had been a standalone picture with no historical
context and no siblings in a movie franchise, it would have been an
outstanding film. Unfortunately, it exists as a prequel to the first
three Jack Ryan films despite the fact that each of the films' stories
and adaptations had been firmly rooted in the contemporary politics of
the year of their theatrical release. The plot of Tom Clancy's
specifically dealt with the possibility that Middle
Eastern terrorists would get their hands on a rogue nuclear bomb and
detonate it in the United States at the time and location of the Super
Bowl of American football. Given how scary Clancy's smart vision of the
future had been many years earlier, the adapted screenplay for the 2002
movie switched the villains to a Neo-Nazi group. Despite the strong
foundation of Clancy's concept, as well as a handful of extremely
effective scenes, the film was extremely frustrating for several
reasons. First, the changes in the plot from novel to screen are
ridiculous and only served to placate a nervous studio in regards to
sensitivity issues at the time. Second, Ben Affleck is an ineffective
Jack Ryan at every level. Third, the depiction of a Super Bowl with
Canadian teams and a fictional stadium was laughable. And, finally, the
entire situation with the prequel status was too bizarre to sweep under
the rug. The production had its own set of crew-related problems. Not
only was director Phil Alden Robinson a last minute replacement for
Phillip Noyce, who had directed the previous two films in the franchise,
Robinson managed to get into an argument with composer James Horner,
also a veteran of the franchise, and, despite their prior
collaborations, he stepped aside from this film as well. Thus, the
assignment of the music for
landed on the
veteran Jerry Goldsmith, who was in the final year of major composing
before illness and death followed in the next two years. Because three
composers had written the Jack Ryan scores over a span of twelve years,
and because Horner's two entries had little in common stylistically,
this franchise ultimately had absolutely no musical continuity
whatsoever. Chalk up that fact as another frustrating problem with this
production.
It's safe to say, in retrospect, that Basil Poledouris'
music for
The Hunt for Red October was a spectacularly singular
event; Horner's two subsequent scores for
Patriot Games and
Clear and Present Danger are not generally regarded as either
strong accompaniment for their films or notable entries in the
composer's career. Robinson turned to Goldsmith to jack up the
environment with a powerful and ethnically charged action and suspense
entry. Goldsmith's output in the previous three years, following his
magnificent stretch of production in 1998 and 1999, had slowed to a
crawl. His scores had been functional at best, lacking in much of the
spirit that had distinguished his long career. He had also been the
victim of being associated with some very underperforming films during
that time, too. In these regards, therefore, his involvement with
The
Sum of All Fears represented a welcomed return for Goldsmith to the
mainstream blockbuster scene, one which seemed to bring out the best in
him. In addition to the quality of the score itself,
The Sum of All
Fears is a project that gained Goldsmith more recognition than his
usual efforts because of its song placement. The end credits song, "If
We Could Remember," with lyrics written by Paul Williams, is a vocal
interpretation of one of the composer's recurring themes for the film,
and serves the topic of innocence and remembrance well. In the film, the
pop variation of this song is heard at the end, although identical
versions of it bracket the original soundtrack album release (likely
since the performer, platinum artist Yolanda Adams, was an Elektra
artist and the label was pushing her as much as they possibly could).
More noteworthy is the operatic translation of the song into Latin for
"The Mission" at the opening of the story, with soaring layers of vocals
performing the piece in between Goldsmith's instrumental accompaniment
to the scene in the film. It's a very decent song, nothing to hear at
awards time but certainly no disgrace to the film or album either. Its
employment is a bit overwhelming in the film when compared to the
remainder of the material. The solemn beauty of "The Mission" also
accomplishes two other tasks. First, its rhythmic, snare and brass
driven action motif at the end for the American government and military
(despite showing Israeli forces) is ballsy Goldsmith action at its best.
The cue also, throughout its ranks, introduces the noble theme for the
CIA agents, the motif for the nuclear bomb, the instrumentation for the
villains' material.
