Alan Silvestri teams
up with Director Robert Zemeckis for another worthwhile effort with,
Beowulf. The film features stunning visuals
that are optimized for 3-D viewing and truly bridges the gap between live
action and animation, even if the motion capture is a bit creepy! The good
news here is that the score wasn't left behind in the wake of such
impressive effects. The music on the soundtrack features Silvestri's work
along with three song tracks that fit into the adult fairy tale saga nicely.
While it would have been nice to have a longer running disc, there is enough
substance to leave a listener satisfied. The sound quality, as with most of
Silvestri's scores, is top notch as well.
Truthfully, I
don't know what some listeners were expecting from this score. From the
reviews I read on a few of the different soundtrack forums on the web, some
folks complained that this score sounded too much like Alan Silvestri. Come
again? True, Beowulf
has all the markings of a Silvestri effort, but doesn't that make sense? And,
if you're a fan of him, isn't that what you would have wanted? I think where
some of the hang ups may have come from is a result of how the album
finishes off, with more drama than bombast. But to get to that point, lets
start at the beginning.
And
what a beginning it is. The album gets underway with a seemingly out of
place approach for an ancient yarn -- the use of an electric guitar. But,
it's not used in a rock and roll fashion (like
Kull), rather,
it's purpose is to provide a very catchy background beat as one of the
score's main themes comes to life, the Beowulf theme. In some capacity,
Silvestri is able to capture the whole tone of this epic adventure,
production style and all, in just a few moments on the (brief) first track.
There are also some aggressive choral elements at play too, which gives the
music that much more of a masculine type of sound. Aside from a fairy tale
folk song on track 3, the first 5 score tracks of Beowulf proceed in attack
mode and really sets you charging off into battle.
In the middle
portions of the soundtrack, that's where you'll find that the score takes on
another tone. Silvestri relents from the score's earlier energetic charges
and introduces some of the soundtrack's softer themes, such as the motif
that represents the hero of this saga. What I found with the overall effort
is that there are multiple themes incorporated into the score, the favorite
of which is indeed the aforementioned 'Hero' theme. It's a lovely, catchy
piece of music that is often heard alongside the Beowulf theme during the
journey; it's certainly a stand out. In fact, the lyrics from 2 of the 3
songs incorporate this melody into the framework of each. As I have written
many times before, having songs linked to the fabric of a score makes for an
apt use of material and leads to a better payoff to the listener and viewer
alike. In fact, I found the lyrics of the album's last track to be quite
stirring. While I concede the song has some definite pop qualities to it, I
couldn't be helped but to be moved by it.
Before the
finale is reached, however, Silvestri does get back to business with a bit
more action with "Beowulf Slays the Beast," another intense, dark entry to
the score. You can really tell that Beowulf is in the thick of it when
you're listening to this one! From there, the music does step back again and
ends on a distinctly slower pace and this is where perhaps some of the fan
fall out is derived from. In my opinion, this score's conclusion might not
have been bombastic enough to satisfy the appetite of some. However, it just
didn't seem like the film called for additional might, especially when the
final score track is entitled, "The Final Seduction." My advice is to simply
enjoy the balance of the score for what it is.
If you're
into fantasy epics and you don't find just a little bit of enjoyment with
the score from Beowulf, than I would
be surprised. Silvestri does another excellent job here by creating a score
that is thematically rich, even within the framework of such a relatively
short running time. This is a score that could have easily spanned 50+
minutes without a sweat. That complaint aside, this is a soundtrack that
creates a world of its own and is indeed original within the context of the
composer's style. I have a feeling this one will be a guilty pleasure for
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