Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
by Steve Jablonsky
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
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Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Composed by Steve Jablonsky
Reprise Records (2009)
Rating:
6/10
Soundclips below provided by AmazonMP3
“Followers of STEVE
JABLONSKY will already know that he is capable of far better than
the majority of the music heard in the TRANSFORMERS series and
certainly REVENGE OF THE FALLEN.”
A Cold Serving
Review by Richard Buxton
2007 saw the release of TRANSFORMERS but to the dismay of many a film score fan,
its arrival did not bring with it an original score, but instead merely a
soundtrack release of barely relevant material. Yet, thanks to persistent
clamour from fans, STEVE JABLONSKY’S score was eventually let loose to a fanfare
of excitement, at least from those who had asked for it. 2009’s sequel, REVENGE
OF THE FALLEN, was not to suffer the months of suspended animation between film
and score and fan fervour was subsequently significantly subdued. Was this
purely a case of skipping the period of anticipation towards the release, or did
it stem purely from a sense of disappointment in how the music sounded alongside
the film? Critical and fan reception would suggest a sentiment resembling the
latter. Sales-wise the score outperformed the original, but it was met with
significantly less excitement post-listen.
With the third TRANSFORMERS film’s release in June 2011 came the apparent end of
MICHAEL BAY’S involvement in the franchise, rounding out his trilogy of
contributions to the war between Autobots and Decepticons. While the first film
in the series failed to set any particularly noteworthy benchmarks in areas
other than visual FX, it is undoubtedly the most critically favored of the
three. REVENGE OF THE FALLEN however was met with almost universal derision for
being “a horrible experience of unbearable length” (Ebert, 2009), an
understandable criticism for a summer blockbuster that runs for a total of 150
minutes. Regardless of the film itself, surely such a long running time would
allow JABLONSKY the time to craft a deep, enriched and fleshed out listening
experience that would surpass the original? Sadly, not.
JABLONSKY’S work for the first film was never more than a simple and
entertaining listening experience, and it never pretended otherwise. His themes
for the Autobots, their arrival, and the Decepticons were memorable in that they
were simply pleasing to the ear and refreshed the memory of the various key
moments in the film. Unfortunately, his score for the sequel bizarrely discards
almost all relation to the stronger moments of the first score, leaving the
listener to navigate their way through a largely forgettable array of action
music in order to find anything repeatedly listenable.
The score opens with “Prime” (1), a simplistic reshuffle of the equally
simplistic “Autobots” of the first score. The repeating brass motif and staccato
strings slowly build to a rousing climax that rounds out a largely satisfying
introduction to the score. Yet, for those with the slightest memory of
JABLONSKY’S “Autobots” theme, “Prime” will surely be nothing more than a lesser
imitation. The relative absence of the “Autobots” theme and various others is
certainly one of the score’s downfalls and leads to the question of why? Why
were these established themes pushed to the wayside, appearing in the briefest
of forms? Perhaps REVENGE OF THE FALLEN being a sequel is somewhat to blame. The
major characters of the entire series were given their celebrated introductions
in the first films, potentially leading the composer and filmmakers to believe
any such introductions or relations to their themes was unnecessary in the
sequel. Whatever the reason, the music certainly suffers. REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
is almost a case of inert evolution in that there are different themes, but they
fail to improve upon their predecessors. Beyond “Prime”, the “Autobots” theme
does resurface momentarily in the score’s climax “I Claim Your Sun” (13) and “I
Rise, You Fall” (14), and while it’s return is certainly appropriate for an
ending to the film, it is consequentially a reminder of a far superior score and
film. The “Decepticon” theme’s deep, haunting choir is alluded to in “Einstein’s
Wrong” (2), but in what is once again an inferior effort, with the female choir
ostinatos never quite achieving the oppressive atmosphere achieved previously.
REVENGE OF THE FALLEN truly finds its calling in the mid-section of the score.
Bypassing the mind-numbingly repetitive bass/guitar stabs of “The Shard” (4),
the score opens up drastically, into genuinely fluid and enjoyable experience.
“Infinite White” (6) is as simple a track as you will hear in most modern
scores, but the combination of the crying vocal and the strings that echo it
with the booming bass-synth make for a powerful four minutes, and serve as a
break from the relentless assault by the previous three tracks. The
reinterpretation of “Prime” heard here is an intriguing one, squeezing out all
of the remaining melancholic emotion within the four-note sequence. The
following track “Heed Our Warning” (7) does little to advance this section of
the score, but as with “Einstein’s Wrong”, the choir does a reasonable job in
remembering the “Deception” theme. “Tomb of the Primes” (8) then continues the
trend established by “Infinite White”, starting out with a similarly poignant
vocal before ascending into a cathartic orchestral rendition. The “Prime” theme
again re-emerges in the ever-so emotional “Matrix of Leadership” (12),
suggesting that a significant lack of material may have been one of the issues
in play here. The theme is relatively satisfying; it is in its repetition that
the glaring holes in the shape of missing themes stand out.
Seeing as a large section of the Transformers series is dedicated to the
twisting and clashing of metal, the action-based music has a certain
responsibility lying on its shoulders, and in this case it is a responsibility
that goes unfulfilled. “Forest Battle” (10) does a good job in summarising the
action music on offer here in that it is loud, crass and painfully repetitive.
Not until the flourishing finale is the listener mercifully spared the
never-ending choir shouts and whirring strings that threaten to derail an
already disproportionate soundtrack. One should take solace, however, from the
way in which the score incorporates the obligatory signature licensed track that
accompanies REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. “Nest” (3) does a commendable job in
reassembling the LINKIN PARK track “New Divide” into something that resembles a
film composition, although it does suffer from some of the same inconsistencies
the rest of the score is blighted by.
Followers of STEVE JABLONSKY will already know that he is capable of far better
than the majority of the music heard in the TRANSFORMERS series and certainly
REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. The score does have its moments of genuinely engaging
music, but even these moments wear extremely thin come their final regurgitation
in the closing moments.
