Terminator Salvation Composed by Danny Elfman
Warner Reprise Records (2009)
Rating: 7/10
Soundclips provided below by AmazonMP3
“Even if you believe
the film is "that bad," there remains one saving grace
and that is DANNY ELFMAN's score. Besides the stunning visuals and
action, we have some interestingly new musical groundwork laid by
Elfman that should service the franchise well in the movies that are
sure to follow.”
One Saving Grace Review by Christopher Coleman
One of the longest running franchises in Hollywood has been that of
TERMINATOR. Who would have guessed that 25 years after the small-budgeted,
1984-film, that there would be such a thriving franchise; one that has
(like any good, modern-day, franchise must) moved into the parallel realms
of the comics, novels, television and video games. As the storyline starts
to catch up with itself (ah the perils of time-travel plots), we now,
under the unlikely guidance of director McG, move into the full-on,
post-apocalyptic part of the Terminator-saga. Now played by
box-office-mega-star, Christian Bale, John Connor is starting to move into
his role as leader of the human-resistance against the dreaded machines.
As we learned at the conclusion of TERMINATOR: RISE OF THE MACHINES, our
heroes were not able to avoid "Judgment Day" afterall.
TERMINATOR SALVATION drops us into the future with Connor, a handful of
resistance fighters, and some pretty-cool terminators we've never seen the
likes of before. The dominant machines and scrappy humans are now at
full-scale war, doing battle in the wasteland that once was our fair,
semi-green world. TERMINATOR SALVATION not only focuses on the
emerging-leader, John Connor, but moreso, tells the story of Marcus
Wright, a unique machine/man, hybrid-terminator with his own compelling
journey. Marcus' journey eventually leads him to the Resistance,
Kyle Reese, and John Connor.
The critical response has been fairly hard on the film, but I had little
trouble enjoying this ironically redemptive tale along with a screening
audience, just a few days prior to the official release date. TERMINATOR
SALVATION is not without it's flaws (some of them major), but from one who
would not likely be counted among the "hard core" fans, McG and company
actually made this an enjoyable couple of hours. In between the few
moments of exposition or character development director, McG, does deliver
a handful of solid action sequences all set in the appropriate dingy,
bleakness of a post-nuclear-holocaust California. The film certainly
succeeds as an action-flick, but lost is some of the weight of the first
two Terminator films. Watching the film, I had little time or resource
left to dwell on the plot and time-line issues that have since come to
plague my appreciation of the film. Oddly enough, one of the bigger
difficulties I suffered during the screening was my attempt to tune into
what composer DANNY ELFMAN was doing with his score.
Other than the opening title sequence, there was no clear quote of Brad
Fiedel's iconic Terminator-percussion riff, nor one of his original
Terminator melody. This lone appearance of the percussive-motif is
certainly a memorable one at the beginning of the film; both meeting the
audiences' expectations while simultaneously raising them for what lay
ahead. Sadly, in the film, Elfman's score disappears into the fracas of
wild action and heavy sound design. Truth be told, I was much more engaged
(and impressed) by the metallic-guttural voicings of the T-600's and
harvest-machines than I was with any of the music...at least while
watching the film. So, to better appreciate Danny Elfman's contribution,
it is necessary to fire up Warner/Reprise's release of the official
TERMINATOR SALVATION soundtrack.
Without being transfixed upon the relentless (and noisy) race of machines,
we are free to dive headlong into DANNY ELFMAN's bold and brash new score.
His music, like the film, is at least mindful of the franchise's rich
past; bringing some important elements forward. Other than the
aforementioned moment, he resists the temptation of directly quoting
the past. Instead he rebuilds the Terminator-palette with electronic
elements that pay homage to BRAD FIEDEL, but do not carry the dated the
sound of 80s (or even 90s) synthesizers. Elfman's mix of the synthesized
with the natural further underlines one of the film's important ideas -
personified in Marcus Wright. While such a blend is quite common these
days, successfully adding new layers to iconic properties like Terminator,
demands a sensitive touch; one that Elfman exhibits. The
resulting score is one of DANNY ELFMAN's richest and satisfying scores of
this genre in recent years.
Elfman takes the next step from where MARCO BELTRAMI left off in RISE OF
THE MACHINES. While remaining faithful to Fiedel's original theme,
Beltrami threaded in much stronger acoustic symphonic elements. This next
step finds Elfman continuing that blend of electronic and acoustic, but
diverging from Fiedel's original themes altogether. In representing the
world and activities of the machines, we hear deep, dark, heavy
electronics combined with forceful percussion along with a myriad of
brightly disturbing metallic strikes (see "Opening" [1], "The Harvester
Returns" [4]). In many of the film's most intense action sequences, we
find this already gripping combination augmented by powerful brass
accents, and wood slaps (see "Hydrobot Attack" [8], "Final
Confrontation" [13]). Those familiar with his work for SPIDER-MAN, PLANET OF
THE APES or WANTED will notice that he works in his trademark sound;
particularly in regards to his use of percussion and strings.
In at least one way, Elfman does follow Fiedel's lead and that is in terms
of a title theme. Both themes are, at the core, represented by a 6-note
rising/falling motif. While Fiedel's motif could be described as colder,
determined and militaristic, Elfman's is warmer, softer and emotional.
Interestingly, this motif is attached to the hybrid-terminator, Marcus,
rather than John Connor; indicating just which character may be the true
central figure of this movie. It is boldly introduced in the first track
"Opening" (1) on brass, but we find this title theme, or at least small
segments of it, all throughout the soundtrack. Later, we hear it performed
softly on guitar in "Fireside" (5) and piano "Salvation" (14). Of course,
John Connor is given his own theme as well. The core element of the theme
being 8 heroic notes. Again, Elfman establishes this idea right away in
the opening track and goes on to make adequate use of it through the
balance of the score. Perhaps the most compelling performance of Connor's
theme is found in "Broadcast" (3), where it is heard first on French horn
and then on strings. These two tent-pole themes weave their way through
the soundtrack, but make a final, emotional reconnection in "Salvation"
(14).
Reprise Records' release contains just about 45 minutes of original score,
plus one rock track. Wisely added to the end of the release is Alice in
Chains' "Rooster" (15); a song that nicely captures the plight of both
John Connor and Marcus Wright and also fits into the musical flow of this
soundtrack. Take heart those of you who were disappointed with this
film. TERMINATOR SALVATION may not have been all it could have been, but
it isn't as bad as many are saying. Even if you believe the film is "that
bad," there remains one saving grace and that is DANNY ELFMAN's score.
Besides the stunning visuals and action, we have some interestingly new
musical groundwork laid by Elfman that should service the franchise well
in the movies that are sure to follow.
