another vehicle for
actor Dwayne Johnson to flex his pecs in a jungle setting,
Jumanji:
Welcome to the Jungle does offer some direct connections to the 1995
film. The movie shrugged off critical indifference to milk a fair profit
from audiences, guaranteeing multiple sequels with the same cast over
the following few years. (Nobody should be surprised that Johnson
himself became a producer for the series after the initial sequel.)
Writer and director Jake Kasdan initially turned to veteran composer
James Newton Howard in 2016 for the film's score, but delays in the
post-production period caused a scheduling conflict that eventually
landed Kasdan the Hans Zimmer spin-off, Henry Jackman. While not of the
same A-list caliber as Howard, Jackman had proven his capability with
cheeky adventure music of an orchestral nature. With him comes the usual
assortment of assistant composers in Zimmer style, Halli Cauthery and
Paul Mounsey providing substantial material to the end product this time
around. Nothing explicit from James Horner's score for
Jumanji
carries over, though that work was never his best, emphasizing symphonic
chaos over a satisfying narrative. There are times in
Jumanji:
Welcome to the Jungle, especially those involving animal attack
sequences, when the orchestral mayhem that Jackman produces vaguely
resembles Horner's approach. Likewise, the moments of solo horn lament,
as in "Out of Lives," are reminiscent of the late composer's style. But
the true inspiration for the music of
Jumanji: Welcome to the
Jungle is Alan Silvestri, who may as well have scored some of this
film himself. Listeners will hear a fair amount of vintage Silvestri
action material dating all the way back to
Romancing the Stone
and including the two
Predator scores. The same thematic
highlights aren't there in Jackman's impression, but the style is
unmistakable in the heroic fanfare, the action rhythms, and the uneven
development of the villain's material.
While the rhythmic formations and orchestrations of
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle will remind listeners of
Silvestri's mannerisms throughout, the score attempts to compete more
generally with Andrew Lockington's methodology, and against this
competition, Jackman and crew falls behind. There is a substantial
amount of solid action material in this work, but it lacks the
convincing fantasy element necessary for the subject, perhaps in part
due to Jackman's difficulty modulating his robust action highlights down
to character themes and attractive fantasy. A rather muted presence for
choir is odd in
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the magical
elements never sufficiently addressed musically; the choral passages
that do exist are short and tend to have a
Stargate vibe. In the
orchestrations, Jackman's team plays it straight, with snare rhythms
aplenty and brass carrying the main theme in both solo and fanfare form.
One notable nod to Nicholas Dodd techniques resides in the wild flute
phrases supporting several of the main theme's major performances. The
score offers three major themes and one secondary idea that will stick
in the mind, albeit only briefly. The primary fanfare of the score is
fairly decent and anchors the entirety of "The Jumanji Overture" and
recurs in "Digging Up the Past," "The Legend of the Jewel," and other
mission-oriented cues, culminating in victory during "Call Out Its
Name." The contemporary relationship scenes usually outside the game are
served an acoustic guitar base with the melodic line carried by piano,
plucked strings, or woodwinds in "Brantford High," "First Kiss," and
with zest in "Back to School." The melody of these passages is actually
the full-ensemble friendship theme within the game that flourishes at
the ends of "The Adventure Begins" and "An Older Friend." A marginal
theme for the villain stews in the latter half of "Van Pelt" but is more
forcefully introduced in the middle of "The Legend of the Jewel."
Finally, a rhythmic action motif that bursts forth at the start of "The
Power of Bravestone" and "Call Out Its Name" offers a solid backing for
the score's main identities in several cues. These themes combine to
form a clear narrative, though none is particularly catchy. The top two,
the related main fanfare and friendship themes, would return in almost
identical form in Jackman's score for the sequel,
Jumanji: The Next
Level, in 2019. The mix of
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle on
album leaves the choir far behind the orchestral ensemble, further
sapping the fantasy element. Still, it's a workmanlike success from
Jackman even if it passes anonymously for most of its length.
Enthusiasts of the work will find the slightly better 2019 sequel score
to be largely redundant aside from its flashier villain's material and
Arabian interludes.
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The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information about the score or film.
