|
“A score with any
significant depth would be overkill for a film like this, so Doyle
actually does an appropriate job here. It isn't as engaging as
ERAGON, but THE LAST LEGION soundtrack is another solid Doyle
project worthy of your time.”
|
 The
Sword and the Score
Review by Christopher Coleman
Just like a young, untested foot sliding into a newly-crafted, roman
sandal, THE LAST LEGION slid into (and quickly out of) movie theaters -
quietly and without any fanfare. THE LAST LEGION was, quite simply, yet
another Dino De Laurentis disaster of a movie. The poorly written, oddly-cast
flick was shot in 2005 but only made its way for a state-side release
in 2007. The film failed on almost every front; however, there was again, a little glimmer of hope as composer
Patrick Doyle's name became attached to the film. As it turns out, just like last
year's ERAGON, Patrick Doyle's contribution ends up making the most
lasting mark.
Even though THE LAST LEGION makes no apology for its LORD OF THE RINGS
visual rips, Patrick Doyle keeps his score from such larceny...for the
most part. Doyle helps to keep the film mildly engaging with his vibrant
orchestral score. Centering around a triumphant main theme, the music
contains all the ingredients that we would anticipate for such a film:
bold choruses, strong percussion, royal brass. It's all in there for
better or worse. Along with these main staples also come a couple of
minor surprises, which might raise an eyebrow or two.
Of course, some of the genre cliches make there way into score as well. It seems
nearly impossible for a composer to stay away from Holst when it comes to
any sort of sword and sandal flick...and we do hear hints of that in THE
LAST LEGION - particularly in the battle sequences like "Goths Seize Rome"
(3) and "The Battle of Hadrian's Wall" (13). Patrick Doyle does put his
unique stamp on a few particularly entertaining tracks. The first 3/4 of
"Escape from Capri" (6) is a bright and lively action piece which follows
the beats of the film with strong accents followed by a few beats of
silence. "Sword Play Romance" (11) is different from any other
track on this
release. Doyle keeps it delightfully playful as the piece is played
predominantly by strings at an allegretto tempo. It's pity that it is so
short-lived at only 1:12.
This Varese Sarabande release is an adequate 51 minutes long and sequenced
fairly well. In the film, Doyle hits all the proper beats, but also
delivers a strong enough thematic backbone for his score to make the
soundtrack listenable straight through. All that said, there won't be a
lot of deep musical dissection or analysis of technique on this
Doyle-project. A score with any significant depth would be overkill for a
film like this, so Doyle actually does an appropriate job here. It isn't
as engaging as ERAGON, but THE LAST LEGION soundtrack is another solid
effort worthy of your time. If you are in need of another
action/adventure fix, then you could do worse than THE LAST LEGION;
however, if you just want a good Doyle-fix, then I'd recommend AS YOU LIKE
IT be your first stop.
Rating: 7/10
|
Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
Sacred Pentangle |
2:56 |
*** |
|
2 |
Coronation |
2:16 |
**** |
|
3 |
Goths
Seize
Rome |
4:13 |
**** |
|
4 |
Wrong
Answer |
2:07 |
*** |
|
5 |
Secret
Sword |
5:53 |
*** |
| 6 |
Escape from Capri |
3:23 |
**** |
| 7 |
Nestor's Betrayal |
3:15 |
*** |
| 8 |
Journey to Britannia |
2:29 |
*** |
| 9 |
Hadrian's Wall |
2:15 |
**** |
| 10 |
Excalibur |
1:51 |
*** |
| 11 |
Sword Play Romance |
1:12 |
**** |
| 12 |
Who Killed Them? |
3:13 |
*** |
| 13 |
The Battle of Hadrian's Wall |
6:17 |
*** |
| 14 |
Death of Vortgyn |
4:18 |
**** |
| 15 |
No More War |
5:41 |
*** |
| |
Total Running Time (approx) |
51 minutes |
|
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