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| Tyler |
Transformers One: (Brian Tyler) In the endless
milking of the ever-popular Hasbro "Transformers" toy line of the
1980's, Paramount scratched together a strategy in the late 2010's to
produce a new series of animated films for the concept. These prequels
were somewhat consolidated into 2024's
Transformers One, an
extremely faithful exploration of the origin of the robots from the
mechanized world of Cybertron. Gone are all vestiges of the original
voices from the franchise, but the characters, their designs, and their
backstories all fit squarely with expectations. After a slew of
live-action movies that have badly distorted the characters and concept
through the years, this endeavor definitely has its appeal. Perhaps
unexpected is the twist that the predecessors to Optimus Prime and
Megatron were actually best friends in the past, joined by several other
future Autobots as they create mischief in the distinct class system of
older Cybertron's robots. While concepts from the franchise are
addressed in all corners, the focus of
Transformers One is its
core friendship between the two leads and the circumstances the
eventually tear them apart. The animated film was met with general
approval from "Transformers" enthusiasts, but it failed to yield the
kind of box office success the filmmakers had hoped. The music of
Transformers One is partially reverent to the franchise's past,
going so far as to include Stan Bush's performance "The Touch" in an
early scene; while much of 1986's
Transformers: The Movie has
been maligned through the years for its hapless killing of so many
beloved characters, its use of "The Touch" as the representation of the
concept's Matrix of Leadership remains a fan favorite. For the bulk of
the music in the 2024 film, the filmmakers turned to the highly logical
choice of Brian Tyler. The composer has established himself as an
immense fanboy of the 1980's and the adaptation of its popular game and
cartoon music into the contemporary digital realm. He had already
touched this concept by scoring the 2010 Netflix animated series
"Transformers: Prime."
Aside from Tyler's involvement with the score for
Transformers One, he also spearheaded the main rap song for the
picture as well. After the filmmakers heard his side project, "Are We
Dreaming," they asked Tyler to adapt its material into a new song for
this film, and he happily obliged, hauling along a few motifs from his
score as he crafted the admirably attractive song. Performed primarily
by Quavo and Ty Dolla Sign but featuring Tyler himself as the backup
chorus soloist, "If I Fall" is laden with franchise lore in its lyrics
and carries much of the same background instrumental character as the
score. The two function well in tandem with each other, and Tyler's
secondary vocals are commendable. In the music video he produced for the
song, the composer continues to live his dream of being in a boy band
despite having passed the 50-year-old mark a few years earlier. Watching
him perform and rub himself in the video like a teenager is highly
amusing when you think back to the early 2000's, when Tyler was widely
predicted to be the heir apparent to Jerry Goldsmith in the industry.
Yes, Tyler's career has occasionally intersected with Goldsmith's over
the years, but could anyone imagine Goldsmith doing a fraction of the
glitzy, age-defying things Tyler does in these videos twenty years
later? In his defense, Tyler has followed in Goldsmith's footsteps as a
master of tackling somewhat underwhelming projects with thoughtfulness,
and
Transformers One is another example of a very well
strategized score. Hardcore listeners may be disappointed by the lack of
obvious connections to the themes of the original series, its animated
movie, or "Transformers: Prime," but what Tyler does infuse into this
picture is extremely organized on its own. The composer applied a
combination of orchestra and chorus with a slew of vintage 1980's
synthesizers, yielding a blend of modern blockbuster and aged analog
accents that have become more popular to revisit by composers in recent
years. The resulting amalgamation will cause somewhat abrasive score on
first listen for a few listeners, but repeated appreciation will help
illuminate what Tyler was attempting to accomplish with his soundscape
and themes.
Among the vintage synthesizers applied to the mix of
Transformers One are a Yamaha CS 80 for the robots generally and
a more challenging 1982 Jupiter 8 for the D-16 (future Megatron)
character. Some of the electronic sound effects in the score are too
intrusive to enjoy, a cue like "Transform the Dark" highly annoying. But
kudos go to Tyler for using his library to emulate some of the original
transformation sound effects from Generation 1 of the show as part of
his music, especially for the villains. His use of rambling electronic
ostinatos under the chaos is also an asset in the more engaging action
cues. The orchestra and chorus are supplied in shades of masculine
brooding and overbearing weight not unlike Steve Jablonsky's ultra-manly
approach to the live-action movies. (Don't expect woodwind delicacy.)
