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Review of The Predator (Henry Jackman)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you seek a competent extension of Alan Silvestri's original Predator themes and sensibilities in a broadly expanded fantasy and action mode that offers a few notable highlights.

Avoid it... if you demand a truly cohesive evolution of vintage and fresh ideas in this, a basically satisfying but still somewhat perfunctory merging of styles that doesn't always make complete sense as arranged.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

The Predator: (Henry Jackman/Various) As hard as it is to imagine, the "Predator" concept was actually original at one point. It had mystery, fantasy, and intrigue to balance its humorously senseless violence, and part of the concept's charm was its intentionally unanswered questions. After numerous direct sequels and spin-offs, the franchise has few unanswered questions remaining, 2018's The Predator focusing the species' true intentions on Earth into final clarity. The script by original franchise actor Shane Black, who also directs, is so ridiculous that even an initially receptive Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to be a part of the production. The "Predator" race of hunter/killers has decided that it wishes to merge its own DNA with that of humans' to improve themselves (resistance is futile...), and it must do so quickly because it believes that climate change will wipe out humans in short order. The urgency the film tries to create from that notion is laughable, exacerbating the plentiful other attempts at humor in the story. (Nothing will ever beat the old woman who sees her apartment pillaged in Predator 2: "I don't think he gives a shit.") It doesn't really need mentioned that the general equation continues: humans are trying to understand the creatures while the alien killers get their thrills out of dismembering us. The music in the franchise, assuming you ignore the Alien-franchise spinoff absurdity, has always been dominated by the cult-like status of Alan Silvestri's original 1987 Predator score and the sometimes entertaining expansion of that sound in his Predator 2 a few years later. John Debney referenced that Silvestri base with mixed results in 2010's Predators, and the team of composers for The Predator does the same. Black has collaborated regularly with John Ottman and Brian Tyler in the years since his films' frequently employed Michael Kamen. Interestingly, there are a few distinct places in The Predator, led by "The Last Stand," that will make a veteran film music collector wonder if some Kamen music was edited into the temp track of the 2018 movie, as a few stylistic influences bleed through in the final product. The director instead turned to Remote Control Productions veteran Henry Jackman, who tackled the project with the usual army of ghostwriters you expect to be employed in anything RC-related.

The most interesting debate to be had about Jackman & crew's interpolation of Silvestri's sound for The Predator is how it compares in quality with Debney's similar attempt in 2010. Both tried to take Silvestri's music and adapt it to a more technologically saavy, electronic variant without totally losing the primal jungle element and whimsical fantasy. Listeners often forget that much of the 1987 score is understated, Silvestri enhancing his action sequences by using them as payoffs for the lengthy suspense of his ambient stalking portions. Those subtleties of tone remain lost in the sequels, but in the case of The Predator, Jackman & crew really make a valiant attempt to adapt a comprehensive set of motifs from the original two Silvestri scores while adding a more rounded collection of their own identities. It's difficult to really figure how and why certain Silvestri motifs were retained for specific applications in The Predator, because there are elements enhanced without strong reason and others ignored, also without strong reason. It's great to hear Jackman attempt to resurrect so much Silvestri personality, especially after he failed miserably at that feat in his 2014 music for Captain America: Winter Soldier. There is Silvestri carryover everywhere, especially in the meters and instrumentation; expect the rhythms, penchant for two-note phrasing and snare, xylophone, and piano together to denote the classic score constantly. There are even aspects of Predator 2 applied. As if to cover all his bases, Jackman supplies trademark Silvestri flourishes heard in scores other than the Predator entries. Jackman merges these ideas with several new ones for this entry, creating a constant mash-up of ideas that can spin your head at times. In fact, avid franchise listeners might wonder frequently about the spotting of themes given how much time and effort was placed in that task. For some listeners, the symphonic emphasis and Silvestri techniques aplenty will suffice alone, even with all the electronic layering heard in the film version of the score. (Side note: Jackman seems to have a tendency to tone back the abrasive synthetic portions of his mix for the album releases of his music. This album still contains many of these layers, but they sound dialed back.) Jackman mostly loses the jungle percussion here, emphasizing the choir instead in a multitude of cues as the story demands a more civilization-wide perspective.

