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Review of The Monkey King (Christopher Young)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if the massively bombastic and tonally accessible mode of
Christopher Young has been key to your enjoyment of his prior classic
scores, this one unashamedly extroverted in its rotation between
attractive character suites.
Avoid it... if your enjoyment of any humongous adventure and fantasy score requires a cohesive musical narrative based upon strong, interwoven, central themes, a formula not possible in the impressionistic way Young was asked to score this film.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Monkey King: (Christopher Young) Pushing the
boundaries of cinematic extravaganza in the early 2010's in Hong Kong
and China (we'll keep those two separate for the time being, just for
the sake of posterity), the absurdly numerous production and
distribution companies involved with the eventual 2014 film The
Monkey King cranked up its budget successively in an attempt to
bloat the spectacle to box office gold. The plot tackles the famed
Chinese mythology hero of Sun Wukong, the magical Monkey King of Wu
Cheng'en's classic 16th Century novel, "Journey to the West," and
presents his origins story as he rebels against the Jade Emperor of
heaven, suffers 500 years in captivity, journeys to India, and returns
to China with Buddhism. All of this action, which features battles with
strange gods all along the way, foreshadows the events actually read in
"Journey to the West," and it was the intent of the production to use
this film as a vehicle to introduce the subsequent stories in films
spaced out every few years. Despite stylish effects by Hollywood
veterans and the acting of Donnie Yen and Chow Yun-fat, The Monkey
King fared poorly with yawning critics, many of whom denigrated the
film for existing solely as a tool with which the titular character can
rotate through godly enemies in one messy battle sequence after another.
Although the film grossed roughly $100 million over its budget, its
planned 2015 wide release in America never ultimately materialized.
Never fear, however, for production moved forward on the first sequel in
late 2014 anyway. For film music collectors in the West, none of this
background really matters outside of the odd but thankful involvement of
composer Christopher Young on the project. Never one to turn away from a
truly bizarre opportunity (whether in blazing action, ridiculous comedy,
or quirky dramas), Young toiled with projects outside of the mainstream
for many years leading up to 2014, with an embarrassing assignment such
as the late 2013 flick Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas indicative
of his viable but disappointing paycheck methodology. Soundtrack
enthusiasts always welcome Young's ventures into the fantasy and
adventure genres, for the results in scores such as Priest,
Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man 3 are often glorious. Even his
top horror titles, his calling card, have strayed towards the fantasy
element, highlighted by Hellbound: Hellraiser II and Drag Me
to Hell.
Versatile because of his experience recording overseas, Young seems to have placed himself in a position to whip up one of these grand film score epics every three or so years, and The Monkey King is to 2014 what Priest and Drag Me to Hell were for their respective years: a dazzling whirlwind of symphonic, choral, and electronic style uninhibited by any notions of modesty. The effort was truly an international one, with Young opting to use Slovak National Orchestra and Lucnica Chorus in Bratislava for the bulk of the performances while also employing Los Angeles vocal soloists (including a child performer selected out of hundreds of auditions) and an impressive variety of Chinese-centric instrumental soloists, including erhus, gongs, dizis, and dulcimers. Throw in some totally Western rock instrumentation (electric guitars and drum kits) and you have the ultimate in multi-ethnic flair, a score true enough to its location to serve its basic purpose but also exhibiting all the modern techniques of a Hollywood blockbuster to ensure that the godly battles on screen are accompanied by ass-kicking, no-nonsense rhythmic force in the score. The vocal elements feature most combinations of inflective tone you can imagine, leading up to even the Enya-like closing song. This wide palette of sounds is one of two key characteristics of the score for The Monkey King; the other is Young's undeniably bombastic application of rhythm to the work. There is more overt drum-pounding in this music than any other in recent memory, taking the Basil Poledouris philosophy of developing folk rhythms into full battle mode to a new level. Young has always done this in his bigger scores, often shifting gears (quite literally, sometimes, as in the train sequence in Priest) through tempo and instrumentation alterations when needed but always shamelessly emphasizing the propulsive aspect. Expect to be blasted out of your seat by the incessant slamming and banging of this score during each of its full ensemble portions. Even the lighter portions for comedy or respect ("Ruxue, the Silver Fox," "Erlangshen, the Three-Eyed Warrior," and "Subhuti, the Old Master") rely heavily on loftier, tingling percussion rhythms to carry the same movement. This is certainly a score of emphasized texture, though Young also supplies an endless stream of harmonically tonal bliss as well. There is some dissonance to be heard, especially in the striking broken chords of the ensemble hits in the opening "Yu Huang Da Di, the Jade Emperor," but the listening experience is largely accessible. It's interesting to appreciate how Young's action techniques have matured in broad listenability since The Core. The single most intriguing aspect of Young's approach to The Monkey King is the general lack of interaction between his multitude of themes in the score. Since the film largely rotates between godly encounters in its plotline, Young simply provides a unique identity for each one and doesn't make a serious effort to mingle them together. Even the title character's theme doesn't directly engage often with the other themes, leaving the score as one of several massive but mostly singular suites that share the same instrumental vocabulary and some seemingly incidental progressions, but no overarching connecting narrative in the melodies. Such was reportedly the result of the filmmakers' instructions to Young. The main theme in "Sun Wukong, the Monkey King" only features fully and at length elsewhere in "Nuwa, the Goddess of Works." The secondary theme for the Monkey King, a softly romantic interlude in his suite, becomes the basis for the song, "Just Dreams," which, as previously suggested, is an Enya knock-off of completely shameless proportions. You will find that some of the other character themes in The Monkey King, notably the passage at 4:20 into "Yu Huang Da Di, the Jade Emperor," will supply inspiration to later sequences, including the latter half of "Ao Kuang, the Dragon King of the East Sea," but don't go looking for more obvious connections. While irksome for a few listeners, this absence of narrative flow in the score is countered by Young's strength in each individual idea. For the album releases, Young features them in ten combined suites, each representing a character (though, as mentioned above, the "Nuwa, the Goddess of Works" cue offers the theme from "Sun Wukong, the Monkey King" extensively in its first half) and thus explores many unique melodies. Some, as in those for the Tieshan Gongzhu, Nuwa, Subhuti, and Guanyin characters, are downright lovely in their choral and erhu beauty. Others, as in the tracks "Niu Mo Wang, the Buffalo Demon King" and "Yu Huang Da Di, the Jade Emperor," are outrageously bombastic. The Buffalo Demon King's suite requires special attention, the Jerry Goldsmith-like nobility countered by Ghost Rider coolness culminating in all-out rock attitude. The entire work is saturated with the best of Young's mannerisms, with several homages to his past greatness whipped up with zeal. The score was initially only provided promotionally to film music critics in 2014, presenting a tremendously unfortunate dilemma for enthusiasts worldwide. But by 2015, Intrada Records pressed the same contents to a limited CD for all to enjoy. There is no doubt that The Monkey King makes for a stellar listening experience, one of Young's most vibrant and entertaining career efforts, and his continuing involvement in the franchise is most welcomed. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
All Albums:
Total Time: 73:26
NOTES & QUOTES:
No substantive insert exists with the promotional release. The insert of the Intrada album
contains notes about both the film and score.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Monkey King are Copyright © 2014, 2015, Promotional, Intrada Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 2/16/15 and last updated 4/14/16. |