The resulting mix of nearly every cue is totally devoid of reverb,
distortion and mutilation seemingly inhabiting more of the recording
than necessary. This despite Tyler's intent to use the organic elements
of the ensemble to represent the souls of the mechanized characters. The
entirety of the score sounds overproduced and too heavy in its tones,
though one could argue that this kind movie merits that overblown
attitude with a sharp edge. There is tonal fantasy that triumphs in
brief moments throughout, but the score is mostly dominated by either
its morbidly melodramatic contemplation or outright action flair with
Tyler's typical percussive exposition. Where the composer succeeds is in
his thematic development, his four main ideas extremely well explored
and mingled as the narrative progresses. The themes are so pervasive
everywhere in the score that they may sound like sonic wallpaper to some
listeners, too emphasized for their own good. But then you have a cue
like "The Contenders" that features all four themes cleverly adapted as
a preview of the characters' fates. None of the themes is short-changed
in the narrative, Tyler allowing all of them to flourish but giving them
something of a bloated, cartoonish sense of importance in so doing.
There isn't a particularly catchy one in the lot, so don't expect casual
viewers to leave the cinematic experience with any competition in their
memory for the legacy concept themes, but within this film alone, the
ideas are easy to distinguish.
The main theme of
Transformers One comes in a
lengthy call and action form, the melody perhaps too long-lined for this
purpose but espousing the right personality. It anchors Tyler's summary
suite from the score, debuting at 1:02 into "Transformers One Theme"
with choir, strings, and rambling electronic bass. The idea repeats
several times in more abrasive synthetic and percussive incarnations and
returns to the suite after other themes at 2:43 for several massive
ensemble renditions. The theme is a brassy interruption at 1:53 into
"Birth of the Primes" over a heavy synth bed, recurs in bloated
importance at 1:57 into "Orion Pax" with the nobility of the Primes
theme, and is restrained at 1:05 into "Destiny of the Primes" before a
brazenly heroic performance on electronics at 3:15. It is stoic in brass
posture at 0:24 into "Metal to the Pedal" and guides action thereafter
in the cue. The idea shifts to dreamy, wet keyboarding at the outset of
"Memory of the Forgotten" (the score's easy-listening cue), takes an
abbreviated fanfare form at the end of "The Contenders," affords
hostile, suspenseful interactions with the legacy/destiny theme in
"Trespaxxing," and is adapted into different progressions at the start
of "More Than Meets the Eye." Tyler's main theme then emerges at the end
of that cue through ample layers of chaos while fragments lend some
structure to "Escape to the Surface" and consolidate at its end. Solely
the idea's chords inform the last portions of "Resting Place of the
Primes," and the melody fights the villain material about a minute into
"The Ultimate Betrayal" before staggering parts of itself in the
synthetic rhythms of "Echelon Now." Tyler takes it to monumental heroism
once more at 0:51 into "New Cog Potential" and allows it to step into
the middle of the Primes/villain theme battle in first half of "Alpha's
Orders." It struggles in the middle and end of "Starscream," meanders in
mostly chords again at the outset of "Sealed Fate" (not faring much
better later), and devolves to synth ambience that carried pieces of the
theme in "Together as One" before a full brass statement at 1:31. The
main theme then battles the villain theme in the middle of "Coming of
the Guard," becomes accelerated in the sustained action late in "The
Battle for Cybertron," and offers a stark reminder late in "Prime
Reason."
Continuing its dominance to the end, Tyler's main theme
for
Transformers One achieves its catharsis at the conclusion of
the score. The idea adds some drama to the heights of "The Fall" and
"Battle of the Titans" and contemplates itself early in "I Am Optimus
Prime" before sending the score off with a big performance at 2:58. The
composer closes the work by offering several more epic renditions of
this primary theme in "Transformers One End Title." The next two themes
are often intertwined as necessary in the story, the legacy/destiny
theme and Orion/Primes theme obviously carrying each other in the
narrative. The long lines of the main theme are countered in purpose by
the comparatively malleable and often shortened legacy/destiny theme,
anchored by its first three notes as a fanfare which lead into a longer
melody when necessary. Entering at 0:08 into "Transformers One Theme"
for the logos sequence, this general representation of the plight of the
robots is adapted downward at 0:57 in the background of the suite but
exposed better in its full form at 2:11 on string layers. It provides a
mysterious moment at 3:33 in repeated echoes and 5:18 as counterpoint to
Primes theme, and it closes out the suite with an element of fantasy and
anticipation on banging chimes. This motif of mystique is vague at the
start of "Birth of the Primes," stewing at 1:44 into that cue, closes
"Orion Pax" in fanfare form again, and opens "Destiny of the Primes" in
solemn ambience. It is expressed with bloated choral importance at 0:54
into "The Contenders," turns darkly forbidding at the start of
"Trespaxxing" (better informing the later mystery in the cue), and opens
and closes "Resting Place of the Primes" in eerie synth tones. Starting
"The Ultimate Betrayal" with dangerous undertones, the legacy/destiny
theme begins "New Cog Potential" in solitary contemplation and reveals
its full progressions again, later transforming into an action motif in
the latter half of "Alpha's Orders." It propels the movement early in
"Prime Reason" and joins the Primes theme in true counterpoint at the
climax of "I Am Optimus Prime," where the motif ends the score in
fanfare mode one last time. This theme also punctuates the propulsion at
the start and end of "Transformers One End Title," proving that the
presence of its main, three-note progression offsets the unusually long
lines of the main theme as a quick tool of reference for the larger
story at play in the concept.
