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| Zimmer |
Wonder Woman 1984: (Hans Zimmer) In the second of
four planned Warner Brothers films based on a "Wonder Woman" spin-off
from the DC Extended Universe of superhero movies,
Wonder Woman
1984 was conceived as a standalone entry with a narrative that
didn't extend directly out of the 2017 predecessor. Set in the 1980's,
Diana Prince, Amazonian princess of the mythical hotbed of feminism,
Themyscira, and Smithsonian employee during the day, is drawn into new
conflict when one of the artifacts in the museum proves to be a tool of
magical mischief that grants wishes while taking compromising tolls on
those to whom the wishes are granted. A museum coworker unintentionally
becomes a super-powered rival of Wonder Woman, and she teams up with an
oil baron who takes his wish towards the expected goal of world
domination. The plot worked for some viewers but put off others, the
opening scene set on Themyscira in a flashback immensely enjoyable (and,
in fact, spawning a film unto itself), but there was criticism about the
resurrection of Diana's squeeze from the first film in another man's
body, and the lack of consent that man gives to everything Chris Pine is
shown doing (and screwing) in this picture. The movie was delayed
countless times in 2020, eventually offered in a hybrid theatre and
streaming tandem that reportedly failed to recoup the studio's costs for
the production. Among the feel-good positives of
Wonder Woman
1984 is its full embrace of 1980's nostalgia, and that tone carries
over to its music. The origins of Wonder Woman's music came in 2016's
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, for which Hans Zimmer wrote a
rowdy battle cry for the character that overshadowed everything else in
that score. For 2017's
Wonder Woman, a team of composers from
Zimmer's Remote Control Productions, led by Rupert Gregson-Williams,
produced a decent but brainless collection of power anthems and vintage
Media Ventures action techniques. Zimmer himself took the helm of
Wonder Woman 1984 despite, once again, his claims that he had
retired for good from the superhero genre many years and superhero
assignments prior. To his credit, though, much of this score is his own
creation, David Fleming and Steve Mazzaro providing additional music but
Zimmer tackling the bulk of the work himself.
Logistically,
Wonder Woman 1984 presented Zimmer
with some interesting decisions to make. First, he summarily dumped
Rupert Gregson-Williams's themes, which is a shame given that they
represented the same concepts needing themes in this film and could have
been salvaged by some development. Second, the tone of the story
demanded a different approach to supplying Wonder Woman with a musical
persona, the awesome battle cry too aggressively dark for the uplifting
spirit of this sequel. Finally, the movie had a wealth of concepts that
could demand individual themes, Zimmer responding with countless new
identities that don't always succeed in claiming prominent airtime when
one would expect. Generally speaking, though,
Wonder Woman 1984
supplied Zimmer the chance to shed the morbidly brooding persona that
had defined his superhero scores and return to his more emotionally
varied and lyrical works of the 1990's. To this end alone, his
achievement here is a tremendous success, the composer certainly opening
himself up to teasing about writing the very "happy and jolly" superhero
music he once dismissed when commenting on the genre music of his
friend, Danny Elfman. His musical transformation here provides a variety
of highly dynamic and even major-key heroism that at times evokes the
wholesome character of James Horner. It's an incredible breath of fresh
air for vintage Zimmer enthusiasts, the work combining some of the best
pieces of the composer's masculine recording style, overwrought
classicism, and even early 1990's playfulness and exuberance into a
resurrection certain to thrill listeners still attached to Zimmer's
works of the 1980's and early 1990's. That said, Zimmer cannot shake his
fundamental tenets of the 2010's, however, the sound of his score still
abrasively rendered so that brass and percussion highlights, especially
when you have huge groups of horn players all performing in unison, seem
synthetic or, at least, manipulated. There is some unfortunate mixing
work sprinkled throughout
Wonder Woman 1984, the gains always
excessive (it's a loud score even when it's trying to be soft) and the
choir sometimes placed so distantly that their chanting is only revealed
by the "s" sounds that stand out. The action sequences in the score are
more intelligent conceptually but, because of the overbearing mix, they
lose their ability to impress through nuance or thematic
development.
On the upside, there are instruments heard in the music
for
Wonder Woman 1984 that are not typical to Zimmer blockbusters
of the era, prominent placement of xylophone and woodwinds, as well as
lighter female choral tones, defining a much broader soundscape here.
