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| Powell |
Knight and Day: (John Powell) Being stuck in
production hell isn't all too uncommon for summer action flicks
nowadays, but it's relatively rare when the studio and financiers that
finally transcend such issues are faced with the ultimate "oh, shit"
moment as they realize just before its release that the film is going to
bomb at the box office. Such a nightmare was in store for
Knight and
Day, a project that had begun as a serious thriller and morphed
through several generations of scripts, genres, cast, and crew before
landing with a thud in June of 2010. Its final plotline involves a
mysterious spy and the everyday woman who gets tangled in his
international affairs by accident, essentially dragged along for the
ride until she decides to voluntarily join forces with him. One of the
major detractions of
Knight and Day that wasn't evident until the
film was screened is its duo of leads. Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise were
received very poorly by audiences, mostly because of the fact that they
are both past their prime in the action genre but also because of an
interesting societal backlash against the latter. Critical response to
Knight and Day was tepid at best, and American audiences met the
nervous, low expectations of the studio by failing to really embrace the
film. Ironically, though, massive international returns shot the film's
gross beyond $260 million, classifying it as a fiscal success. If
predictability and a lack of fresh design left audiences uncaring about
Knight and Day, then John Powell's rather streamlined score
probably didn't do much to help the situation. A veteran of the
espionage and comedy genres, Powell was well equipped to handle this
assignment and he did approach it with a few unique ideas in mind, but
ultimately his music for the occasion was completely overshadowed by
other, far higher quality efforts during 2010. His basic ingredients for
Knight and Day are predictable, a standard orchestral ensemble
joined by electric and acoustic guitars, a handful of exotic specialty
instruments, and, most importantly, a substantial collection of
percussion.
More than most of his scores of this kind,
Knight
and Day sounds heavily programmed in its constructs, this despite
being more organic in its rendering. This rather mundane sense of
process is perhaps why the score doesn't really reach out and grab
listeners by conveying a truly unique sense of style. Rather weak
thematic development also doesn't help its cause. On the other hand,
though, Powell does strive to afford the topic some unique instrumental
colors that will, along with one really engaging action cue at the end,
salvage the listening experience on album for some of his collectors.
The defining elements of the score for
Knight and Day are those
that place the score in a vague ethnic realm that defies logic but has a
certain feel of "tongue in cheek" amusement. Acoustic guitars of a
variety of shades, standup bass, accordion, and what sounds like
manipulated piano and cimbalom performances combine with rhythms that
range from Latin to slight waltzes. The merging of the Latin flair
(complete with castanets) with the accordion in particular defines this
score as an oddball. The tones of the former will remind some listeners
of
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, though interludes of snazzy attitude for
the heightened espionage angle is reminiscent of David Holmes'
Oceans
Eleven and some of the synthetic effects for the technological
aspect (as in "He's a Spy") is a bit familiar to the David Arnold mould
for the James Bond franchise. The straight acoustic guitar performances,
like those that close out the score, convey a cool contemporary tone as
necessary, as do the variety of drum loops that propel several scenes. A
few select moments of intrigue feature tingling and clanging metallic
percussion (probably samples but perhaps real) that are reminiscent of
John Ottman's genre work. Strings range from ominous dread (ends of
"Rough Landing" and "Five Star") to momentous romantic expressions (end
of "Reunion"). Brass isn't as prominent as one would hope in this kind
of film until the rambunctious "Bull Run" cue that lets rip with very
strong chase material resembling the best portions of
Shrek and
Chicken Run.
Thematically, Powell suffices with his two identities
for
Knight and Day but does not excel in any way that will stick
in your memory after the score concludes. The first, lesser utilized
theme is one that represents the intrigue and espionage in the story (as
well as Cruise's character specifically). Introduced on accordion late
in "At the Airport," this theme doesn't really develop until the second
half of the score. Its fullest performance can be heard in "Five Star,"
and subtle references on guitar in "He's a Spy" are followed by the
seemingly synthetic cimbalom performances of its main phrase in
"Rooftops" and "The Villa." Powell's other major theme in
Knight and
Day is the romantic one for the two leads, first utilized at full
speed at the end of "Trouble on I-93." Hints of its progressions in
"Running from Roy" and "In Austria" eventually yield to performances of
faux-genuine heart late in the score. A sad rendition for the fake death
scene at the end of "Rooftops" precedes accordion statements to open and
close "The Villa." A huge outburst of the idea at the conclusion of
"Reunion" and a roaring action version late in "Bull Run" eventually
dissolve into the expected resolution of the idea on acoustic guitar in
"Going to Cape Horn? Take a Jacket." Outside of these ideas, some minor
motifs do prevail as well, including a good guitar rhythm in "Running
From Roy" and "To the Island of Love." The score-only album (the The
Black Eyed Peas song in the movie is not included) is effortless though
a bit vague, the second half of "Bull Run" an obvious highlight that may
not be worth the rest of the contents. Sound quality is fine, though a
discrepancy in reverb between the live and sampled or percussive
elements is sometimes distracting, as in "Five Star." While none of the
themes or instrumentation will really grab you (despite their odd ethnic
and genre mixtures), the album is devoid of any truly unlistenable
portions as well. The product was a normal commercial release but
mysteriously started disappearing from the market within a year,
suggesting low numbers of distribution. Powell doesn't seem to have
poured a tremendous amount of effort into
Knight and Day when
comparing it to his concurrent projects, but it's a basically adequate,
inoffensive score that may inspire his collectors in some parts.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For John Powell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.28
(in 50 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.16
(in 52,492 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes a list of performers but no extra information
about the score or film.
