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| Schifrin |
Rush Hour 3: (Lalo Schifrin) Director Brett
Ratner's duo of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker has proven to be a money
tree for New Line Cinema, with the trilogy of
Rush Hour films
growing by the hundreds of millions in earnings with each entry. The
third film has been no less of a success, once again placing its
entertainment value in the two leads and sending them on subsequent
chases around the world. Ratner continues to claim that an absolutely
essential member of his production team is composer Lalo Schifrin, whose
legendary status in the realm of jazzy action scores has extended in his
late years to the
Rush Hour trilogy. Now 75 years of age,
Schifrin is short on new assignments, with his collaboration with Ratner
providing the only true mainstream glimpse at his ongoing efforts. Also
continuing to rave about Schifrin's influence on these films, Ratner
goes so far now as to say that without hearing the Argentinian's score
in
Enter the Dragon, he might never have come up with the
cross-cultural idea for the
Rush Hour scripts in the first place.
Over the course of these three films, Schifrin's music has expanded from
a short and rather bland action base in the first film to a far more
varied and interesting combination of cultures in the two sequels that
much better mirrors the glory days of
Enter the Dragon. Ratner
specifically designated a larger orchestral sound for the sequel score,
and that approach has carried over to
Rush Hour 3. The merging of
Western orchestral sounds and the authentic oriental specialty
instruments isn't ground-breaking, and many listeners will likely write
it off, though the insertion of the traditional jazz elements pervasive
in these Schifrin scores is the true selling point. As any Schifrin fan
will be quick to point out, the composer is no slouch at composing
strictly for a large symphony, but in these films (best defined by the
quirky characteristics of their two leads, as well the colorful
supporting roles), the jazz is key. Overall, when you step back and look
at
Rush Hour 3, the merging of sounds continues to be of
interest, though none of the genres really sparkles.
As requested by Ratner once again, Schifrin returns to
the
Rush Hour theme and retools it for another round of action.
Outside of the opening and closing moments of the film, however, one of
the major disappointments is how sparingly Schifrin employs this entire
theme. With its catchy opening four notes, descending with a cool
simplicity in trademark Schifrin fashion, it's difficult to understand
why this part of the theme --not to mention the entire thing-- wasn't
given more air time in
Rush Hour 3. The only major brass
statement of the theme worth mentioning comes midway through "Parachute
Down," the final score cue on the album. The opening performance of
theme, though heavily advertised, is rather tepid in its pacing and
rendering; this short cue begs for far more vitality and enthusiasm. The
remix of the theme at the end is a regrettable attempt to compensate for
this hapless performance with more power in the electronics. As for the
score itself,
Rush Hour 3 allows for far more of Schifrin's
traditional orchestral scoring technique to shine than before. The final
five major score cues, representing the bulk of the action material on
album, are all largely devoid of the hip, stylish jazz tones that often
accompanied Schifrin's earlier music in the genre. Perhaps it was
thought that such a sound could be truly out of touch with modern
audiences, though it's still surprising to hear the modern edge to
Schifrin's newest action volleys. Immediately in "Chasing the Assassin,"
Schifrin displays that he's just one step away from becoming a mirror
for David Arnold's action music for the current James Bond films. With
his reliance on wild, bass heavy drum arrays and constantly clanging
metallic percussion, the similarities to Arnold's current approach is
uncanny. Few and far between in
Rush Hour 3 are the parody
elements that played a significantly larger role in earlier franchise
scores; the only truly tongue in cheek moment in the score is in "Two
Americans in Paris," with a faux French-stereotyped accordion. Staggered
rhythms in several cues are a return to Schifrin glory as well,
including some entertaining moves in "Giant Kung Fu." Overall, though,
Rush Hour 3 lacks the truly snazzy Schifrin style that defines
the composer's career, and without an abundance of those sounds, the
score conveys itself as a only standard action affair.
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The insert contains a list of performers and a note from the director about the score.