Zimmer's core set of themes are also truly outstanding on the whole,
nailing the heart of the film's major narrative elements. The composer
still has difficulty applying his themes to outright action mayhem,
however, with the exception of the existing battle cry that is
inherently a rhythmic tool to begin with. Action cues tend to devolve
into massive walls of sound for Zimmer, and that tendency continues. The
composer is among the top influences of the modern overblown crescendo
in film music, the ostinatos and ascending phrasing dating back to the
highlights of
The Thin Red Line and
The Da Vinci Code and
still prevailing so many years later in emulation by everyone from
Zimmer's own clones to younger flashes Ludwig Göransson and Daniel
Pemberton. In
Wonder Woman 1984, cues both for battle and drama
are supplied with Zimmer's drawn-out crescendo structures, cymbal
crashes punctuating them with style but the basic idea remaining rather
static. He writes set pieces for scenes in a way that the same churning
figures, sometimes related to a major theme but not always, simply build
and build, get louder and louder, and supply emphasis but not actual
musical metamorphosis or catharsis in needed moments at their ends,
"Lord of Desire" and "The Beauty in What Is" both examples of this
approach. Also eluding Zimmer is pinpoint control over thematic usage,
especially in the action sequences. Outside of these rhythmically
overwhelming cues, he fares a little better, but his application of
motifs to specific little moments in a narrative is so rare that a brief
quote like the Dreamstone motif at 2:51 into "1984" is a true pleasure.
The composer prefers to explore themes in full, wholesale form even
outside of his suites, an idea seemingly not worth stating unless there
is at least 40 seconds in which to state it. Part of this is owed to
Zimmer's method of writing, and Zimmer remains loyal to that technique
The same can be said about taking four dozen brass players and blasting
them in unison until they sound like a sample of themselves. Again,
Wonder Woman 1984 is a highly refreshing diversion from the
personality of Zimmer's superhero music, but it accesses the same
vocabulary he's been comfortable using in this era.
Even if the rendering of Zimmer's ideas for
Wonder
Woman 1984 ironically remains too masculine and reliant upon hefty
subwoofers for your taste, you can't help but be attracted to his many
great themes for the picture. His ideas for Diana and Themyscira extend
(literally) out of the existing battle cry to form several new themes
that recur throughout the film, the main hero identity and supplemental
themes for optimism (the truth element) and determination
(perseverance). The hero, optimism, and determination themes are the
siblings of the original battle cry and are often joined by a new rhythm
of major key distinction for the character's good heart. The duo of
"Themyscira" and "Games" is pivotal in establishing these ideas, and,
fortunately for Zimmer, these initial ten minutes of the film is largely
devoid of dialogue, allowing the music to flourish along with the
fantastic visuals. Zimmer teases the original battle cry on electric
strings at 0:05 and 0:20 into "Themyscira" for the logos but soon dives
into the new major key rhythm for Diana's themes at 0:26 (and returning
at 2:24). The optimistic theme follows at 0:35, 1:10, 2:18, and 2:29,
its progressions and choral and string coloration combining to remind of
James Horner's work in a startling twist for Zimmer. It's a wonderfully
chipper idea for the composer, so brazenly occupied by the major key
that it truly stands out whenever dropped into the rest of the score in
similar fashion. The determination theme is a knock-out highlight of
Wonder Woman 1984 that deserved more air time, introduced in
"Themyscira" at 0:47 and 3:08. The most memorable of the lot will likely
be Zimmer's main hero theme for Diana, sharing the first four notes with
war cry before diverging into its own greatness at 1:04, 1:52, and 2:28
into "Themyscira." In the subsequent "Games," Zimmer provides an
exciting new rhythm for female chanting, punctuated by primal woodwind
calls, and all three of these Diana themes is reprised. The main hero
idea is heard in grandiose form at 3:12 and subdued at 4:14, the
optimistic theme occurs with light choir at 2:10 and respectful
reservation at 4:35, and the determination theme takes a somber turn at
3:35. In many ways, the equally entertaining "1984" shifts to
contemporary times with the same resoundingly positive and hopeful
spirit of the first two cues, the three together yielding 16 minutes of
airy and, one might dare say, fun Zimmer melodicism that is tempered
until the finale of the film. For a substantial number of listeners,
these tracks will represent the best of the score.
