Not surprisingly, Gregson-Williams and his cohorts had to
concoct several other themes to address the fuller range of emotions in
Wonder Woman, and here is where we encounter a barrage of
recycled muck of lowest common denominator. The ensemble is comprised of
the usual bass-heavy orchestral tones, manipulated solo strings saving
the day as expected. Choir is applied sparingly, and the ubiquitous solo
female vocal element is present but pushed further back in the mix. The
addition of a duduk seems to be the exotic tone of choice for a touch of
other-worldliness in blockbuster action scores at the moment, having
graced
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
concurrently. At least the bass region isn't quite as overbearing in
either of these two RC scores, perhaps the result of Zimmer himself
stepping aside (likely temporarily, if history goes to show) from the
leading role. Some duduk and woodwind flourishes sound like flubs,
though, as at 4:35 into "Amazons of Themyscira" and at 2:23 into
"Lightning Strikes." The retained fight theme and rhythm are about as
harsh an electronic sound as one will hear in
Wonder Woman. There
are essentially three major new themes at work here for the forces of
good, and all apply to Diana in some fashion. The problem is that they
all reference similar phrasing and thus bleed together, the primary
dramatic identity for Diana, which really is the main theme of this
picture, guiding the others. This theme for Diana in general is the
vintage Media Ventures power anthem first heard at 2:25 into "Amazons of
Themyscira" and occupying the remainder of that track. The idea is
reprised frequently throughout the score, though it is often
deconstructed to blend with a seemingly separate theme of sorts for her
relationship with the American pilot and deconstructed even further to
account for her familiar relations. The renderings of all of these
variations are so similar, utilizing extremely simple harmonic shifts
(often with minor thirds in mind) that they generally serve one common
dramatic purpose without really latching on to a distinct person. Still,
if pressed to distinguish them, you can rely on the fact that the
composers use a set number of notes per phrase for the different
applications. For instance, for Diana's herself, you hear four-note
phrases in succession. For the love interest, that is cut to phrases of
three notes. And for the familial connections, including the more
sinister manipulation of tone for Ares, those phrases are cut down to
two notes.
Since the score for
Wonder Woman so
simplistically and systematically conveys its themes in such static,
juvenile phrasing, it makes the identification of "themes" a little
easier. That doesn't infuse any intelligence into them, however. On the
upside, it does provide for the ultimate in "RC easy-listening" at
times, the equivalent for the DC universe what the new-age inspired
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen score was to that franchise.
In fact, for RC collectors who leak semen into their britches when
appreciating the glory days of MV/RC power anthems,
Wonder Woman
will provide them with ample moments of brainless goodness that
perfectly blend Steve Jablonsky's
Transformers structures, Trevor
Rabin's late-1990's anthems of self-importance, and the bloated drama
and exoticism of Brian Tyler's
Children of Dune all into one very
easily digestible combination. The resemblance to
Children of
Dune at times is laughable, the softer tones that merge cello with
duduk or solo voice in nearly identical progressions, as at the
beginning of "Pain, Loss & Love," perhaps indicative of some temp track
love. The duduk really is a nice touch despite how common it has become
in these circumstances, and it shines best when paired with a high wind,
as in the opening cue. The ultra-high choral layering, such as in the
main Diana theme on brass at 2:55 into "Pain, Loss & Love," is perhaps
the best referencing of the vintage Rabin fantasy mode. The score's
extended melodic crescendos are the Jablonsky connection, the ultra-cool
conveyance of the three-note theme variation occupying whole chunks of
"No Man's Land" and "Lightning Strikes" with a love interest theme that
borrows those progressions along with the instrumentation from
Children of Dune. The overall narrative of the score is actually
pretty decent, the Diana theme concentrated early, her Zimmer fight
identity and the mediocre material for the German villains doing battle
in the middle, the family-oriented, two-note thematic phrases shifting
into menacing territory for Ares late in "The God of War," and the trio
of "We Are All to Blame," "Hell Hath No Fury," and "Lightning Strikes"
forcing the melodramatic love theme into brassy, heroic duty. The brass
finale of "Hell Hath No Fury," maintaining electronic ambience
underneath the otherwise orchestral expression of tragedy, is really
quite compelling despite its simplistic, overwrought demeanor. The
bookending of Diana's theme in "Trafalgar Celebration" is also well
handled.
Overall, it's easy to get the impression that these
Remote Control composers were faced with a really challenging assignment
with
Wonder Woman, and they may have accomplished the best they
could given studio expectations and Zimmer's shadow still looming over
them. There are nuggets to be found throughout the score for franchise
enthusiasts, including allusions to the Wayne Enterprises identities at
1:10 into "Amazons of Themyscira," an unnecessary but neat reference.
The broadly basic, tonally satisfying expressions of Media Ventures
heritage were maybe deemed appropriate for a female hero, and there's
something sad about that, but it makes for an album that can be edited
together into a solidly entertaining, albeit brainless listening
experience. While most of the work is accessible to a fault, portions of
it do need exorcised, starting with the really poor representation of
the German villains in "Ludendorff, Enough!" and "Fausta," no real
identity established for them. Maybe the composers were offering them
generic tones because they actually aren't Ares incarnate, but if
Gregson-Williams and team are going to pilfer the best of their
heritage, why not throw more ominous
Crimson Tide choral and
electronic ambience into those scenes? Likewise, the "Action Reaction"
end credits recording is an embarrassment, loosely based upon the fight
theme's underlying rhythm but rambling on like an aimless remix without
stating any of the franchise themes clearly. You do, however, hear some
blatant, near-ripping from Brad Fiedel's iconic
The Terminator
rhythm at 3:12. Do these composers think we're too dense to laugh at
this? Did they fail to notice it themselves? Let's hope it was a "Your
clothes. Give them to me." in-joke of some kind. The middle of the end
credits sequence uses the Sia song "To Be Human," which is nowhere near
as unstoppable as her other movie-inserted hits, before reverting back
to the anthem of the first three minutes of "No Man's Land." As
expected, there is some music missing from the album, including all the
era's source insertions in the middle third of the film, but given how
generic this material presents itself to be, how many people can
legitimately complain? It's difficult not to think back to
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and pledge to reference
Wonder Woman whenever you need a more inspirational or soothing
Remote Control fix, because at least the recording offers its endlessly
churning cellos and brass melodies without a care in the world. One must
wonder what the orchestral musicians think of this drivel when they're
in the studio. Would they rather be performing Elliot Goldenthal
constructs? As a listener, sit back and just imagine what Debbie Wiseman
could have done with this concept. Cue the intelligence!
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