Faster Composed by Clint Mansell
Walt Disney Records (2010)
Rating:
5/10
Soundclips below from AmazonMP3
“FASTER is, unfortunately, a harsh lesson in never judging a book by its
cover. Never does it approach the nature of its title and is ultimately
severely lacking in ambition.”
The Faster, the Better?
Review by Richard Buxton
Clint Mansell has built an impressive
and wide-ranging filmography in his twelve years in the industry. From
being Aronofsky’s go-to-composer to scoring the likes of SAHARA and DOOM,
no matter what shortcomings he might have, he has always shown diversity.
Despite such a range of projects, Mansell has gained recognition through
individual tracks from two or three films, though it is the track “Lux
Aeterna” from REQUIEM FOR A DREAM that stands out from the rest as being
the piece that gave the world its first glimpse of his talents. The
standout piece of the REQUIEM FOR A DREAM score was re-recorded by Corner Stone
Cues for use as trailer music. Since then a number of Mansell’s compositions
have been utilised in motion picture advertising such as “Together With
Live Forever” from THE FOUNTAIN and the sublime “Dead Reckoning” from
SMOKIN’ ACES. With Mansell’s clear ability to compose powerful and
memorable self-contained pieces it is perhaps easy to forget that he
regularly produces solid entire scores that do justice to the film they
compliment
So, it comes as no surprise that Mansell has been employed as the composer
to FASTER, the latest film to star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. FASTER is a
film of the revenge variety, in which previously incarcerated Driver
(Johnson) sets out on a mission to avenge the death of his brother. While
Mansell’s diverse background in scoring results no surprise in his
appointment, the same cannot be said of the director George Tillman Jr.
who has been at the helm of films such as NOTORIOUS, MEN OF HONOR and SOUL
FOOD. Therefore, directing an action-revenge film comes as somewhat of a
surprise.
When reviewing any score, one will always have a preconceived notion of
how it will sound based on the synopsis and/or the various trailers that
have been released. FASTER is one film that completely defies these
notions, and does so in an often unfavourable way. For a film that
is billed as a thrilling action, Mansell’s score for FASTER contains very
little that thrusts upon the listener.
The score begins with “Ten year Stretch”, a largely ambient piece that
eventually culminates in the rising three note main theme of FASTER. The
blending of the strings, electric guitar and the wailing and echoing
guitar create a strong texture, but hardly manage to get the blood
pumping. Mansell's intention attempt to rectify this can clearly be heard
in the subsequent track “History Lesson”. Beginning with a suspenseful
combination of strings and bass guitar, “History Lesson” quickly becomes a
percussion-dominated piece of relentless pace but very little substance.
The percussion patterns create a strong rhythm, but for all its rhythmic
proficiency, it lacks any compelling structure and texture. What is most
disappointing about “History Lesson” is the fact that it stands as one of
the few tracks that attempts to live up to the name of the film but
ultimately fails. It is in the quieter and more subdued moments that
Faster reaches its heights.
“Predators & Prey” is one of these moments. Strongly evocative of
Mansell’s powerful and climactic piece for SMOKIN’ ACES, “Dead Reckoning”,
the repeating string pattern in “Predators & Prey” creates ample suspense
and momentum before the eventual release. This release paves the way for
“Lost Lives”, a largely subdued track that ends with a reprise of the
string pattern heard in “Predators & Prey. This tension-building exercise
is continued in “Hospital Visit” to good effect. Comparing these three
tracks to the opening tracks is difficult in that they are all largely
made up of repetitive ideas, but differ drastically in effectiveness. The
latter tracks make much more of this repetition using it to create a sense
of momentum and real expectation, whereas the previous tracks become
grating and often dull.
After reaching the peak of the score, Mansell revisits the action side of
the score with “The Driver Drives”. Once again the percussion is prevalent
along with grating guitars before a return of the three note main theme.
The transition from the screeching guitars and pounding percussion to the
main theme is jarring and ultimately imbalanced among the rest of the
track. This lack of subtlety and cohesiveness is a criticism that can be
leveled at the score as a whole.
As the score reaches its final cues, it closes with more of a whimper than
a bang as the same, now tired, ideas come to the fore. The final piece
does have an interesting complexion of optimistic climax with an
underlying texture of despair. However it is too little too late in the
grand scheme of the score.
Aside from the score pieces are six licensed tracks, that work well
alongside the score, among them an atmospheric acapella, “John The
Revelator”.
FASTER is, unfortunately, a harsh lesson in never judging a book by its
cover. Never does it approach the nature of its title and is ultimately
severely lacking in ambition.
Rating:
5/10
Track
Track Title
Track Time
Rating
1
Goodbye My
Friend
4:03
**
2
I Wanna Be
Your Dog
4:06
**
3
Just
Dropped
In (To
See What
Condition
My
Condition
was In)
