: (James
Newton Howard) Criticism remains strong about Lionsgate's decision to
force the "Mockingjay" story of the trilogy of
into two films, sacrificing artistic integrity for increased profits.
While the gambit worked for the studio, 2015's
performed poorly compared to expectations. The
stories of these concepts have never been ones of breezy delight, the
amount of death conveyed in them startling for a series that has
attracted so much attention from adolescents. In
, the rebellion's war against the Capitol
continues to its logical conclusion, with copious carnage amongst the
youngsters attempting to overthrow the government and, perhaps not
surprisingly, gruesome scenes of mass killings of children meant to sway
opinion against a major protagonist in the film. There is an exhaustion
that has set in with this franchise, not just with the quantity of films
but the glorification of violence that leads the final scenes of
, despite the ultimate victory of
Jennifer Lawrence's character, Katniss, to be wholly depressing. Not
deterred by the end of the "trilogy," Lionsgate has already explored
plans to extend the concept somehow on screen for continued profit.
Among the few nuggets of interest involving this picture are its
featuring of the final performance by actor Philip Seymour Hoffman (the
production opted to remove his presence from a few scenes rather than
CGI in the dead actor), the altered promotional materials pressed for
the release of the film in Israel (you can't show powerful females like
Katniss in certain poses in that country, further evidence of religion's
negative effect on global society), and the lack of obvious song
placements and outside musical interference involving the soundtrack.
The music for the franchise of
started off an
absolute mess in stylistic coordination, contributions from numerous
artists combining with James Newton Howard's score material to yield a
disjointed sum of musical parts. With
represents the first time that the score-only
product is the sole representative album on the market for one of these
films.
Given the rather grim culmination of events and
straight continuation of existing plotlines in
The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay - Part 2, perhaps it is no surprise that Howard's score
is really the only logical musical influence on this final entry in the
series. The composer reprises all the themes and instrumental colors you
expect of him in this context, and, for the most part, his applications
are satisfying. Nothing is really instrumentally different about this
entry, though it should be noted that the mix of the choir seems far
more distant on the album for
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part
2 compared to Howard equivalents (situations like this stink of
performer re-use fee issues), cues vaguely resembling the monumental
resonance of Howard's obscure but much loved
The Last Airbender
diminished here because of the cooing choir's oddly subtle placement.
Solo emphasis in the score rests on the folk performers of three string
instruments, their contributions existing, however, in only three or
four places that don't make a substantial impact compared to the full
ensemble. Electronic embellishments are aplenty in the score, though not
always in grating atmospheric ways. Mostly, you get the feeling that
Howard really cranked up the bass with these synthetic droning effects;
the album presentation especially is overwhelmed in parts by this
overbearing bass region force. Then again, the album's gain levels are
very badly handled, with soft sequences nearly inaudible and the loud
ones made occasionally intolerable by their seemingly clipped presence
at maximum volumes. Enthusiasts of the franchise will be more interested
in knowing about the thematic handling in
The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay - Part 2, however, and while there are some quibbles to
be made with some ideas that get lost in the battle in the end, Howard
does a pretty good job of satisfying listeners with an appropriate wrap
to most major ideas. Motifs like "Horn of Plenty" still don't make the
adapted appearances in the score that one would expect, an oddity given
that Howard seems to have no issue working other contributed ideas into
his scores. Still absent is any interplay between the "Horn of Plenty"
and "The Hanging Tree" themes that would have proven a natural sonic
confrontation in the making here. The latter idea does experience a
reprise or two in
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, however,
the popular theme from the prior entry most notably occurring in the
latter half of the "Your Favorite Color is Green" cue in subdued
tones.
Rather than developing "The Hanging Tree" as a true
rallying cry for the rebellion in
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part
2, Howard falls back on the sum of the other themes to function in
the same way, confirming that the sorrowful theme for Rue, used
poignantly in "Rue's Farewell" in the original film and heard on point
in subsequent franchise trailers, is, as suspected, actually the larger
identity for the entire franchise. Featured nicely in "Stowaway," the
Rue theme is spectacularly summarized at the outset of "There Are Worse
Games to Play" to conclude the series. The solo vocal identity for
Katniss herself is applied faithfully in "Send Me To District 2,"
"Rebels Attack," and "Snow's Execution," the last performance especially
important in its accompaniment by full choir in an anticipatory
crescendo. Katniss' other theme, the pastoral one, returns in "Go Ahead,
Shoot Me," "Stowaway," and "Mandatory Evacuation," though its
performances likely won't receive notice from all but the concept's
fans. The prior, deep ambience for President Snow is reprised in "The
Holo" and "Snow's Mansion." The love theme for Katniss and Peeta remains
tortured in this score, hinted at the end of "Mandatory Evacuation"
before developed fully with due romantic appeal in "Primrose." The theme
for Prim receives its melodramatic send-off from strings at the
conclusion of the impressive "Rebels Attack," and echoes of that
identity inform "Snow's Mansion" and "Buttercup" thereafter. The motifs
representing the games from the early films return in a new incarnation
within "Symbolic Hunger Games." The final cue, after Rue's material is
heard in "There Are Worse Games to Play," offers a performance of "Deep
in the Meadow" (best known as the Sting song from the first film) by
Lawrence. Then, a suite of themes closes out the experience, including
another Rue theme performance and reprises of the "Introducing the
Tributes" and "Bow and Arrow" ideas, among a couple of others, from
Catching Fire. All new thematic material in
The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay - Part 2 is not plentiful, but it really isn't needed.
Ultimately, Howard's music started with lament in the first film,
switched to drama in the second, expanded to full action in the third,
and seems to meander between all three in this entry. While "Sewer
Attack" and "Rebels Attack" contain awesome action material, they battle
with an otherwise far too long album, its first half dragging badly.
Still, the highlights along the way, many of which emulating
The Last
Airbender, and the noble send-off save a four-star rating. Be
prepared to edit down a proper listening experience.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For James Newton Howard reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.4
(in 62 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.26
(in 71,525 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
