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| Jackman |
Kingsman: The Secret Service: (Henry
Jackman/Matthew Margeson) Few stereotypes are safe in Matthew Vaughn's
2015 comedy spy thriller,
Kingsman: The Secret Service, the James
Bond spoof ecstatically pilfering the genre with a particular taste for
extreme comedic gore, including the beloved and obligatory exploding
head technique. Despite offending a few critics with its socio-political
statements, the potentially franchise-spawning flick became the best
grossing theatrical entry of Vaughn's career, earning the affection of
Kick-Ass fans while taking elements from his work on the
X-Men franchise. The stylish violence involves a secret
organization of British spies (of course!) and their endeavors to fight
an eco-terrorist whose bright idea it is to use technology to cause
ordinary Appalachian church-goers, among other undesirables, to succumb
to the urge to kill each other and thus reduce humanity's harmful impact
upon the planet. Amongst this chaos, of course, is the introduction of a
couple of young new agents to an equation anchored by Colin Firth,
Michael Caine, and Samuel L. Jackson. With saber slayings and Mark
Hamill's aforementioned head included for good measure, the Force is
strong with this one. Collaborating yet again with Vaughn for
Kingsman: The Secret Service is composer Henry Jackman, who in
turn once more teamed with fellow Hans Zimmer clone factory graduate
Matthew Margeson on an assignment. The general style of Jackman and
Margeson lends itself well to this kind of spunky techno-thriller, with
Jackman in particular improving his game in 2014, a year highlighted by
some outstanding sequences in his score for
Big Hero 6. Film
music enthusiasts will hear some structural similarities between this
spy spoof and the more serious side of Jackman's
X-Men: First
Class, though the specific honoring of some elements in the Bond
franchise's history of music will further prove his versatility. In
general, listeners expecting to hear a more humorous spin-off akin to
the Edward Shearmur score for 2003's Rowan Atkinson film
Johnny
English (a guilty pleasure for many), among others, will not
encounter the same jazzy inclinations resulting from such
tongue-in-cheek affection for Bond music. Instead, Jackman and Margeson
provide allusions to that realm while remaining far more confined to the
straight action side of the genre. There are hints of the jazz element
at times, but the composers have intentionally taken a more brazen
approach to this film.
As expected, there is a merging of tributes to the John
Barry and David Arnold scores of the Bond franchise with standard
methodology from the Remote Control expectations that grip action films
in the 2010's. The score is anchored by a decently employed orchestra,
its performances solid but not necessarily containing a twist of high
style you would expect for such a pseudo-parody. Some of this relative
lack of pizzazz is produced by a de-emphasized treble region (no
abundance of wailing trumpets outside of a few poignant accents) as you
would expect for major action fare of this type, the lower brass
handling a weightier presence in the mix joined by electric guitar
coolness at times. Even the low flute usage, a clear reference to the
vintage Barry scores, resides deep in the mix. The score's primary
thematic element is the domain of the outward orchestral performances,
the tune utilized heavily and culminating in a delightful extended
narrative wrap-up in "Finale." The composers reference the main,
descending three note sequence of the theme with great frequency in the
score, yielding a cohesive arc and more than enough enthusiastic, ballsy
statements to satisfy the listener. A handful of choral moments in the
score are nicely applied without fantasy overkill, though in some cases,
as in "An 1815 Napoleonic Brandy," there seems to be electronic
atmospherics blended into the mix as well. The electronic presence in
the score for
Kingsman: The Secret Service is at times
reminiscent of Arnold's Bond work but may become its own issue for some
listeners by the time the manipulation of the music for the villain's
tracks comes into play. Indeed, the character of Valentine receives an
intriguingly yearning theme, but that idea is often accompanied by a
pulsating, sampled edits that become extremely obnoxious in how they're
applied as a rhythm. Listeners can hear the villain's ideas without this
technique in a demo suite made available on the longer version of the
album. There's no arguing that the idea behind this rhythmic
manipulation is sound, and perhaps it's even wise, but the noise is
difficult to tolerate on album given its frequency of employment. There
exist two versions of the album, the one embodied by the La-La Land
Records CD product including 10+ minutes of bonus material that is
somewhat redundant but still of interest to enthusiasts of the score.
Note that the film made ample use of song placements, some of that
material original, and none of that music is mingled with the score on
its separate products. Ultimately, Jackman and Margeson offer up enough
reverence and effective action muscularity to safely recommend this
score on the whole. But be aware that there are obnoxious sequences of
sampling or manipulation on the album that may require you to rearrange
the product into a more palatable presentation.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Henry Jackman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.74
(in 19 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.71
(in 5,407 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes short notes from both composers about the score.