The primary hero theme for Diana in
Wonder Woman
1984 is the guiding goodness of "1984," its exploration at 0:08 and
beyond so joyously expanded that one can't help but fall in love with
its infectious charm. The orchestrations in these passages are superior
to most of Zimmer's recent output, passing melodic lines between strings
and brass with smooth confidence. The theme's beaming brass performance
at 4:40 has (again, ironically) an almost Elfman and
Batman-like
crescendo, and the soft resolution of the theme at 6:36 nicely wraps the
track. The hero theme continues with a slow and victorious statement at
3:16 into "Open Road" and a falsely heroic fragment at 5:09. Its
deflation at 5:47 into "Radio Waves" signals challenges for Zimmer's
referencing of the ideas in the climactic battle scenes, where Wonder
Woman's battle cry instead takes the lead. The new hero theme closes out
the score over the new major key rhythm for Diana as she reasserts her
own powers and mission at 3:45 into "Truth." The optimism theme makes
fewer appearances in the score but has a significant impact upon the
"Fireworks" flight cue. Rather than allow the Diana and Steve love theme
to flow at this point, the optimism theme flourishes at 0:10 and 0:46
into a pretty and massively scoped incarnation. The idea becomes worried
at 3:32 into "Open Road" but prevails with relief at 2:15 into "Truth;"
like the hero theme, this idea is joined by the major key rhythm at
3:16, the melody given a large brass sendoff. The determination theme,
given distinction by its comparatively minor key drive, is sadly less
evident outside of the early cues, but a slow and sad performance awaits
at 2:13 into "Without Armor." A fuller version at 2:44 into that cue
offers a return to the chanting heard during the Themyscira scenes, but
with a tone remarkably similar to Andrew Lockington's more accessible
portions of
Rampage. The theme seems to inform the start of "Lost
and Found" before extended development transforms it into a new theme.
Those more interested in hearing Zimmer's original battle cry for Wonder
Woman more explicitly will not be disappointed in its variations, though
this score does lack the outwardly cool, straight forward electric
guitar snazziness of the theme as heard in Gregson-Williams'
Wonder
Woman. Instead, Zimmer exercises the first four notes as inspiration
for multiple other themes and, when he does offer the whole idea, he
does so in unfamiliar ways. The somewhat humorous woodwind and horn
performance at 5:00 into "1984" is one such welcome deviation.
Zimmer usually saves the Wonder Woman battle cry for her
battle sequences, supplanting the new hero theme for the hard-ass
original identity. An allusion on strings at 0:29 into "Open Road" later
yields the idea in full, electronic grinding mode, while straight brass
renditions at 1:54 and subsequent accelerating action usage at 4:37 are
fantastic. The structural connections between the battle cry and main
hero theme sometimes cause them to nearly overlap in purpose, as in the
tentative horn expression at 2:02 into "The White House." At 2:40 into
that cue, the full battle cry ensues, mixed well into action variants on
shifting chords. These chords seem to tepidly influence the start of
"Radio Waves" but the cry explodes into its full form again at 3:27.
Zimmer interestingly abandons even hints of the idea (outside of its
connections with the hero theme) for the finale flight sequence. For
Diana's love interest, the resurrection of Steve from the previous film,
Zimmer responds with a new love theme not related to Gregson-Williams'
equivalent. The theme serves its purpose but is rather poorly
enunciated, perhaps because its progressions sound as though the main
phrases are actually the middle sequences to some longer theme. (Perhaps
that was Zimmer's point.) Emerging first at 0:10 into "Wish We Had More
Time," the idea turns big on strings and choir at 0:36, fuller
exploration with slight waltz mannerisms later in cue yielding to a
passage eerily similar to
The Lion King at the end. Only the
theme's underlying chords seem to occupy any time late in "Fireworks,"
and these hints open "Without Armor" before better enunciation of the
theme at 0:32. The theme is understandably broken throughout "Already
Gone," melodramatic but electronically distorted. One might assume that
the "Lost and Found" track would base itself on this theme, but only
similar progressions arise around 7:00 onward. In the end, the love
theme in
Wonder Woman 1984 has to be chalked up as a
disappointment, even if its lack of depth and resonance owes to
intellectual reasoning. More interesting is Zimmer's idea for the
Dreamstone, a hypnotic tune consisting of descending 3 and 4-note
phrases. After the eerie female vocal preview at 2:51 into "1984,"
Zimmer uses "The Stone" as the formal suite for the motif. Its
electronic allure starts at 0:12 into that cue, the actual melody
arriving at 0:48. The theme meanders with heavy Jerry Goldsmith
mannerisms on strings, a truly nice touch of intrigue from Zimmer. The
underlying formations of the theme open "The White House," its
descending motif in rhythmic form at 1:08 and the actual theme
romantically expressed on strings for several building performances at
2:11.
