 Review
#1 by the Groovy Yak
There's only one person in the world who
could write a decent score to a movie that features an evil, gigantic
bug, a talking dog, a cute alien baby, and a car that can defy gravity.
That person is, of course, Danny Elfman. However, Men In Black was not
a difficult feat for Elfman, anyway. It was only a year ago that he scored
a film about secret agents (Mission: Imossible) and it was only a half-a-year
ago that he scored a film about aliens (Mars Attacks!). Men in Black is
basically the elements of Mission: Impossible and Mars Attacks! pushed
together. That theory definitely holds true in Danny's score. However,
Elfman adds another style into the mix. He brings in the Henry Mancini-Peter
Gunn spy bass line. It consists of 16-notes (8 tones) and is rather simplistic.
Yet, it has to be simplistic in order to be catchy- and it is. The bass-line,
alone, is the main theme. It's the Men in Black theme. There is a secondary
theme too. It makes its first appearance at the beginning of track 2.
While the MIB theme has an "alien-butt-kicking" sound, the secondary
theme is quite the opposite. It sounds more sentimental and reflective.
So now, Elfman has composed two great themes.
How does he incorporate them into the score? The answer is, sadly, he
doesn't. The MIB theme shows up only a few times in the score and only
in passing. Elfman never really dwells on the spy motives and sounds that
he could of worked with. He definitely could've done more. The secondary
theme appears from time to time, but only by itself. There are no variations
on the theme. He also uses the same instrumentation- an acoustic guitar
playing the melody. So, if the themes are used sparingly, what is the
listener left with? Dissonance. Lots of it. Men in Black is Danny's most
dissonant score to date. The action cues move from melodic idea to melodic
idea faster than you can blink with always something dissonant popping
up. I, for one, love dissonance, but I feel that if you aren't familiar
with Elfman (or any other modern composers) the dissonance will really
turn you off.
However, Elfman's score does has some redeeming
qualities. There's a great combination of orchestra, percussion, synth,
choir, and rock instrumentation in this score. Elfman's music is like
looking down at a city at noon. There are so many unrelated events going
on that you can't see them all at once. Elfman's music is so texturally
rich that it is impossible to hear all of the musical lines without actually
singling out instruments with your ears. Parts of the score are fast paced
and exciting, others can be slow. The cues that are played in the MIB
Headquarters (Tracks 6 and 7) are grand, and exciting. The end battle
with the gigantic bug could've been extremely exciting, like the final
tracks of Mission: Impossible, but are generally disappointing. There
is one cue, though, that is worth the price of the CD. Track 15, Finale
is one of the coolest cues that Elfman has ever written. The cue starts
with main theme and is quite slow and sentimental until the final minute
when there is a gigantic crescendo with choir and orchestra until the
MIB theme appears in the final seconds. It will, I assure you, knock you
out of your seat. Trust me, it is THAT cool. So, all in all, Men In Black,
is a decent score, and I do recommend it. (Mainly for the Opening Titles,
Chase, Finale, and End Titles) However, I feel that it could've been so
much more. Let's hope that if there is a sequel, Danny gets to score it
and develop what he did with this score.
Rating:
* * * 1/2
I just purchased MIB: The Score not long
ago and I think it is superb - classic Elfman! He relies more on rock-related
elements for MIB, but he does it flawlessly as usual. The opening theme
is a wonderful blend of bass guitar, other rock elements, and a pounding
orchestra. The MIB theme is definitely catchy. I've already listened
to it at least 25 times. The repeating MIB orchestra theme echoes of
the melody used in Scrooged. But here, Elfman transfers that higher
pitched choir sound to a deeper string sound. Beautiful!
Also, there are many slow sections that
I didn't really catch when watching the movie. The slower themes are
almost more interesting than the relentless MIB theme we hear throughout
the movie. As usual, Elfman blends his themes to suite each character
and their characteristics - just like the finale of Batman that ends
with a huge climactic sound but just at the last second returns to the
dark Batman theme.
MIB is just another good example of Elfman's
signature style which, I think, continues to be just as original and
exciting as it always has.
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