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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of X-Men (Michael Kamen)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you prefer your superhero scores to feature a
synthetically menacing, ambient personality that is devoid of the usual
heroic themes and straightforward action material often heard in the
genre.
Avoid it... if you expect the score's limited thematic development to sustain any of its album presentations, the lengthier 2021 product extremely challenging to tolerate in its disheartening gloom.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
X-Men: (Michael Kamen) Although comic superhero
adaptations had already populated the big screen in sparse numbers from
the 1970's through the 1990's, it wasn't until the 2000's that the
wealth of characters seen for decades in the comics of Marvel
Enterprises made it to the big screen. And then, with ferocious intent,
studios pressed forward with franchises for The Incredible Hulk,
Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and X-Men, among
others. The first of these adaptations was an ambitious production of
X-Men in 2000, anchored by a top-notch cast and extremely high
expectations. The origins stories of several core characters in the
concept are explored, with occasional conflicts between mutant heroes
and villains as needed to keep the pace rolling. The aim of the
production was to both thrill audiences and shine a light on the
underlying issues of prejudice and self-worth that the "X-Men" concept
has always contained. While eager fans of the long-running comic found
much to be happy with in the final product, executives at 20th Century
Fox nearly ruined the venture with troublesome meddling late in the
game. It was a classic case of industry artists versus studio suits, the
latter demanding frantic changes to X-Men through the final weeks
before its debut. One of the areas most deeply affected by this
disheartening battle was the music for the film. Director Bryan Singer
was originally set to utilize the services of his regular collaborator,
John Ottman, but despite the young composer's desire to enter the realm
of superhero films (which he would eventually accomplish in both this
and the The Fantastic Four franchises), Ottman had to step away
from X-Men due to scheduling conflicts. On board came veteran
Michael Kamen, whose career in fantasy and science-fiction was a bit
sparse; this assignment represented his only superhero work. He wrote a
muted but still melodic score, not entirely fashioned after the style of
the Superman and Batman franchises but more understandably
refashioning the dramatic lyricism in What Dreams May Come and
The Iron Giant over the previous few years. The studio, however,
reportedly wanted a score with a more abstract and harsh, electronic
edge, and Kamen was sent scrambling to alter the fundamental personality
of his work.
The resulting studio interference with Kamen's X-Men music thus afforded fans a score more in tune with the trashy Event Horizon than any recognizable superhero mould, with pieces of the score's former self peeking through in a few of the scenes. The lack of cohesion in the this music is most evident on its initial album, which was assembled in haphazard fashion as well. The score, while serviceable, remains among the weakest for any Marvel adaptation of the 2000's, and the available albums provide an even less remarkable listening experience in all cases. Had Joel McNeely not replaced Michael Kamen on The Avengers two years prior, Kamen might have produced this exact same result for that film. His score for X-Men straddles the line between electronic experimentation and traditional orchestral elements, with the latter struggling to remain assertive after the last-minute adjustments of continuous synthetic overlays. The difference between this music and Kamen's more recognized material for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Die Hard is the lack of truly recognizable themes and a heavier reliance on dissonant and unnerving environments. The main theme of the score, a nascent superhero identity with no prowess or enthusiasm, does emerge as the heroes step into their costumes and start fighting, but these moments are remarkably rare. The "Ambush," "The X-Jet," "Museum Fight," and "Final Showdown" cues offer the idea at its fullest, though it also informs "School Montage" and "Logan Kills Mystique." Kamen applies the idea's progressions warmer treatment in closing scenes. The narrative arc of this theme is practically non-existent in the work, leaving the score without a major identity outside of its drab, angry atmosphere. A secondary theme of connection between the Logan and Rogue characters is the score's only truly accessible melody, introduced in "Logan Drives" before expanding in "Jean Reads Logan's Mind" and shimmering in "Rogue Heals Logan." Kamen offers solemn but pretty development at length for the theme in "Logan and Rogue" and "Jean and Logan," the solo woodwind performances in these cues almost becoming lost in the darkness of the score's dominant character. Kamen's themes for the two elders of the tale, Magneto and Xavier (along with his Cerebro machine), are infrequently accessed. For Magneto, a challenging identity in "Death Camp" only recurs in "They Knew" and is a wasted opportunity. The otherworldly Xavier/Cerebro motif is best summarized in "Cerebro" and was awkwardly tracked in as the opening title music. Outside of the unsatisfactory thematic presence in X-Men, the score has little to offer for listeners not enthused by substandard synthetically-dominated brooding. The majority of the score features bland orchestral tension in the minor key, served over a background layer of electronic whooshes and grinding effects. Most of the score is dark and sinister in tone, accentuating the futuristic, awe-inspiring concept with ominous meanderings of the string section. The action material is, like Event Horizon, consistently loud and aimless, offering bland rhythmic noise more often than intelligent plot progression. Instrumentally, "Death Camp" is a highlight in that uses its lengthy piano and string introduction to glorify a timpani-pounding crescendo of menacing force. The dramatic undertones of the persecution of the mutants is effectively conveyed in this weighty material, but missing is the ambition or conflict that results from that premise. The electronic accompaniment is best when tingling in the form of a light rhythm, sometimes along with a choir, for the fantasy atmosphere in "Mutant School" and "Cerebro." The original album experience in 2000 was rather senseless but did hide some of the score's greater detriments. Pieces of Kamen's thematic constructs in "Ambush" and "Logan and Rogue" represented the obvious highlights, though the latter bubbling cue represented an anti-climactic and unceremonious end to the listening experience. Fans of the score long sought bootlegs of the complete recordings that better exposed Kamen's intentions for X-Men, though those that acquired them may not have liked what they heard. In 2021, La-La Land Records offered a nicely produced, limited 2-CD set with the original versions of each cue on one CD and album or film-specific arrangements and reconstructions on the second. In expanded form, the X-Men score makes a little more sense but is no more attractive a listening experience. In fact, it's an extraordinarily tough and at times brutal collection of pointless action grinds and meaningless suspense and conversation cues without more than occasional fragments of thematic reference. The full presentation exposes and amplifies the work's weaknesses, the later versions of cues with additional synthetic layers almost insufferable. The product is an instance in which only the most ardent enthusiasts of the work will find more than passing intellectual interest. On album generally, the score requires patience and an acceptance of Kamen's extremely dark treatment of the concept. The sequel scores by John Ottman and John Powell over the remainder of the 2000's are both superior efforts that provide the concept with better themes and far more engaging action material. **
TRACK LISTINGS:
2000 Decca Album:
Total Time: 40:27
2021 La-La Land Album: Total Time: 152:16
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert of the 2000 Decca album includes no extra information about
the score or film. That of the 2021 La-La Land set includes notes about both.
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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 X-Men are Copyright © 2000, 2021, Decca Records, La-La Land Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/10/00 and last updated 6/16/21. |
