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“The music of Star
Wars has always been easy to identify. It has a clear
personality...even the prequels, but STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS does
not. It's big and bold, but doesn't seem to have any clear rules by
which it plays. ”
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Return of the Clones
Review by Christopher Coleman
Look at the size of that thing! No, not the Death Star, but the musical
tradition of the Star Wars franchise. It seems that there are endless
quotes of people who, like myself, wondered what Luke and Obi Wan's vague
reference in A NEW HOPE to "The Clone Wars" was all about. Let's be
honest, for those who grew up with the original trilogy (I mean those who
watched them first time time in actual movie theaters), the prequels and
their elaboration on the mysterious "Clone Wars" hardly lived up to our
imaginations. Yet, George Lucas clearly remains enamored with the events
that comprise this galactic war. Amazingly, three full features films and
a couple more hours worth of animated stories, Nickelodeon's CLONE WARS,
still didn't manage to satisfy Lucas' desire to tell us about the ebbs and
flows of this war for galactic supremacy. I'm not sure how many of even
the hardiest fans really cared to know more about what went on between
ATTACK OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH. Be that as it may, this is
the very subject of the animated feature film and upcoming television
series, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS.
It is no secret that George Lucas does what he wants to. Not only
that, but he does what he wants HOW he wants. He's got the money and the
right to do just that. He has now taken the story out of the rigors of the
live-action genre and put it solely in the hands of 3D digital artists.
It's easier. It's faster. It's cheaper. Why not? It is a new era for the
Star Wars galaxy and along with this change in sub-genre comes a
significant musical shift. The musical score is now in the hands of
veteran composer KEVIN KINER.
Believe it or not, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS has shifted much further in
regards to its music than it has in its visuals. With increasing frequency
, the only things on-screen during the prequel trilogy were the starring
actors. But now even the "last remnants of that old republic have
been swept away." So, Lucas is still infatuated with these wars and
the story of Obi Wan and Anakin, but perhaps composer JOHN WILLIAMS has
had enough of this galaxy, and so new musical blood was in order. Rather
than try to dance the line between stylistic continuity and "rip off" it
sounds as though, deep within the halls of LucasFilm/LucasAnimation, after
hours of deliberation, the conclusion was reached..."Screw it. Let's just
sample a bit of all things Star Wars and hope for the best." The end
result is a score from composer Kevin Kiner that hardly had any chance to
be appreciated on its own merits. Nevertheless, we have to try.
We dive back into these wars with Lucas, Anakin, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Mace,
Dooku and tons of expendable clones and even more expendable droids.
Anakin now has his very own padawan who is as irritatingly brash as Anakin
once was. The unending skirmishes between the Republic's Clone army and
the Separatist Droid army rages on...only with even less interest for
audiences than ever. STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS sees the return of Jabba
the Hutt and somehow Asajj Ventress, Dooku's apprentice, returns. In
short, both the Republic and the Separatists are vying for the favor of
the Hutts and a plot revolving around the kidnapping of Jabba the Hutt's
son lay at the center of the film. Around this storyline, countless
battles are waged with a smidgen of exposition, making for a score that is
heavy on the action side.
The music of Star Wars has always been easy to identify. It has a clear
personality...even the prequels, but STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS does not.
It's big and bold, but doesn't seem to have any clear rules by which it
plays. This feature film score is full to the brim with new ideas and nods
to past. Some of KINER's ideas work and some do not. Then crashing all of
these ideas together into one listening experience simply ruins those
parts which might have been acceptable on their own.
While just about all traces of John Williams' iconic themes have been lost
under some Hothian snow drift, KEVIN KINER does, in his own style, make
the occasional reference to some of the canonical music. The most obvious
is the Star Wars title theme which launches and then concludes this
feature. In track 1 "A Galaxy Divided" we get a very aggressive
performance of the title theme. The strong percussion here makes the piece
come off more like a Jerry Goldsmith creation than John Williams. The
soundtrack also concludes with this theme being performed again with it's
strong percussion, but we also get a new interpretation of the famed Rebel
Alliance theme as a bonus. Smaller nods to the more familiar musical world
of Star Wars can be found in obscure places as well. In track 2 "Admiral
Yularen" we hear quick nods to The Cloud City theme from The Empire
Strikes Back (slightly militarized) as well as a reference to a short cut
used in Mos Eisely in A NEW HOPE. Then, in "Meet Ahsoka" (4) Kiner pays
comedic homage to the Gungan-goof, Jar Jar Binks. Another good example of
Kiner pulling in Williams prequel references can be found in "Ziro
Surrounded" (20). In this piece we hear a clear reference to the
introductory measures from THE PHANTOM MENACE's Battle on Naboo, before
moving quickly into a segment from Obi Wan's battle with Jango Fett in
ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Kiner even incorporates a bit from the first CLONE
WARS animated series. In "Jabba's Chamber Dance" (19), he uses the brief
heroic theme representing the Mon Calamari in Chapter 5 of that series.
The arrangement and orchestration of these nods is so different from the
originals that these can easily be missed. The attempt at connecting this
diverse palette is admirable, but do not satisfactorily come together in
the end. And then there are Kiner's own creative contributions to sort
through.
