G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Alan Silvestri
" Bland but enjoyable "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
When it was announced that there would be a movie version of the popular G.I. Joe toys, I was intrigued. When it was announced that action spectacle Stephen Sommers and roller coaster Alan Silvestri would create it, I became even more interested. And when it was announced that Varese Sarabande would release 70 minutes of it, I was ecstatic. After all, Sommers and Silvestri have always done well, and we soon began dreaming of a score that was a mix between The Mummy Returns and Van Helsing, and what do you get? Action brilliance.
But then we saw the trailer, and it wasn't what most were expecting at all. At least the music was going to be up to par, we thought. But now The Mummy Returns wasn't anymore what we were dreaming off. Now we were expecting Eraser, The Long Kiss Goodnight and perhaps the epic'ness of Van Helsing.
And then we finally were able to hear it. I must say, I was disappointed and furious. This was like hearing Alan Silvestri on autopilot. After his uninspired clone for the second Night at the Museum, I couldn't stand the fact that one of today's leading composers just goes autopilot on such a promising action spectacle. I didn't want this to be everything we already heard, I wanted this to be everything we wanted to hear.
And then I started humming, singing along and telling myself, hey how did I actually enjoy this? How could I enjoy an average, completely non-original feast with one main theme repeated in abundance? How could I explain myself to you that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is one of the most bland scores of the year, but still enjoyable? How can I defend this if I was disappointed from start to finish?
Well, plain and simple. I just enjoy it.
We open with what I call boring standard Silvestri. Come on, it doesn't promise a lot and it sounds like the boring underscore from Eraser and The Long Kiss Goodnight (and those albums had enough snooze). We hear uninspired bounces ala Tomb Raider 2 in "Mars Industries" and standard Silvestri action in "Delivering the Warheads". I had a feeling this wasn't going to be what we wanted. Note that this is also the first track that states the main theme, near at the end. That theme will be used endlessly from now on, as it is the only action theme on call, starting with the beefed up version in "General Hawk".
Standard stuff in "It Had to be Nato's Fault" and "King Cobra", unexpected soft material in "What Happened to Her?" and a soft, even romantic flash in "I Promise" don't deliver us the stuff we expected to hear. Action is really not something where you expect Silvestri as standard as this.
Then come the louder and longer action tracks. "Pit Battle" basically repeats what's been done before, but for whatever reason it listens a bit more enjoyable (an ethnic touch here, a string action led fanfare there). But it must also bother you how much this track sounds like recycled parts from a lot of other Silvestri scores. The rhythmic "Snake Eyes" may sound cool enough for a spin, but it is "The Joes Mobilize" that surely listens away easily. Fanfares and enough main theme statements making it sound enjoyable enough (especially in the second part).
But if we talk about the really good moments, then "Just About Close Enough" is definitely worth mentioning. It holds another example of exciting heroic material, and I have the feeling it is finally revoking memories of one Van Helsing. Then there's finally the astonishing fact we have a totally new (and cool) tune in the best track of them all, namely "End Credits". I'm sure everyone will at least enjoy that track in the end. Forget the fact it almost duplicates the string theme of Tomb Raider 2 in "Final Battle" and that we have soft, romantic material in "I'm Not Giving Up on You" and you'll come at the end unharmed.
I may criticize Alan Silvestri for bringing us one of his most bland scores of his career, but at least I still enjoy it. Unlike similar scores from Harry Gregson-Williams, there's at least a fun factor in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra that keeps it from hitting rock bottom. I know it isn't what I wanted, and I'm sure that Alan could have done so much more with it. I'm even disappointed that the main G.I. Joe tune of the series isn't even stated once (and I'm sure not in the film as well), so altogether another lost opportunity. But as I've said it, despite it being Silvestri on autopilot, it it fun and enjoyable. And because of that, it somewhat eases the pain. Somewhat.
