Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #216
Written 7/22/03, Revised 3/2/09
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Buy it... if you consider the prospect of hearing Randy Edelman take a page
directly from a Media Ventures score of the late 1990's is an intriguing twist
on the generic action formula.
Avoid it... if the film's song placements are your preference, or if you
prefer one of Edelman's more intelligent scores for a Rob Cohen adventure film.
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| Edelman |
XXX: (Randy Edelman) Even in an era when ridiculous,
franchise-imitating films were reigning supreme in Hollywood, it was amazing to
realize just how well XXX fared in 2002, spawning its own franchise
despite containing practically no intelligence whatsoever. By no means trying to
mask itself as something else, the film is a blatant rip-off of the James Bond
formula of films, a formula that lacks much depth to begin with. Replacing the
classy, British persona of Bond in this case is an extreme sports fanatic and
affable brute portrayed by Vin Diesel, whose appearance in the role was an
attempt to put a defiantly indiscriminant muscle-man with tattoos into a
Bond-like set of scenarios. The shameless production nevertheless succeeded
beyond wildest expectations, extending the marketability of a combination of Vin
Diesel and director Rob Cohen that had already lit up the screens with The
Fast and the Furious. Because XXX was a Cohen film, the score became
the assignment of his long-time collaborator, Randy Edelman. While Edelman
wouldn't be the first composer to come to mind for this assignment, the composer
and director teamed up for a strong year in 1996 alone, with Daylight and
Dragonheart establishing themselves as an adequate, if not entertaining
duo (and with the popularity of the latter long-standing). The seedy nature of
this new project, not to mention the lack of sophistication, would seemed to
have suggested that a Media Ventures hack job of a score would be called for.
Certainly, unless the film wanted to go all the way in its Bond borrowings and
pursue David Arnold (or the equally capable Edward Shearmur), then one of the
electronically-minded pupils of Hans Zimmer would have been a logical fit. In
some assignments, Edelman had proven to be completely out of his league,
prompting the studio to replace his action material with more robust music.
Nevertheless, the composer had shown an ability at times to adapt himself to a
variety of scoring situations, and it should come as no surprise that his score
for XXX better resembles a Media Ventures job of the late 1990's rather
than one of this own. The score in the film was often pushed out of the way by
hideous, trashy hard rock and electronica club songs, and thus, Edelman's score
often attempts to generate the same level of adrenaline by utilizing the force
of volume instead of a sense of tact.
The large Los Angeles orchestral ensemble, featuring an
enormous brass section, is deceiving, however. Despite the potential amount of
robust orchestral sound that could have been delivered through that ensemble,
Edelman falls back on the synthesized keyboarding and electronic pounding that
Media Ventures score fans will instantly recognize from half a dozen generic
works. The same irony that often plagues Hans Zimmer's own scores of the 2000's
is heard here; the bold performances by an abundance of horn players is mixed so
that even the largely organic recordings sound synthetic, defeating the purpose
of such an expensive music budget. The synthetic percussion alone is a driving
force in the music, and in cues such as "Anarchy 99," the harsh, abrasive spirit
of the electronics is overbearing and irritating. Much of the action music
follows a similar avenue, sometimes with an electric guitar and sometimes with
Edelman's catchy spy theme. Almost as though it was lifted from a 1960's
television spy drama, the nifty tune establishes itself strongly in the second
half of the score (and especially the enjoyable finale cue), performed with
vigor and a hip, electronic rhythm. Other than a few impressive brass
performances of this title theme, though, it begs for more development and
attention. If anything, a super human dork running through explosions and
getting the girl at the end should at least have better-established thematic
accompaniment for his endeavors. The secondary themes and motifs in
XXX
are even less developed, with the character cue for "Elena" lacking any elegance
or appeal. Edelman's suspense motif, heard near the outset of "El Jefe in the
Colombian Drug Fields" (among other places), is reminiscent of a generic Alan
Silvestri idea. Other cues attempt to infuse an ethnic or otherwise unique
instrumental spirit to the mix, such as the use of a duet of violin and electric
guitar in "Prague Arrival." But these cues are often stifled by the synthetic
pounding which surrounds them. With all of these parts joined, the score as
whole has a simple element of cohesiveness that ironically holds it together as
a decent listening experience despite being devoid of thought. If your tolerance
for harsh electronic sampling is considerable, then you may very well find
XXX to be a thrilling effort (and in that case, be sure to seek out the
score-only album rather than the song compilation released earlier). If you
value any level of intelligence or creativity in your scores, however, then
Edelman's music will slap you in the face at every turn.
** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Randy Edelman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.05
(in 20 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.16
(in 29,260 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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