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| Silvestri |
Predator 2: (Alan Silvestri) Despite the longevity
of the
Predator franchise since its 1987 debut, its original
direct sequel of 1990,
Predator 2, has long been considered a
tremendous disappointment, both artistically and financially. The star
of the original film, Arnold Schwarzenegger, abandoned yet another
concept because of an incredibly lame script, and the popular actor was
vocal about his dismay in regards to
Predator 2's intent to take
the battle between alien hunter and human forces into an urban
environment. While his character is technically replaced by Gary Busey
in the film, the role of primary protagonist dealing with the alien
creature(s) is Danny Glover in a decent performance that caused the film
to merge the science-fiction elements of its roots with the violent cop
thrillers for which Glover had become known in the 1980's. The insertion
of a "Predator" into the middle of a Los Angeles turf war between
competing drug gangs left critics and audiences without much reason to
care, though the Predator's redesign did add to claims of the use of
racial stereotypes by the filmmakers. Glover's character, familiar in
some ways to his
Lethal Weapon role, chases the Predator through
the city and has to contend with the Busey-connected federal forces
that, still investigating the initial film's events, are trying to
capture the alien. The plot was laughably poor, in part due to some
intentionally and unintentionally humorous scenes (an old lady chases
the Predator out of her apartment with a broom) but also in part due to
its attempt to better the ridiculous violence of the first movie, with
displays of dismemberment and other unpleasant injuries and death that
initially earned
Predator 2 an NC-17 rating in America before
being trimmed down by studio insistence. The film recouped its
production budget but not much more, temporarily killing the concept on
screen before 20th Century Fox combined it with its
Alien
franchise, a notion that had already existed in comic prior to
Predator 2 but was suggested by a trophy room scene in the film
as well. The score by Alan Silvestri for the original
Predator
became a cult favorite much like the film, its initial two, limited CD
releases both becoming scarce collectibles and commanding top dollar on
the secondary market.
The composer was one of a minority of crew members to
return for
Predator 2, and the accompanying 1990 commercial album
of the sequel score long represented his only music from the franchise
to be readily available. The differences between the two scores are
quite striking, though, with only a handful of passages from the first
score, along with some thematic cameos, carrying over. The action
material connects the two, and this is where Silvestri truly excels in
the concept. But the generally militaristic attitude of the first score
is replaced by a distinctly foreign sound with even more enhanced jungle
aspects, an irony given the switch of locales on screen. Silvestri also
took the opportunity to explore the horror and alien aspects of his
basic template from the first score, resulting in an interesting
listening experience but ultimately a less satisfying one. For die-hard
enthusiasts of Silvestri's work for
Predator, there are enough
reprises of the familiar, ballsy action style from that score in the
sequel to merit some interest. The composer really is at his best when
he establishes ass-kicking percussive rhythms and uses brass muscularity
to explore a motif on top of them, a characteristic of highlights from
Back to the Future to
The Mummy Returns. Here, such
driving passages in "Tunnel Chase" and "El Scorpio" are noteworthy. The
primary theme returns, though not frequently; its application in "Feds
on the Case" clearly connecting the idea to the previous film's
commandos before being reprised as a teaser in "Tunnel Chase" and
enjoying several minutes of full reprise at the end of film. The
wondrous space theme from
Predator makes a few notable
appearances, most importantly in the realization scene in "Danny Gets
It," though it also factors late in "Swinging Rude Boys" and "Came So
Close." The solemn solo trumpet theme of military honor is heard in
"Rest in Pieces" (before being overtaken by truly hideous horror
material). The actual killing motif for the Predator receives an
important anticipatory statement in "Subway Predator." A number of other
general motifs relating to the
Predator main theme's fantasy
interlude are interspersed well enough to ground this sequel score, but
Silvestri doesn't make much of an attempt to overtly distinguish the
Predator 2 score thematically. Perhaps an argument could be made
that the style of perpetual ensemble stingers in this score are its
calling card.
Rather than unleash an recognizable new theme for
Predator 2, Silvestri repeatedly uses eerie fragments of the main
theme and only really develops a solidly fresh, deeply choral idea (of
paired notes) for the new Predator in "Truly Dead" and "Dem Bones"
before a summary of the idea at the end of "End Title." The jungle
atmosphere is truly this score's unique style. The use of an animalistic
wailing effect over jungle drums is the most interesting new identity to
extend out of the previous score, representing drug lords this time
around. Here, it sounds almost like a baritone saxophone badly
manipulated (as in John Debney's portion of
Sin City) so that it
emulates the twisted cry of an animal. In fact, it was a woodwind reed
placed in a garden hose that created the effect. While its wails in
"Main Title" seem random, you eventually start to hear Silvestri pulling
them together into fragments of his main franchise theme, and twice in
"End Title" (and most clearly and with cool results at 3:25 on the
initial album or 3:45 on the expanded release), he actually states the
full idea in this manner. That "End Title" suite of nearly nine minutes
represents all the best that Silvestri has to offer in
Predator
2, including two long statements of the prior score's main theme and
extended treatment of the iconic percussive rhythm it accompanies. That
said, this cue and several others still have major detriments. In two
places during "End Title" on the original 1990 album, there are abrupt
changes in gain levels or mix (2:13 and 2:22) that an editor apparently
attempted to match up with the beats of the percussive rhythms.
Elsewhere, the contents of Silvestri's horror and suspense sequences are
dissatisfying. The creepy cues practically do not register, "First
Carnage" barely audible. The latter half of "Rest in Pieces" uses oddly
performed and mixed vocals that alternate in the stereo soundscape
obnoxiously while dissonant strikes pound away. The synthetic and
percussive techniques in "Swinging Rude Boys" are barely tolerable as
well. Many of these issues were mitigated on the 2014 "Deluxe Edition"
offered by Varèse Sarabande, a substantial expansion of material
from the score. While much of the added running time consists of varying
mixes of the same cues, there are several critical cues debuting here
for the first time, including those with performances of existing
themes. Sound quality is much improved as well. Overall,
Predator
2 constantly shows more promise than it delivers upon, adequately
achieving its goals but not approaching the iconic status of its
predecessor, which easily remains a superior alternative.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.39
(in 36 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.27
(in 33,898 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert of the 1990 album includes no extra information about the score or film. That of
the 2014 product contains detailed information about both.