Often associating with the legacy/destiny theme is
Tyler's representation of the Primes and Orion Pax (the future Optimus
Prime) specifically. With an ascending four notes as the primary anchor,
this identity may have vague connections to the original General 1
television show theme for some, but the similarities are too academic to
appreciate. At 1:55 into "Transformers One Theme," this theme is teased
as an interlude to the main theme, but it is introduced in full form at
3:53 on ethereal choir prior to shifting towards the villains' tone at
5:00. The Primes theme provides hope at 0:54 into "Birth of the Primes"
on chugging strings and synths, opens "Orion Pax" organically on strings
before shifting to noble brass layers over choir, and offers soothing
choral heroism for a moment at 1:04 into "The Contenders." Typically the
score's source of optimism, this theme breaks through the gloom at 0:39
into "Trespaxxing" and helps the main theme maintain a positive outlook
early in "More Than Meets the Eye." It resorts to somber, restrained
shades on choir at 0:18 into "Resting Place of the Primes" and leads the
remainder of that cue in fantasy mode. Pushing a fully electronica mode
briefly at the end of "Echelon Now," the Primes theme serves as an
interlude to the main theme (as in the suite) at 1:14 into "New Cog
Potential" but becomes starkly challenged by the villain theme at the
start of "Alpha's Orders" and tries unsuccessfully to emerge about a
minute into "Starscream." It is somewhat reserved early in "Coming of
the Guard" over villain synthetics and fights those darker tones in the
middle of "The Battle for Cybertron," struggling in light agony in the
first half of "Prime Reason" and eventually succumbing to tragedy in the
latter half of the cue. It remains intertwined with the villain material
in the dramatic passages of "The Fall" for the pivotal break between
characters, and it's very faint at the outset of "Battle of the Titans"
but has better presence later in that cue. The Prime theme naturally
emerges tenderly at 1:17 into "I Am Optimus Prime" and builds to a
resounding end to the score. The background vocals suggest this theme in
Tyler's associated "If I Fall" rap song. Some listeners may find the
underlying chords of this theme to share too much in common with those
of the main theme, but it suffices to say that both identities are
ultimately meant to convey the optimistic side of the concept while the
legacy/destiny theme can be applied darkly as needed for the
D-16/Megatron transition.
Tyler's villain material in
Transformers One
covers all the future Decepticons of the tale, including the D-16 robot
at times. In its blatant bad guy function, the idea consists of
aggressively chopped, staccato descending lines for strings and brass
that are badly manipulated with distortion, atonality, and microtonal
interjections for unsettling effect. It's heard in its dark mode at 5:32
into "Transformers One Theme" and 2:30 into "Destiny of the Primes" with
all the same stomping electronic distortion. The theme wasn't always
evil, however, with hints of its origins expressed by melodramatic choir
at 0:32 into "The Contenders" in a nice shift of personality. Back in
its full evil mode, the idea is fragmented with its synthetic
transformation noises at 1:22 into "More Than Meets the Eye," where it
is well adapted into tortured variants throughout the cue. The villain
theme growls on brass at 0:50 into "The Ultimate Betrayal," threatens
late in "New Cog Potential," interrupts the Primes material early in
"Alpha's Orders," and stalks "Hidden Truth" in various guises. Tyler
applies the theme to fan-favorite baddie Starscream by drowning out the
Primes and other themes in "Starscream" with this motif's hints
bolstered by odd vocal effects. It menaces a minute into "Sealed Fate"
(dominating later), influences the action in the first minute of "Coming
of the Guard," announces evil intent in more fluid form at the start of
"The Battle for Cybertron," and thrashes in the middle of "Prime
Reason." At the climax of the tale, the villain theme takes an
understandably dramatic choral turn at the start of "The Fall," stomps
briefly in "Battle of the Titans," and dies out with frustration in the
first half of "I Am Optimus Prime," awaiting another day for revenge.
All of these themes, together with some periodic secondary motifs,
create a very healthy narrative for
Transformers One, but not one
rich with heritage for the concept. Some listeners may not be able to
overcome the rather abrasive electronic tone of the whole recording, and
the 85-minute digital album will be tiresome for those not inclined to
appreciate the depth of the thematic development. A perfectly adequate
30-minute presentation of highlights could result from this score, and
Tyler's rap song should be included with it as a highlight. While
there's much to like in the composer's thoughtful approach to a score
like this, this music lacks a desperately needed heart or, at the least,
something distinctly catchy to remember it by. It's yet another solidly
workmanlike Tyler score that does its job well without striking a truly
popular chord.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on Album: ***
- Overall: ***
| Bias Check: |
For Brian Tyler reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.2
(in 41 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.13
(in 18,082 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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There exists no official packaging for this album.