Most notably, Kiner gives this new series a bold, brassy title theme that
is played at peak moments of the film, which often involve Anakin
Skywalker. We hear prominent quotes of this theme in "Battle of
Christophsis" (3) and "General Loathsom/ Ahsoka" (12). This reinvented
galaxy is a musically eclectic one. KEVIN KINER attempts to cook some sort
of Dagobahian boullabaise of world-beat, rock band, electronic and
symphonic elements. We hear strong eastern and middle eastern influences
used to represent Jabba's Palace and the planet of Teth (see "Jabba's
Palace" (7) "Landing on Teth," (9) "B'Omarr Monastary (11)," "Battle of
Teth" (14)). Jedi Master/ General Obi Wan Kenobi has been transformed into
a rock star as he is now represented by electric guitar, bass and drums.
This may be the most puzzling of all and is probably the biggest musical
miss of the score. Kiner does also provide a new theme for the series'
most significant new character, the jedi-apprentice Ahsohka. Hers is a
melancholy motif most often played out on flute. Aside from the new Obi
Wan representation, the most offending tracks are those associated with
another new character, Jabba's uncle, Ziro. In "Ziro's Nightclub Band"
(22) and "Seedy City Swing" (23), the obvious attempt at bringing back the
magic of the original Cantina band was made; however, the sleazy jazz
piece and "Sing, Sing, Sing" inspired swing track are painfully thin and
contrived - adding nothing but another eye-rolling moment to the film
experience. Perhaps KEVIN KINER's biggest success is found in the
many action sequences. While frenetic at times, they do their job
well enough. The undermining problem remains that the style employed
is just so foreign to this world of familiar places and faces.
STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS continues to move the franchise away from its
roots and some fans are just not going to be very happy with that. The box
office for STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS was nothing much to brag about, but
the subsequent television series has brought in huge numbers for
Nickelodeon. It's obvious that this feature was little more than several
tv-episodes strung together. While the quality demonstrated here is
certainly high in the realm of television, STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS
cannot begin to compete with true feature animated films of 2008 like
WALL-E or KUNG FU PANDA or even IGOR. Nor does it easily sit next to any
of the feature films. And, what many might not realize, is that a
major reason that one could not watch this film sandwiched between ATTACK
OF THE CLONES and REVENGE OF THE SITH is because of monstrous difference
in the music. I can hardly imagine the problems KEVIN KINER must
have faced when trying to take the reigns for this series. It does sound
as though he was truly trying to provide something for everyone (hard core
fans, newbies, and George himself). The end result is a musical soup that
even Master Yoda would have a hard time swallowing. Perhaps over the
course of this television series Kiner will be able to give this project a
more clearly defined musical personality. Asit stands now, with this
initial effort, there is much work to be done to get it there.
Rating: 3/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
Star Wars Main
Title & A Galaxy
Divided |
1:13 |
** |
|
2 |
Admiral
Yularen |
0:56 |
*** |
|
3 |
Battle
of
Christophsis |
3:19 |
*** |
|
4 |
Meet
Ahsoka |
2:44 |
*** |
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5 |
Obi-wan
to
the
Rescue |
1:24 |
* |
| 6 |
Sneaking Under the Shield |
4:24 |
*** |
| 7 |
Jabba's Palace |
0:45 |
* |
| 8 |
Anakin VS. Dooku |
2:18 |
*** |
| 9 |
Landing On Teth |
1:43 |
** |
| 10 |
Destroying the Shield |
3:08 |
** |
| 11 |
B'omarr Monastary |
3:10 |
** |
| 12 |
General Loathsom/ Battle Strategy |
3:07 |
** |
| 13 |
The Shield |
1:36 |
** |
| 14 |
Battle of Teth |
2:45 |
* |
| 15 |
Jedi Don't Run |
1:22 |
** |
| 16 |
Obi-wan's Negotiation |
2:07 |
** |
| 17 |
The Jedi Council |
2:04 |
** |
| 18 |
General Loathsom/ Ahsoka |
3:39 |
*** |
| 19 |
Jabbas Chamber Dance |
0:42 |
** |
| 20 |
Ziro Surrounded |
2:20 |
** |
| 21 |
Scaling the Cliff |
0:45 |
** |
| 22 |
Ziro's Nightclub Band |
0:53 |
* |
| 23 |
Seedy City Swing |
0:34 |
* |
| 24 |
Escape from the Monastary |
3:12 |
** |
| 25 |
Infiltrating Ziro's Lair |
2:21 |
** |
| 26 |
Countyard Fight |
2:41 |
* |
| 27 |
Dunes of Tatooine |
2:00 |
** |
| 28 |
Rough Landing |
3:03 |
*** |
| 29 |
Padme Imprisoned |
0:50 |
** |
| 30 |
Dooku Speaks with Jabba |
1:28 |
* |
| 31 |
Fight to the End |
3:59 |
*** |
| 32 |
End Credits |
0:51 |
** |
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Total Running Time (approx) |
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