Fast and Furious Composed by Brian Tyler
Varese Sarabande Records (2009)
Rating:
6/10
“BRIAN TYLER's score
for FAST AND FURIOUS is the most mature of the lot. It may not reach
the symphonic heights of his other recent release, DRAGONBALL
EVOLUTION, but it certainly helps to lift this franchise to a new
place - musically, anyway.”
Slower and Serious-er
Review by Christopher Coleman
"You
have to get into a mindset that this is the greatest
“fill-in-the-blank”-type of movie ever made, and treat it that way.
Otherwise you're just going to blow it, and there can't be any
phone-ins because your name is on it forever.."
Those crazy kids and their suped up cars are at it again. FAST AND FURIOUS
is the fourth film of the box-office-dominating-franchise. Director Justin
Lin, who directed THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT is back, along
with stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana
Brewster. It seems after three nitrous-laden films, there was still more
high-speed-hi-jinx to bring to the big screen. Also returning to add his
fuel to the fury is composer BRIAN TYLER. Tyler's score here is fraught
with quick-tempoed, edgy, race/chase music again, but just as the
storyline has matured some, the score also takes on more serious, dramatic
ideas as well.
FAST AND FURIOUS, oddly enough is not a simple sequel, nor is it a
prequel. It's actually a interquel, taking place between the events of the
second (2 Fast 2 Furious) and third (Tokyo Drift) films. Many fans feel
that this fourth episode returns the franchise to its roots; capitalizing
on the elements that made the first film so successful. That belief is
certainly evidenced by a record-setting, opening weekend box-office with
over $70 million taken in. Regardless of the fandom and the money,
critically-speaking, each successive Fast and Furious film received worse
reviews than the one preceding it and such is the case here. FAST AND
FURIOUS does bring back the most beloved characters of the series and
certainly contains many of car-racing-and-chasing-thrills of its
predecessors, but, at its heart, is a revenge tale. Unfortunately, the
slightly-more-mature-storyline was comingled with
slightly-less-mature-effects, reducing some of the key scenes, such as the
tunnel races, to upscale video game footage. Perhaps its this unintended
clash that has put the critics off. Still, with the advancing storyline
centered around Diesel's character of Dominic, and being unaffected by the
amount of effect shots or their final quality, BRIAN TYLER is given some
new room to compose, giving FAST AND FURIOUS a distinguishing feel from
the three before it.
I suppose the series had no choice but to evolve by its fourth
installment; making the story a little more dramatic, taking itself a
little more seriously. That very idea is reflected in Tyler's score. While
Tokyo Drift was fueled by that BT-like-techno-vibe, FAST AND FURIOUS plays
as though the included techo-elements are but the fringe of a much more
serious, symphonic work. If you take even the quickest glance at the
previous F and F scores you will quickly discern that the music was
certainly "faster and furiouser" in the past...well suited to the
quick-stepped-eye-candy its intended audience was looking for. Let me make
it clear that BRIAN TYLER knows full-well how to enter the pulsating
realms of house music or psytrance. Just have a listen to TOKYO DRIFT;
however, Tyler, while delivering several doses of such full-throttled
electronica for this fourth film, also slows things down further and more
consistently than any of the films before. Thus, FAST AND FURIOUS has
something to offer soundtrack listeners a different experience.
As it probably should be, our engines get started with the first three
tracks being of that full-throttled type. Yet, comparatively
speaking, even within "Landtrain" "Fast and Furious" and "The Border" one
can pick up on some restraint being exercised by Tyler. Things just don't
get as electronically-frantic as they have in the past...and its a
welcome, embraceable, change. For those looking for the audio-boost found
in the previous films, then tracks such as "Dom Vs Brian" (7),
"Accelerator" (11), and "Outta Sight" (14) are going to be your best bets.
The previous FAST AND FURIOUS films had one or two mellow, musical
moments, but this film slows things down much more often. BRIAN TYLER uses
a simple guitar theme for the fallen, Letty and uses it surprisingly
often. Introduced in "Letty" (4), it makes appearances in "Vaya Con Dios"
(12), "Letty's Cell Phone" (17), "Memorial" (23) and in a wonderful
arrangement in "Suite" (9). Adding to the "slower and the softer" side of
things, introduced in "Amends" (6), the characters of Brian and Mia are
given a love theme. "Brian and Mia" (15) contains a fairly simple,
but brighter performance of the theme and is heard one last time, much
more strongly, in the concluding track, "Judgment" (25). Being a revenge
film, Tyler is able to move the music into new territories. Things become
noticeably dark and foreboding from tracks 16 through 21; displaying the
composer's skills with waves of brooding, yet edgy electronica, guitar
harmonics and processed samples. The old-skool, Fast and Furious music all
but disappears until we reach "Vengeance" (22), "The Showdown" (24) and
lastly, in the concluding moments of "Judgment." So the score ends how it
began, with the iconic, high-energy flare most commonly associated with
the franchise.
For the life of me, I don't know how they get so much music into these
films. The amount of original score produced, plus all of the licensed
music employed is dizzying. While the quality of the licensed music
remains consistent (ie. the sad dregs of modern-day rap music),
thankfully, the original score for the films has been allowed to evolve.
BRIAN TYLER's score for FAST AND FURIOUS is the most mature of the lot. It
may not reach the symphonic heights of his other recent release,
DRAGONBALL EVOLUTION, but it certainly helps to lift this franchise to a
new place - musically, anyway. Like EAGLE EYE layered with elements of THE
FAST AND THE FURIOUS TOKYO DRIFT, this electro-symphonic hybrid has more
to offer than just pure beats per minute and
aftermarket-sound-accessories.
