is often
considered among the most ridiculed, a critical and fiscal flop that
didn't recoup even half of its $110 million budget domestically (though
it did turn a marginal profit after worldwide grosses). Even returning
franchise star Sandra Bullock has been known to deride the film, and it
is understandable that Keanu Reeves, her costar from its popular 1994
predecessor,
, refused to take a huge paycheck for resuming
his roll as a Los Angeles SWAT officer pushed into duty as the lead
protagonist against lunatics using technology to harass and commandeer
large vehicles. Instead, Jason Patric simply took his place as another
member of the same SWAT group and he has to vanquish a disgruntled
Willem Dafoe aboard their hijacked cruise liner in order to propose
marriage to Bullock's consistently sweet but hopelessly overmatched
lead. Director Jan de Bont and a returning crew from
wasted
no expense in their renting of a cruise ship and later ramming of a
massive, false ship hull into an ocean-side village (both of the latter
built to scale at a cost more than that of the entire first film in the
franchise). Among the reasons for enduring laughter in regards to
is its multitude of fallacies in the
operations and technology of modern cruise liners, any one of which
would have alone rendered the entire plot of this film impossible.
Additionally, practically none of the destruction seen in the story's
major action scenes is remotely plausible given the laws of physics.
Still, the film is mindless entertainment, and at least composer Mark
Mancina returned to expand upon his ideas from
. His music
for the prior film is often credited with contributing to the definition
of the "sound" of the 1990's blockbuster score, and his work with Hans
Zimmer at the time often yielded not only unusual applications of
percussion but also a keen sense of melodic development. The combination
of muscular themes and the use of bus-related sound effects to replace a
normal percussion section in
was a feature offset by a
rather poor recording in which the orchestra was too small to handle the
scope of the score and sampled augmentation caused a disappointingly
cheap sound. For
, Mancina would be
allowed a much larger ensemble and the ability (despite the director's
initial hesitation) to elaborate upon his ideas from the previous score
and afford them, along with bold new melodic identities, much more
complicated incarnations.
Mancina was at the peak of his Hollywood scoring career at
the time of
Speed 2: Cruise Control, having recently completed
Twister,
Bad Boys, and
Con Air, and he was a worthy
alternative to Hans Zimmer for studios (his experiences on these
pictures would eventually make him lose interest in continuing his
pursuit of such assignments, complete with less-than-flattering comments
about the industry). While the film may be a stinker, it could be argued
that Mancina's score for
Speed 2: Cruise Control, despite being
dialed out or smothered behind sound effects in the finished edit of the
film, is the best of all these works. He successfully beefed up the
sound of the franchise's music and introduced four interesting new
themes while remaining loyal to the pair of popular melodic ideas from
Speed. The ensemble consisted of nearly 100 players, joined by
eight steel drum musicians and other specialty percussionists to give
the score both a tropical and African feeling. Gone is the flat sound of
sampled players, replaced by a vivacious, dynamic recording that puts
the previous score to shame. These elements function to perfection,
though some may believe that the incessant rhythms of African percussion
(connected to a sub-element in the plot) are out of place in this
context. That said, the rambling drum rhythms often provide important
propulsion to the action scenes, maintaining a good sense of movement
for long cues that will explore several themes over those same rhythms.
Electronic enhancements tastefully boost the bass region without
dominating the soundscape, and most of the set action cues feature a
purely organic sound. Mancina's handling of the orchestral sections is
quite satisfying, building upon some of the more complicated usage in
Twister and passing around thematic and counterpoint duties with
outstanding skill. Woodwinds are de-emphasized, perhaps not
surprisingly, but the balance between string and brass performances of
the themes is very engaging. The absolutely massive brass section has
balls of steel in thematic performances such as those late in "Last
Lifeboat" that literally do sonic battle between bloated trumpet and
French horn sections. For Dafoe's villain, Mancina uses deep strings and
a variety of light percussion to create ominous momentum specifically
for that character. A series of ticking sounds creates a techno-savvy
rhythm for the early scenes of the villain's preparations for the
assault. On top of that, Mancina uses a combination of eerie synthetic
groaning and blowing sounds for the technology of the ship's bowels and
higher pitched, other-worldly, glassy tones for the creepy,
leech-related side of the character. Nothing radical, but it's
effective.
