Dragon
Chan Kwong-Wing and Peter Kam
" The main theme is a winner, but the album overall lacks a punch here and there "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the download only release
Dragon (Wǔ xiá) is one of the better martial arts films of the last couple of years, even if you can't call it a martial arts film per se. Donnie Yen stars as a man who wants to leave the past behind him. But when he's unwillingly led into a fight that causes the death of the attackers, he can no longer hide the past from his beloved ones. Starring an as always reliable Donnie Yen as lead action star, Dragon is unique because of its storyline, originality, captivating emotion and always amazing choreography. It's not easy to create an emotional martial arts film (especially for Asian movies who always want to overdo it emotionally), but Dragon downright nails it, courtesy of a intereting score by composers Kwong Wing Chan and Peter Kam.
In a way, you get what you'd probably expected from the get go. Percussion, ethnic instrumentation and various string led melodies. And yet, Dragon (like the film) handles it differently as well, delivering (like the visuals) sometimes amazingly fresh music (at least for this type of film). The best possible example is the music underscoring the strongest scene of the film, namely "Hidden Dragon". In this scene, the inspector who is sent out to investigate the death of the attackers suddenly discovers that the fight was not what it seemed to be, and the composers create an enticing mix of nostalgic western coolness, and almost surreal admiration, all brought together by a waltz like theme that was heard previously extremely beautiful in "Inspector", a cue that gets almost European flavors.
The brief lovely theme for "The Village" shows a place that hasn't been infected yet by the people that Liu Jinxi (Yen) is hiding from, while "Unforgotten Past" and "The Heart of Fear" already change that with gloomy suspenseful, almost harsh awareness. That fear is brought to life by the strings in "You Have to Die", building towards an emotional climax.
For the rest, the 2 composers create a more than expected environment for the protagonists. Like the opening fight in "The Thieves", the music is cold, harsh and brutally rhythmic. This changes in "Blood in the Stable", when an electric cool guitar version of the main theme shows a much more dominant fight. And the final fight comes in "Father, This is the End", showcasing not only again the mesmerizing and emotional impact of the main theme (this time on dominant cello), but sadly also a lack of potency. Despite being an epic emotional slow motion fight, the music never erupts into the definitive blow, leaving a bit of an aftertaste.
In general, Dragon is most enjoyable when the main theme delivers several incredibly addictive variations, mostly western based. But the power that should support the epic battles on screen sadly leaves a lot of potency behind, something I occasionally did hear inside the film (but it appears that not everything is released here). Anyway, Dragon does entertain me, but more as a background experience. The main theme is a winner though, and deserved a full blown out heroic encore one time or another.
Favorite Moment - Hidden Dragon (2.32 - 3.00)
I love the cool rocking edge of the theme as the fight suddenly shows a different perspective when seen through the eyes of the inspector
Track Listing
1. Blood of the Dragon (1.10)
2. The Thieves (3.22)
3. The Village (0.57)
4. Inspector (2.56) Excellent track
5. Hidden Dragon (6.09) Excellent track
6. Desperation (1.44)
7. Unforgotten Past (1.44)
8. The Heart of Fear (2.06)
9. Sins of the Past (1.40)
10. You Have to Die (1.30)
11. Aftermath (3.04)
12. Infinite Sorrow (1.32)
13. Return to Perdition (3.28)
14. Blood in the Stable (3.02)
15. Father, This is the End (8.58)
Total Length: 43.22
In a way, you get what you'd probably expected from the get go. Percussion, ethnic instrumentation and various string led melodies. And yet, Dragon (like the film) handles it differently as well, delivering (like the visuals) sometimes amazingly fresh music (at least for this type of film). The best possible example is the music underscoring the strongest scene of the film, namely "Hidden Dragon". In this scene, the inspector who is sent out to investigate the death of the attackers suddenly discovers that the fight was not what it seemed to be, and the composers create an enticing mix of nostalgic western coolness, and almost surreal admiration, all brought together by a waltz like theme that was heard previously extremely beautiful in "Inspector", a cue that gets almost European flavors.
The brief lovely theme for "The Village" shows a place that hasn't been infected yet by the people that Liu Jinxi (Yen) is hiding from, while "Unforgotten Past" and "The Heart of Fear" already change that with gloomy suspenseful, almost harsh awareness. That fear is brought to life by the strings in "You Have to Die", building towards an emotional climax.
For the rest, the 2 composers create a more than expected environment for the protagonists. Like the opening fight in "The Thieves", the music is cold, harsh and brutally rhythmic. This changes in "Blood in the Stable", when an electric cool guitar version of the main theme shows a much more dominant fight. And the final fight comes in "Father, This is the End", showcasing not only again the mesmerizing and emotional impact of the main theme (this time on dominant cello), but sadly also a lack of potency. Despite being an epic emotional slow motion fight, the music never erupts into the definitive blow, leaving a bit of an aftertaste.
In general, Dragon is most enjoyable when the main theme delivers several incredibly addictive variations, mostly western based. But the power that should support the epic battles on screen sadly leaves a lot of potency behind, something I occasionally did hear inside the film (but it appears that not everything is released here). Anyway, Dragon does entertain me, but more as a background experience. The main theme is a winner though, and deserved a full blown out heroic encore one time or another.
Favorite Moment - Hidden Dragon (2.32 - 3.00)
I love the cool rocking edge of the theme as the fight suddenly shows a different perspective when seen through the eyes of the inspector
Track Listing
1. Blood of the Dragon (1.10)
2. The Thieves (3.22)
3. The Village (0.57)
4. Inspector (2.56) Excellent track
5. Hidden Dragon (6.09) Excellent track
6. Desperation (1.44)
7. Unforgotten Past (1.44)
8. The Heart of Fear (2.06)
9. Sins of the Past (1.40)
10. You Have to Die (1.30)
11. Aftermath (3.04)
12. Infinite Sorrow (1.32)
13. Return to Perdition (3.28)
14. Blood in the Stable (3.02)
15. Father, This is the End (8.58)
Total Length: 43.22