Returning in The Predator, of course, is Silvestri's main franchise theme, but not to the extent that you might expect or want. It seems that the composers couldn't really decide what to do with the idea. They apply its main rhythm and melody early in the picture, highlighting "Discovery" and "Project Stargazer" before alluding to only fragments of it early in "Out of the Cage" and late in "On the Loose," by which point the legacy material is being swallowed up by Jackman's new motifs. The composer doesn't really impress with his two fuller interpolations of the theme, for his rhythm screws up the iconic instrumental spread and he never attempts to access the theme's secondary fantasy phrases. But the last minute of "On the Loose" handles the theme well as a heightened action motif. Two themes from Predator completely gone are those for fantasy and military, the latter understandable given that the trumpet idea there was for the deaths on that specific team. But losing the fantasy theme, especially in the opening sequence, is sadly unnecessary. Jackman instead resurrects Silvestri's descending suspense and panic motif (introduced in Predator in "Who Did This?" and fully explored in "Building a Trap" before transitioning to languishing strings in "Anytime" and "Billy") and infuses it nearly everywhere in this score. Its prevalence is almost distracting, and it is this motif that will make casual listeners think that the Silvestri presence is constant. The referencing of Silvestri's two-note phrasing does much the same, the two descending, static pairs in ominously dramatic fashion, presented mostly in Predator 2, reprised here with emphasis by "The Predator's Gift" at the end. (Also listen for a piece of Predator 2 fantasy material referenced in "The Sacrifice.") The "Discovery" cue is where many of these tribute applications start, the main theme, descending suspense motif, and solo jungle drum motif all existing in short succession. The last of those was a memorable technique explored by Silvestri in the original entry, and it continues to appropriately fade in and out of the soundscape here in "Discovery," "Out of the Cage," and "Apex Predator." Even with all these references, Jackman & crew don't come close to matching the authentic intensity of Silvestri's best moments, whether in the main theme's rhythm or in other highlights, like the outright coolness of "Jungle Trek" in Predator. The team compensates by throwing a number of new themes into the equation, and they are surprisingly loyal to them.

The primary new theme of The Predator is arguably a representation of the new twist in the overarching storyline or, alternately, the more superior alien killer that arrives during the picture. Its rather simple, brutish progressions are heard early in Arrival (2:38), Discovery (1:00), and Project Stargazer (1:32) before existing throughout "Beautiful Specimen" in softer shades. Though not prominent in the mid-section of the score, it does offer a brief fantasy statement to open "The Ark Ship." Its return at the climax of "The Last Stand" is followed by a massive choral rendition in "Man vs. Predator" and an ominously layered version to close out "The Predator's Gift." The other notable new theme in The Predator represents the humans' heroic military group. Though introduced in "The Loonies," this theme is fully expressed in "Rescue" and "Team McKenna," the latter march mode ironically more appropriate for a Captain America movie. It receives significant manipulation in the score, faintly playing against another character theme in "The Good Soldier," adopting determination late in "Contact," transitioning to melodrama (with even tolling chime) at the end of "The Sacrifice," and reducing itself to a trumpet solo fragment at 1:48 into "The Ark Ship." It is victorious again throughout "The Last Stand," dissolves to familiar trumpet duty in "Remembrance," and challenges the villains' main new theme in "Man vs. Predator." The idea is a bit too optimistic, really, and inflates a super-hero environment where none should exist, but at least it is consistent. A secondary piano theme for a central child character, Rory, is developed in "Rory" (early), "Playing with Fire" (0:32), "Another World" (multiple times), and "The Good Soldier" (against the military theme). With all these new ideas mingling with the vintage Silvestri influences in The Predator, the score has much to consider. There are moments of individual intrigue as well, including phrasing reminiscent of John Williams' A.I. Artificial Intelligence in the first half of "Alien Abduction." When taken as a whole, however, the score seems like an exercise in checking certain boxes of needs rather than really collecting all of these disparate parts into a fully functional score. The references to the franchise's main theme remain unsatisfactory despite any joy one might have in their mere existence. The percussion isn't quite as impressive as in Silvestri's two scores (the best main theme performance remains in Predator 2), and the mixing is not quite as expansive as needed for the topic, a problem that plagued Debney's music for the prior film. This one will entertain in parts but won't leave a truly lasting, positive impression.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 54:55

• 1. Arrival (2:59) • 2. Discovery (3:05) • 3. Rory (1:32) • 4. Project Stargazer (2:01) • 5. Beautiful Specimen (1:37) • 6. Playing With Fire (1:11) • 7. Out of the Cage (2:40) • 8. The Loonies (0:53) • 9. On the Loose (2:58) • 10. Another World (2:25) • 11. Rescue (1:55) • 12. Apex Predator (3:15) • 13. Damage Control (1:01)

• 14. The Good Soldier (2:52) • 15. Team McKenna (1:31) • 16. The Ark Ship (2:18) • 17. Onslaught (1:22) • 18. Contact (2:07) • 19. The Hunt (3:36) • 20. The Sacrifice (1:35) • 21. Alien Abduction (1:27) • 22. The Last Stand (3:27) • 23. Man vs. Predator (2:19) • 24. Remembrance (1:36) • 25. The Predator's Gift (3:02)

NOTES & QUOTES:

No packaging exists from the label for this album.

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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 Predator are Copyright © 2018, Lakeshore Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 11/1/18 (and not updated significantly since).