The themes in
Speed 2: Cruise Control are
extensively developed and often mingle without inhibition. They exchange
interludes freely, swapping between portions of each in short succession
to mark very specific meanings within a larger scene. The pace of these
progressive references can sometimes, in fact, move too quickly to
really follow with certainty on album without careful study. Both the
longer, Zimmer-like minor-key theme from the main titles of
Speed
and the pair of staccato six-note phrases that comprise that score's
action theme return, heard immediately in "Motorcycle Chase" (after a
controversial mutilation of Alfred Newman's logo music). Both ideas are
inserted in fragments throughout all of the sequel, though the longer
main theme is mostly relegated to shorter, partial reminders. Mancina
crafts four new major themes for
Speed 2: Cruise Control, as well
as a new action motif that joins the popular, existing staccato theme.
Of the four major themes, one represents the film as a whole while
another bookends the tale as a love theme for the two leads. More
interesting, arguably, are the two darker themes for the villain, one of
which slithering in descent for his devious actions while the other
serving as a larger representation of tragedy for the ship as a whole
(after all, think of all those vacations ruined!). The first and last
major theme you hear in the score is the one of easy-going romance,
explored throughout the entireties of "Alex and Annie/Carribean Cruise"
and "Cruising." Ironically, while a bit of a throwaway theme in the
larger context of the film, this is the most refreshing idea in the
entire score, despite its application within the stereotypical Jamaican
band that you'd hear on the decks of a Caribbean cruise ship. The steel
drums, electric bass, and unique reggae keyboarding (a combination that
Mancina flirted with in
Bad Boys) will define the theme for most
listeners, though it's the other contributions that make this idea so
alluring. From the low key guitar performances in "Alex and Annie" to
the varied orchestral accompaniment in "Cruising," the composer keeps
the theme fresh despite its endless repetitions for seven minutes of
this score. The interlude phrase of this theme is particularly lovely,
highlighted by the glowing trumpet and sax performances in the latter
cue. In many regards, the light jazz, rock, and reggae combination in
these two sizable cues will be worth the price of the album alone,
especially for those who like pop-influenced film music that brightens
any room without sounding as dated as vintage Dave Grusin material. This
theme is largely absent from the bulk of the middle of the score, with
the notable exception of a short, important reference on warm strings
and solo horn near the start of "Reunion."
The primary theme for
Speed 2: Cruise Control
takes a while to state itself with certainty, but once it does, it
imprints quite well on the memory. It doesn't step forth until "Last
Lifeboat," in which Mancina allows it to dominate for several minutes
(mostly in the latter half of the cue). It eventually accelerates from
an anthem of stature into a standard heroic fanfare by its
cymbal-crashing emphasis in "Final Chase" and "Underwater Rescue," the
latter restoring some decency to the idea with some counterpoint. The
multiple horn statements of the theme in "Last Lifeboat" make that cue a
standout, however, using the idea's secondary phrase several times as
well. The downside of this theme is its somewhat shameless references to
other well-known themes at the time. The primary sequence in the theme
opens with a pair of rising three-note phrases that clearly emulate Brad
Fiedel's famous theme for
The Terminator, while the interlude
takes an entire phrase from Mancina's own main theme from
Twister. Part of this circumstance results from the composer's
desire to construct simple, extremely memorable themes. The same applies
to the two villain's themes, though luckily their progressions, while
basic, elude immediate comparisons to other scores. Usually paired in
some way with the title theme is the one for tragedy, heard in full
after six minutes of "Overboard" (extremely impressive lower brass here)
and frequently lending its gravity to "Last Lifeboat." As a generic
disaster theme, this idea is quite fruitful and would best most primary
identities for lesser suspense films. Finally, the most frequently
referenced new theme in
Speed 2: Cruise Control is the descending
figure on deep strings for Dafoe's villain. This sneaky, devilish theme
is very effective in "Engine Room" and is heard, along with the
character's usual percussive effects, all the way through his ridiculous
death at the end of "Underwater Rescue." Together, these themes are both
the greatest strength and weakness of the score. They all hit the right
guilty pleasure buttons and aren't spectacularly original in construct.
But Mancina applies them so well that you likely won't care. Some of the
action and suspense material in the latter half of the score becomes a
bit generic, too, but even in these tracks, you'll be hard pressed to
find anything too offensive. Short passages of dissonance are
restrained, leaving an interesting and highly engaging listening
experience. The score, not surprisingly, wasn't released in any form at
the time of the film's debut and demise. But, in 2010, La-La Land
Records gave it an overdue, limited release of 3,000 copies, perhaps
their finest offering of a previously unreleased score. Mancina and his
fans may still favor
Speed, but this album of the sequel score is
an immensely satisfying hidden gem, a solid 4-star product with a
handful of 5-star tracks.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Mark Mancina reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.31
(in 13 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.14
(in 9,471 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
