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The shape shifting robots from the Transformers
universe return in Revenge of the Fallen,
a sequel to the 2007 box office smash. Reprising his role as composer is
Steve Jablonsky, who delivered a rather entertaining effort for the first
installment and continues the musical development in this follow-up. Right
out of the gates, the first problem with this soundtrack is the somewhat
brief running time that spans 14 tracks. Were this not a rather large scaled,
commercial film, than I could forgive the relative brevity of the content.
However, I think fans might have been deserving a bit more than a nearly 45
minute presentation.
So the soundtrack runs a bit short, but how good is it? Well
the answer to that is rather simple -- it's decent, slightly above average
but not on par with the first film's score. I must remind you that there is
most assuredly additional music that did not make it onto this release.
Whether this first iteration of the Fallen
soundtrack represents the best tracks from the film remains to be seen, or
heard, as it were.
The tone of Revenge of the Fallen
shifts to darker corners of the Transformers
universe. There is also a heavier industrial and rock music influence on
this score as compared to the first. Where Fallen
succeeds a bit more than its predecessor is through the use of the choral
elements that Jablonsky includes, with the prominent female voice standing
out as a high point on the album (such as in track 6, “Infinite White”).
Additionally, and since this sequel is the dark act in the series, it's no
surprise that more of a imposing, sacrificial style is employed within the
context of the musical score.
In a broad sense, I maintain that the motif Jablonsky used in
the "Arrival to Earth" track in
Transformers 1
should have served as the base theme for the entire series. Though there is
a build-up to the payoff of this theme in Fallen,
it never fully comes back around for an encore (at least on this soundtrack
release). I feel this motif was one of Jablonsky's best and thus, it would
be disappointing if it's not heard during the film at some juncture.
Finally, there are moments during
Fallen that sound like a direct replica of music
heard on the first soundtrack. While Jablonsky does create a variance in the
main thematic movement, the Autobot "Heroes Theme" resurfaces in a manner
that is identical to what was heard in 2007, at least in spots. In that
sense, the composer seems to have stalled the progression of the music in
the series more than continue it, which is a slight disappointment. Any time
there is a sequel I am keen to hear an advance on previous ideas, and in
this case, it's more lateral than forward.
Though there are pockets of disappointments within
Revenge of the Fallen, it is still
a viable enough of a package that fans of the original, at least, can find
enjoyment with. I am holding out some hope that a more complete soundtrack
can be made available, at which point, the score may be judged a bit more
fairly. |
