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The complexity of West's themes for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is compounded by his consistent layering of parts of these themes on top of each other and alluding to them only by suggestion of instrumentation or minimal fragments. The lack of outright definition of each idea is a bit disappointing, even if West's ideas can be sorted out with enough attention. Not surprisingly, the score offers a musical battle between themes owned by Shang-Chi and his father, Wenwu, while secondary ideas exist for Ying Li (Shang-Chi's mother), Xialing (his sister), and the elements of power and romance more generally. The evolution experienced in the main theme for Shang-Chi is quite remarkable in the score, West expressing it with menacing tones throughout much of the work until the character overcomes the shadow of his father. This motif is oddly simple, a basic six-note (not ten-note, sadly) phrase that is vaguely similar to Alan Silvestri's The Avengers theme, perhaps by accident but hopefully not. The theme doesn't really shine until late, as at 0:10 and 0:21 into the end credits suite, "Xu Shang-Chi," which offers it at grand scale on brass over the Chinese percussion and plucking. Its actual origins in the film are darkly morbid on cellos for Wenwu's influence, heard at 0:39 and 1:25 into "Your Father" and twisted in progressions by the end of that cue. By 0:35 into "Training," the theme is militaristic with the swirling menace from "Your Father" that embodies Wenwu's own material. It's fragmented early on cello in "My Son is Home" and slight and defeated at 2:33 into "Is This What You Wanted?" West saves the theme's full heroic potential until the big finale at 1:40 into "The Light and the Dark" and completes its maturation alongside the mother's theme at 1:56 into "Qingming Jie." While the evolution of the idea is commendable, West really needed a bit more air time for the victorious version of this theme later in the narrative. That said, West does explore a heroic action variant of main theme at 2:04 into "Don't Look Down," a rousing cue with significant Silvestri influence in the rhythms at its conclusion. The Wenwu theme is more of a rhythmic force whereas the main theme is a bit of a stinger given its short duration and lack of formal secondary phrasing. By comparison, the idea for the father is a perpetually sinister, fluid, and unresolved motif heard at 1:18 into "Your Father," at 0:28 into "Training," and with strong shades late in "Revenge," often accompanied by snare rhythms.

The theme for Shang-Chi's father, Wenwu, in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings does experience, however, notable variance and a major transformation by the end, suggesting possible redemption. The brutal and abrasive attitude of the theme is cemented at 1:31 onward into "My Son is Home," where it fights off phrases of the mother's theme, and this darkness interrupts the "A Blood Debt" cue by 4:00 and continues on brass at 0:54 into "Is This What You Wanted?" It's even more hypnotically propulsive at 1:07 into "Inheritance." But the salvation does come for this theme, as West allows it to resolve in a second phrase only twice; the first instance comes at 0:10 into "Zhe Zhi," where the idea turns pretty on solo cello for much of the cue, and the theme achieves peace through an even softer variant for solo cello at 0:20 into "Qingming Jie." This fuller, resolved version of the theme is a hidden highlight of the entire score, arguably the most beautiful blossoming of any theme West suggests. His material for Shang-Chi's mother, Ying Li, is not as well defined, but its greater purpose in the score is to provide ambience for the Chinese culture of the story, so it's not always a literal character theme. The theme is introduced by an important motif consisting of five to seven ascending notes most often conveyed by the plucked guzheng. This motif sometimes suffices to alone suggestion the historical and family elements at work, though West also supplies a better rounded theme for Ying Li that is the domain of the erhu. This somewhat anonymous material serves at counterpoint to the main theme on several occasions, including quite elegantly during the last minute of "Xu Shang-Chi." It's teasingly distant throughout the courtship of "The Bamboo Spring" and fills out to its best form in "Your Mother," by which time some listeners may find it similar to playful material applied by John Powell to How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. The rising figures return early in "The Waterfall," in the middle of "Ancestors," and late in "Who You Are." They outlive the theme itself early in "A Blood Debt" and during much of "The Deep." A touch of agony inflicts the idea at 2:16 into "Is This What You Wanted?" The theme serves as counterpoint to the major themes in "The Light and the Dark" before helping close out the score's familial elements in lovely form during the latter half of "Qingming Jie" and at the start of "Family," where it is expressed nicely on woodwinds, harp, and the score's only piano solo.

The three remaining, lesser motifs in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings may pass by most listeners, foremost the identity for Xialing, the sister. Its two-note phrasing makes it far more abrupt and fragmented than any of the score's other themes, debuting throughout "Three Days" on somber cello and yielding to the mother's motif by the end. It supplies the basis for the erhu melody of "Together Soon" and returns early in "Grief," but don't listen for it to make an impact. More obvious are West's motifs for power and romance. The power motif is a simple ascending phrase heard with grand force at 0:35 into "Xu Shang-Chi" and continuing underneath Wenwu's theme at 0:44 into "Your Father." It recurs during the middles of "Revenge" and "My Son is Home" and closes out "Inheritance." The romance motif immediately follows the power motif at 0:56 in "Xu Shang-Chi" and is its lush, descending counterpart. The motif returns in the middle of "My Son is Home" but truly shines at 0:56 into "The Waterfall," where it receives nice woodwind accompaniment. A major performance concludes "I Won't Leave You Again" at 3:37, mingling with the mother's ascending motif. It's at moments like this that fleeting comparisons to Klaus Badelt's phenomenal The Promise will become tempting. The romance motif reprises its suite format at 0:30 into "The Light and the Dark," arguably the score's most appealing melodic cue outside of the "Shang-Chi." A few of the action cues stand apart and merit a call out; the solidly singular action cue, "Stay in the Pocket," contains an impressively developed, long crescendo, proving that the technique can indeed still be mastered in the Hans Zimmer era of overuse. The narrative flow of "I Won't Leave You Again" is also excellent even without obvious themes, a characteristic that defines the best moments of the score as a whole. West's enunciation of themes isn't always clear, but that lack of easy identification, while disappointing, isn't always necessary because of how well he nails the performance inflection of each cue. For instance, the "Family" cue doesn't truly resolve the various themes, but how it adapts the mother's theme to the ever-reliable instrument of familial comfort, the piano, is highly effective. Still, the album experience concludes awkwardly with this cue, the "Shang-Chi" suite perhaps better moved to the end due to the lack of a superhero-appropriate bookend to the main theme. The 68-minute presentation does offer some slower moments, and the percussion-only fight material may deter, but this score overall is a very impressive blockbuster debut for West.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Total Time: 68:16