The simplistic rhythmic form of the Dreamstone in
Wonder Woman 1984 would imply more frequent usage from Zimmer,
but he resists that notion. It is only vague at 3:53 into "Radio Waves,"
and its lack of presence there and in "Anything You Want" is quite
baffling. On the other hand, though, Zimmer does nicely invert the
progressions at 2:27 into "The Beauty in What Is" for the end of the
threat. Equally elusive at certain moments in the score but even more
entertaining in its performances is the theme for Max Lord. It's one of
Zimmer's all-time best themes, distinct in its uppity waltz-inspired
character but allowing for renditions ranging from brazenly chipper to
ominously sinister and, in the end, redemptively warm. The "Black Gold"
track is Zimmer's suite for this theme, opening and closing that
recording with upbeat trumpet performances of the melody on top of
spritely chopping strings. At 0:46 into that track, an interlude phrase
turns ominous on strings over bubbling electronics, and that extremely
wet ambience twists the melody at 1:11 into a slower, distorted,
comic-like, and slightly humorous variant. A harpsichord, xylophone, and
woodwinds offer another playful rendition at 3:54 and the interlude
sequence takes over underneath the melody as counterpoint at 4:27, a
really nice, if not pretentious touch of class. Rather than raise the
Dreamstone theme in "Anything You Want," Zimmer presents a mystical,
rhythmic form of the Lord theme at 0:39, underlying chords continuing in
tingling electronic suspense thereafter. Those chords are more often
cited than the theme itself in subsequent cues, guiding the dark
passages to close "The White House" and opening "Lord of Desire" in
another sequence surprisingly devoid of the actual melody. Zimmer starts
with the same tact at the outset of "The Beauty in What Is" on harp, but
he allows the idea fuller redemption for the large ensemble later in
that cue and during the first half of "Truth," the romantic strings in
the latter a heartwarming development for the character. Meanwhile, the
Barbara/Cheetah theme is highlighted by a four-note elephant call on
echoing, distorted brass, a clear emulation (understandably) of the four
primary notes of the Wonder Woman battle cry. The animal call for this
villain debuts at 1:35 into "Cheetah," with a longer series of ascending
figures of menace following at 2:10. By 3:26 into "Anything You Want,"
the wild string figures from "Cheetah" develop into a power-hungry
crescendo. In the major battle scenes, both the shriek and fuller theme
return at 3:52 into "The White House" and 5:12 into "Radio Waves." The
musical identity for this character is sadly unrefined in the score,
especially in the lack of a softer variant of the idea for Barbara.
Because Zimmer's albums tend to convey his ideas in
arrangements aimed for that medium rather than the film, the two albums
for
Wonder Woman 1984 present a few extended moments of thematic
material that don't exactly associate with the main themes. On the
primary album, the exceedingly long "Lost and Found" cue, some of which
was placed in the film's end credits, takes the love theme material in a
completely new direction that hangs out awkwardly in the end despite
being exceeding pretty music for symphony and choir that (again,
ironically) takes a page from Klaus Badelt's
The Promise. It
should be mentioned that end credits combination of "Themyscira" and
"Lost and Found," while fine, come after a wretched transition from
"Truth" over the finale and main title, and the mix of "Truth" in that
closing transition is noticeably different on screen from the album mix.
