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Review of The Three Musketeers (Paul Haslinger)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you have lingering affection for the 1990's Hans
Zimmer/Media Ventures sound and seek Paul Haslinger's best attempt to
resurrect it in true Trevor Rabin fashion.
Avoid it... if you can't handle the thought of Jack Sparrow and Batman becoming musketeers, because the derivative nature of this highly familiar score could drive you nuts.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
The Three Musketeers: (Paul Haslinger) Financed
with a substantial amount of support from various groups within Germany,
Paul W. S. Anderson's 2011 resurrection of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale
of 17th Century musketeers and their exploits in French and British
political intrigue steers the concept into "steampunk" territory by
including a secret invention of Leonardo Da Vinci as the centerpiece of
its otherwise typical, character-centric plot. Betrayals and duels are
once again the concentration of the story in The Three
Musketeers, though fans of historical science fiction and alternate
realities will appreciate the battle between Da Vinci's flying machines
that attempt to alone justify the heavy advertising of the movie's 3D
element. Despite the appeal of Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich, the
latter a regular Anderson collaborator, in major roles, the movie didn't
generate the positive buzz in younger crowds that the multitude of
studios probably hoped for, its script often a target for ridicule. In
the director's efforts to revise the concept for another generation,
perhaps he forgot about similar aspirations made by the production of
The Man in the Iron Mask in 1998, and nowhere is the overlap in
focus more evident than in the music for 2011's The Three
Musketeers. Anderson has rotated regularly through composing
partners for his prior films, often with awful results (Mortal
Kombat, Resident Evil) or mundane orchestral efforts
(Soldier, Alien vs. Predator). He has certainly
established that he is not afraid to hire unconventional artists for
these assignments, sometimes solo and at times in conjunction with an
established composer, and in predictably unpredictable fashion for
The Three Musketeers, he sought the services of Paul Haslinger.
Although a veteran of film scores (notably in the Underworld
franchise recently) and classically trained, Haslinger is best known as
a sound designer specializing in industrial metal tones, a style that
lends itself well to the darker corners of the fantasy genre. For The
Three Musketeers, he branches out into a more classically inclined
orchestral score, writing an uncharacteristically dynamic composition
and recording it with a moderate ensemble in Germany. Accented with a
few token cameos by solo strings, accordion, guitars, and harpsichord,
these orchestral recordings were then layered with more typical
Haslinger design techniques, lending a contemporary electronic feel to
the finished mix.
Not surprisingly, The Three Musketeers will likely be among the most easily accessible scores of Haslinger's career for mainstream listeners and even some film music collectors. Unfortunately, it's also far more shamelessly derivative of other composers' work than the normal Haslinger score, making it a mixed bag at best. If Nick Glennie-Smith introduced Dumas' characters to the masculine Media Ventures sound in The Man in the Iron Mask, then Haslinger triples down on that tactic, producing what almost amusingly plays like a compilation of Media Ventures/Remote Control techniques over the prior dozen years. It has often been said that Trevor Rabin is the only composer of that late 1990's generation of Hans Zimmer spin-offs to still be writing and recording in the same mould in the 2011's, but Haslinger has, despite joining the party late, managed to accomplish exactly the same thing. In fact, one might be able to say that The Three Musketeers is an imitation of what Rabin would have written for the movie. You could take of all the intellectual criticisms leveled at the now-Remote Control sound and point them squarely at Haslinger for this one, including but not limited to simplistic power anthems, a lack of counterpoint, pounding percussion on each beat, sections of the orchestra playing in unison, constant metallic tapping effects, an overpowering bass mix, occasional wailing electric guitars, and tasteless electronic enhancements of a mix that already dilutes the organic tone of the real players. This repackaging is even more disappointing than it might have been given the orchestrating assistance Haslinger had on this project; Tim Davies and Matt Dunkley, the latter a veteran Craig Armstrong collaborator, had worked together on assignments like A.R. Rahman's Couples Retreat that featured infinitely more character than what you hear in The Three Musketeers. In the composition itself, Haslinger's emulation of possible temp track placements is distracting, too. The massive whole note barrage opening the score in "Only Four Men" is a derivative of Zimmer's Inception. In "Special Delivery For the King," you hear the major melodic ideas that recur throughout the score, starting with Jack Sparrow's theme from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and shifting into a generic love theme at the end. An extension of the Sparrow material is explored in "Buckingham's Departure" before pounding repetition of synthetic-sounding Media Ventures-style figures blows out your ears at the end. For those who prefer Zimmer's early-90's feel-good melodies instead, enjoy the simple anthem at the end of "All For One." The feeling of familiarity in The Three Musketeers continues in "Do You Know Who I Am?," an accordion cameo yielding to solo strings again of the Jack Sparrow variety. A hint of harpsichord in "As Far Away as Possible" is swallowed by the score's Rabin anthem in its full, asteroid-busting glory, though if you'd prefer Rabin's lighter contemporary melodies, then enjoy the soft guitar coolness of "The King and Queen." Haslinger enthusiasts will better appreciate the harsher edge to the mix, as well as a few electric guitar accents, in "Announcing Lady De Winter." The cute Robert Rodriguez-styled tango in "Concealed Weapons Tango" returns in "The Venice Heist," where it is picked up by harpsichord before Haslinger's obnoxious industrial design elements finally come to the forefront. Some of this irritating tone leaks through in "Get Me One of Those!," with synthetic pulsating under a piano rhythm before a massive anthem is backed by grating percussive loops (beware of distortion from gain levels in this track). Light, seemingly synthetic choral effects (reflecting Mark Snow's library) become a factor at this point, "She Died the Way She Lived" quite pretty before erupting into a Zimmer-like string adagio. The start of "Rochefort Ante Portas" hilariously combines the flapping wing ambience of Batman Begins with the deep choral and snare tone of Crimson Tide. Generic and aimless action material ensues from there, the Media Ventures pinball machine effect in full force and allowing for only occasional thematic references. By "If You Insist!," Haslinger pours on his brash industrial tones from electric guitars without restraint. Haslinger returns to the broad bass whole notes from Inception in "You Should Have Apologized to My Horse!," adding more varied choral tones this time. In "Boys Will Be Boys," Jack Sparrow joins the musketeers once again in obvious fashion. The heartfelt oboe solos in "The World Calls to the Young" are an odd change of pace and tone, and the full ensemble finally sounds organic later in this cue. Rounding out the score in "To France, Of Course" is an inelegant reprise of "Buckingham's Departure" and the album tacks on a pleasant light rock (and vaguely country) song, "When We Were Young," by British band Take That. Overall, film score purists will be driven nuts by this score. The familiarity with most of this material, sometimes extremely obvious in the influence, is a major distraction from a score that sounds like a relic from a decade prior. Only with "The World Calls to the Young" will experienced listeners find much individual merit (or convincing character, for that matter). The album bleeds its tracks together in suite format and high gain levels cause occasional distortion, completing the emulation of Media Ventures' glory days with remarkable totality. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 45:15
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a note from the director about the film and score.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from The Three Musketeers are Copyright © 2011, Milan Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 10/18/11 (and not updated significantly since). |
