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| Jackman |
X-Men: First Class: (Henry Jackman) If all else
fails, hit the reboot button. Wouldn't it be great if real life gave you
that opportunity? In Hollywood, it worked wonders for the
Batman
franchise, so after four somewhat aimless movies in the
X-Men
franchise, writer/producer Bryan Singer returned to team up with
director Matthew Vaughn to tell a somewhat new version of the origins of
the famous Marvel Comics characters. Discarding some of the flashbacks
in the previous films and staying truer to costumes and other aspects of
the original illustrations,
X-Men: First Class is a relatively
high stakes endeavor for 20th Century Fox that required roughly $150
million for its 2011 release. It tells of the friendship and eventual
rivalry between Dr. Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr (Magneto), as well
as their assembly of mutants in the 1960's against the backdrop of the
Cuban Missile Crisis and a maniacal effort by an original common enemy
to dominate the planet. The self-identity crises involving the
characters are almost as bloated as the one involving the nuclear
weapons, but never fear, concept enthusiasts will get a cameo appearance
to compensate for any eye-rolling indifference that the brisk pace of
the movie still manages to instill. Critics were surprisingly positive
about
X-Men: First Class and audiences agreed, racking up about
$350 million worldwide at the box office. Apparently, a little dose of
great naval special effects can go a long way. Not as popular is Henry
Jackman's score for the film, mentioned as a detriment to the picture in
a few mainstream reviews and met with disdain from film score collectors
tired of formulaic summer blockbuster soundtracks dominated by the
omnipresent Hans Zimmer/Remote Control sound. At its core, what Jackman
and his RC associates have accomplished for
X-Men: First Class is
far from intellectual art. In fact, its themes are not much more
intelligent that the mass of crap coming from the concept's sister
franchises. And, as usual with these RC-associated composers, you hear
Zimmer melodies and techniques aped in some form or another. But Jackman
is no slouch with an orchestra, as his concurrent score for
Winnie
the Pooh can testify, and he makes a few choices for
X-Men: First
Class that actually give the score some artistic merit beyond what
you might expect.
While there are plenty of brute brass themes, a
snarling electric guitar, and synthetic loops and string ostinatos to
set the pace in
X-Men: First Class, there are also elements
usually absent from such scores: trumpets, flutes, and violins in higher
octaves. In fact, there's a full woodwind section in
X-Men: First
Class, a shock when considering that such dainty tones are typically
off limits nowadays. On top of that, while the electric guitar is often
a villain simply because of its brainless application to blockbuster
music, its purpose in this score actually maintains a wider performance
emphasis and, believe it or not, common sense meaning. The filmmakers
wanted this movie to lean a bit on the James Bond style of technology in
the 60's, so it's no surprise that the contemporary aspects of the music
are somewhat matched to that concept. One could argue either way about
the themes in
X-Men: First Class; it's nice to hear them so well
delineated and repeated throughout the score. On the other hand, they're
rather brainless and are referenced so often that the score could become
tedious for some listeners. The instrumentation for their statements is
where some salvation can be sought. The main theme's impressive
standalone performance opens the album presentation in "First Class," a
touch of Daft Punk's
Tron: Legacy leaking through but otherwise
rather dynamic in its shifting of the standard ostinatos to the higher
reaches of the violins. The noble brass theme in that track extends to a
bold statement at the end of "Cerebro" (under its loyal rhythmic loops).
The theme and rhythm turn blatantly electronic in "X-Training" and the
melody is slowed for heroic treatment with high choir in "Sub Lift."
Opposing this idea is the more obvious identity for Magneto, exploding
with force in "Pain and Anger" and easily recognizable with its basic
rising structure. This theme seems to enjoy three different regular
emotional variants, from the ominous suspense mode of that first
performance and "Coup d'Etat" (highlighted by creepy choir and nervous
cymbal accents) to the cool and hip but restrained tones of the twangy
guitar at the end of "Would You Date Me?" and in "Frankenstein's
Monster" (along with pulsating guitar and synths in "Not That Sort of
Bank") and, ultimately, the full blown rock-like version at the ends of
"Frankenstein's Monster" and "X-Men." A ballsy rock rendition of this
theme is contained in its own arrangement to close the album as well
("Magneto"), and at least it doesn't try to hide it rhetorical
intentions.
Interestingly, despite the character's allegiance to
the "good guys" of the story in its first two acts of
X-Men: First
Class, the Magneto theme is very dark from the start, clearly
foreshadowing what audiences already know will happen. A highlight of
the score is the overlapping of the two main themes in "True Colours."
Another motif at work in the score is a weak homage to Zimmer's rolling
"Journey to the Line" theme from
The Thin Red Line. Much of "Rage
and Serenity" matches the prior cue's descending lines and "Mutant and
Proud" ends on trumpet and horn calls of the same motif that
satisfyingly answer each other. Some tender interludes are wayward in
the score, including the slight passages in "Would You Date Me?" and
"The Beast or Not to Beast." Aside from an increasing role for the high
choir in the final third of the film, few benefits can be heard in the
straight action music for the conflict between the mutant factions and
naval fleet at the end of the film. Jackman allows the music to decline
into standard RC pounding and thrashing for these sequences, never
really recapturing the instrumental intrigue of his early presentations
of the two main themes. The album for
X-Men: First Class includes
an hour of music but comes with some caveats for those who have seen the
film. First, fans of the franchise will notice that some footage of the
concentration camp scene that opens this movie is reprised from the
first
X-Men film over a decade prior. Likewise, Michael Kamen's
cue, "Death Camp," is heard once again as well (and officially
credited), though with some droning overlays in this version. That music
is not provided on the album. Also absent is the end credits song "Love
Love" by the British group Take That. Finally, it has been reported that
the "First Class" cue that opens the album was tracked into several
scenes in the movie, so don't expect to hear that material in proper
order on the album. Overall, Jackman doesn't stray too far from the
dumb, conventional sound of the soundtracks for these kinds of films,
especially when the electric guitar is fully unleashed, and nothing in
this score will compete with John Powell's superior entry in the
franchise. But the composer at least takes steps to try to transcend the
stereotypes associated with such music. Some listeners will prefer it to
John Ottman's music for the second film, taking heart in the fact that
Singer stepped down from the director's chair of
X-Men: First
Class and therefore did not retain Ottman for the franchise once
again. Don't approach this score expecting art. Instead, use your guilty
pleasure meter and enjoy the contributions of those surprised trumpet
and flute players.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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| Bias Check: |
For Henry Jackman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.8
(in 25 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.78
(in 7,697 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or
film. The designer of that insert has capitalization issues that
indicate serious schooling problems.