Not included on either score album are the additional score-related
placements heard in the film. Zimmer enthusiasts were quick to point out
that both the cues "Beautiful Lie" and "This is My World" from
Batman
v Superman: Dawn of Justice were tracked in to
Wonder Woman
1984, though there are some indications that "Beautiful Lie" was
re-recorded freshly for this usage. Additionally, Clinton Shorter's "I
Won't Leave You" from 2014's
Pompeii is utilized, as is John
Murphy's "Adagio in D Minor" from 2006's
Sunshine for Diana's
first flight sequence. The latter is a really odd placement; aside from
the fact that Zimmer could easily have written anything in D minor as
per usual, the cue really needed some thematic continuity with the
remainder of the soundtrack. That insertion represents the worst of temp
track mentality, and a return to any of the really strong
Diana/Themyscira themes would have been infinitely superior at the
moment. Some fans might be disappointed that no special musical tribute
awaited Lynda Carter's cameo in a mid-credits sequence; the star of the
1970's television series appears as an Amazonian legend who casually and
humorously saves a woman's child with a wink and a nod. Rather than
offering a custom cue for this moment, the opening minute of
"Themyscira" is applied instead. Again, Zimmer isn't inclined to supply
pinpoint recognition in his music, and you have to approach
Wonder
Woman 1984 with the reminder that his music is conceived of in
suites and that is what guides the adaptations and arrangement of the
themes in the picture. The listening experience benefits the mainstream
moviegoer, but there remains some missing narrative nuggets through a
score like this that might bother film score collectors only marginally
interested in Zimmer's style.
The primary thematic suites and major cues from the
Wonder Woman 1984 score are represented on the lengthy primary
album, a 2-CD option included. The studio milked the music for all of
Zimmer's usual marketing glory by releasing the two best tracks,
"Themyscira" and "1984," as singles before that fuller option. In early
2021, Zimmer and WaterTower Music followed up with a digital-only
"Sketches From the Soundtrack" album containing rough drafts of most of
the score's themes and cues. Detractors of Zimmer's methods and style
won't be pleased by this product, for if you think the composer's final
renderings sound synthetically generated, then these sketches will be a
miserable experience. Unlike Zimmer's equivalent
Dark Phoenix,
the second
Wonder Woman 1984 album offers no additional
highlights from the finished score and is instead a rather pointless
offering outside of those most enamored with Zimmer's creation process
from an intellectual viewpoint. The "'84" track is a raw synth version
of "1984" while "No Hero is Born From Lies" is a slightly better
rendered synth version of "Themyscira." One would expect "Apex Predator"
to illuminate the Cheetah theme, but it doesn't, instead annoyingly
distorting the original battle cry theme on electric guitar as a halfway
measure to the Cheetah identity. A pretty well rendered synth version of
"The Stone" of significant length occupies "The Monkey Paw." In "Barbara
Minerva," Zimmer toys with a unique, contemporary idea for the character
that didn't figure prominently in the final score. "Dechalafrea Ero"
seems like an insufferably long, extended rough version of the opening
of "Radio Waves," and "In Love" is a largely redundant early rendering
of "Lost and Found." One long crescendo for the Dreamstone theme on
keyboard awaits in "Citrine." The sketch of "Open Road" in "In Harm's
Way" offers some truly terrible synthetic brass. An extremely long
exploration of the Lord theme in "Black Gold," including some of the
later related suspense material, drags on in "Life is Good, But It Can
Be Better" for twelve minutes. The album closes out with "The Amazon,"
offering more early development of the primary themes, mostly the main
hero theme. Do yourself a favor and skip this album, for it offers
nothing superior to what's on the previous product. Those sketches
aside, Zimmer's achievement with
Wonder Woman 1984 is a
monumental resurrection in the man's career, a rediscovery of optimistic
lyricism and meaningful romance that dwarfs the sometimes stale action
material sprinkled throughout. His techniques are not without flaw, and
the mix remains indelicate and overbearing, but this score's enthusiasm
and warmth represents an overdue triumph that is easily Zimmer's best
accomplishment in one, if not two decades.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: ****
- Music as Heard on the 2020 Album: *****
- Music as Heard on the 2021 "Sketches" Album: **
- Overall: ****
| Bias Check: |
For Hans Zimmer reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84
(in 121 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.96
(in 298,225 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert of the 2020 regular album includes a note from the director and
a list of performers. There exists no official packaging for the 2021 "Sketches"
album.