The rhythmic motif for the protagonists is standard
Goldsmith issue, though its translation into a state of panic during
"Clear the Stadium" is very well handled. Its employment as a sobering,
pulsating reminder of the grim circumstances of the world is a bit
dispiriting in many cues throughout the score, including its very final
moments, but when it suddenly interjects as Morgan Freeman's character
realizes that everyone in the stadium is about to die, you can't help
but admire the spotting and execution of the music. Far more intriguing
is Goldsmith's various identities for the villains. Instead of
concentrating on a particular sound on the Neo-Nazis (an eerie theme
does exist for them, too), Goldsmith instead provides several "red
herring" ideas for surrounding elements, including the jarring one-note
theme for the bomb itself. A fair amount of Middle Eastern influence
survives in the score as a location descriptor. While a touch of
percussion and regional instrumentation from
The 13th Warrior
therefore carries over into
The Sum of All Fears, Goldsmith goes
a step further and adapts his Russian-inspired style from
Air Force
One into the progressions and deep choral performances of a Russian
theme to represent the fact that the Russians are supposed to be
implicated as villains. The theme becomes one of a faceless
international villain, dominating "The Bomb" and "That Went Well" with
its ominous though harmonious tones. Some might consider this material
too melodramatic, a valid argument given that Goldsmith was obviously
attempting to really pull the strings on the symbolism in the dramatic
terror of the plot. The score's strongest points in both the film and
album occur in the first half, with the presentation becoming more like
Goldsmith's stock action material from the 1990's as it plays. The
majority of score, with its well balanced combination of symphonic and
electronic elements, is similar in style to a light version of
The
13th Warrior and the tension of
Star Trek: Nemesis, with
organic instrumentation from the former and electronics from the latter.
This is, at the very least, a compliment towards Goldsmith's achievement
in
The Sum of All Fears. It contains less brassy, bombastic
action than a score such as
Executive Decision, but its intensity
is not diminished in any way. The final cue, "The Same Air," provides
the score's only truly symphonic performance of the song's melody with
the composer's usual sensitivity in high strings and solo woodwind, and
this tender touch is sadly missing from the relaxed portions of the
remainder of the story.
In the years since the score debuted, it was revealed
that the song was a continuation of Goldsmith's effort to pay tribute to
the victims of the attacks of September 11th, 2001. He accomplished this
feat in his score for
The Last Castle to a degree, though
Goldsmith took an active role in pushing the song for the film as an
extension of that tribute. The likewise somewhat restrained and
occasionally grim tone of his score also reflects the kind of stirring,
but somber environment that many felt in America at the time. As a
whole,
The Sum of All Fears is a much more varied and
experimental effort than anything else that Goldsmith had produced in
that late period of his career, and the infusion of a fresh sound
stirred his fans just in time for them to behold yet another
Star
Trek score from the composer later in the year. It's not the most
consistent of listening experiences on the original 2002 album for
The Sum of All Fears, which includes remarkable sound quality for
the orchestral cues but not the same kind of overwhelmingly wet, echoing
mix that existed a few years prior in his work. The product was
relatively generous in its inclusion of most of the material that was
featured prominently in the film. The insertion of an extra copy of the
same song at the start of the album was completely unnecessary.
Goldsmith, however, as he did in
The River Wild, mixed the
orchestra right into the beginning and end of the songs which he
produced. That flow is superb at the end of the album in particular
(with the aid of acoustic guitar), and makes the inclusion of the
reprise of the song at the start of the album superfluous. The film
generated much hype over its other song placements, and both Giacomo
Puccini's operatic "Nessun Dorma from Turandot" and Tabitha Fair's
contemporary "If We Get Through This" were included on the product.
Absent, however, was the memorable performance of the Star Spangled
Banner heard before the big game (a much requested martial rendition).
For enthusiasts of both the film and score, an expanded and limited 2014
La-La Land album provided both the anthem recording and a significantly
expanded amount of score. Added to the roughly 35 minutes of score on
the previous album is a fair amount of suspenseful material that
underwhelms, but the addition of some action bombast and Middle Eastern
flavor are quite noteworthy. Several subtle performances of the rhythmic
American theme are a nice addition as well, especially with such crisp
sound quality. On any album, this score will be well worth the price to
hear Goldsmith burst forth with one last volley of robust action music
in the days before his declining health ended his career.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Bias Check: |
For Jerry Goldsmith reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.23
(in 136 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.26
(in 154,447 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|