Tracklisting
1. Clan McCullen (3.06)
2. Mars Industries (1.43)
3. Delivreing the Waeheads (7.24)
4. General Hawk (1.36)
5. It Had to be Nato's Fault (1.40)
6. King Cobra (2.59)
7. What Happened to Her (1.17)
8. I Promise (2.04)
9. Pit Battle (7.24)
10. They Intend to Use Them (1.07)
11. Snake Eyes (2.22)
12. I Have a Target in Mind (2.23)
13. The Joes Mobilize (8.24)
14. Nothern Route (6.09)
15. Who Are You? (3.35)
16. Deploy the Sharks (7.32)
17. Final Battle (0.55)
18. Just About Close Enough (3.57) Excellent track
19. The Rise of Cobra (1.53)
20. I'm not Giving Up on You (1.49)
21. End Credits (2.21) Excellent track
Total Length: 71.54
But then we saw the trailer, and it wasn't what most were expecting at all. At least the music was going to be up to par, we thought. But now The Mummy Returns wasn't anymore what we were dreaming off. Now we were expecting Eraser, The Long Kiss Goodnight and perhaps the epic'ness of Van Helsing.
And then we finally were able to hear it. I must say, I was disappointed and furious. This was like hearing Alan Silvestri on autopilot. After his uninspired clone for the second Night at the Museum, I couldn't stand the fact that one of today's leading composers just goes autopilot on such a promising action spectacle. I didn't want this to be everything we already heard, I wanted this to be everything we wanted to hear.
And then I started humming, singing along and telling myself, hey how did I actually enjoy this? How could I enjoy an average, completely non-original feast with one main theme repeated in abundance? How could I explain myself to you that G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is one of the most bland scores of the year, but still enjoyable? How can I defend this if I was disappointed from start to finish?
Well, plain and simple. I just enjoy it.
We open with what I call boring standard Silvestri. Come on, it doesn't promise a lot and it sounds like the boring underscore from Eraser and The Long Kiss Goodnight (and those albums had enough snooze). We hear uninspired bounces ala Tomb Raider 2 in "Mars Industries" and standard Silvestri action in "Delivering the Warheads". I had a feeling this wasn't going to be what we wanted. Note that this is also the first track that states the main theme, near at the end. That theme will be used endlessly from now on, as it is the only action theme on call, starting with the beefed up version in "General Hawk".
Standard stuff in "It Had to be Nato's Fault" and "King Cobra", unexpected soft material in "What Happened to Her?" and a soft, even romantic flash in "I Promise" don't deliver us the stuff we expected to hear. Action is really not something where you expect Silvestri as standard as this.
Then come the louder and longer action tracks. "Pit Battle" basically repeats what's been done before, but for whatever reason it listens a bit more enjoyable (an ethnic touch here, a string action led fanfare there). But it must also bother you how much this track sounds like recycled parts from a lot of other Silvestri scores. The rhythmic "Snake Eyes" may sound cool enough for a spin, but it is "The Joes Mobilize" that surely listens away easily. Fanfares and enough main theme statements making it sound enjoyable enough (especially in the second part).
But if we talk about the really good moments, then "Just About Close Enough" is definitely worth mentioning. It holds another example of exciting heroic material, and I have the feeling it is finally revoking memories of one Van Helsing. Then there's finally the astonishing fact we have a totally new (and cool) tune in the best track of them all, namely "End Credits". I'm sure everyone will at least enjoy that track in the end. Forget the fact it almost duplicates the string theme of Tomb Raider 2 in "Final Battle" and that we have soft, romantic material in "I'm Not Giving Up on You" and you'll come at the end unharmed.
I may criticize Alan Silvestri for bringing us one of his most bland scores of his career, but at least I still enjoy it. Unlike similar scores from Harry Gregson-Williams, there's at least a fun factor in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra that keeps it from hitting rock bottom. I know it isn't what I wanted, and I'm sure that Alan could have done so much more with it. I'm even disappointed that the main G.I. Joe tune of the series isn't even stated once (and I'm sure not in the film as well), so altogether another lost opportunity. But as I've said it, despite it being Silvestri on autopilot, it it fun and enjoyable. And because of that, it somewhat eases the pain. Somewhat.
Tracklisting
1. Clan McCullen (3.06)
2. Mars Industries (1.43)
3. Delivreing the Waeheads (7.24)
4. General Hawk (1.36)
5. It Had to be Nato's Fault (1.40)
6. King Cobra (2.59)
7. What Happened to Her (1.17)
8. I Promise (2.04)
9. Pit Battle (7.24)
10. They Intend to Use Them (1.07)
11. Snake Eyes (2.22)
12. I Have a Target in Mind (2.23)
13. The Joes Mobilize (8.24)
14. Nothern Route (6.09)
15. Who Are You? (3.35)
16. Deploy the Sharks (7.32)
17. Final Battle (0.55)
18. Just About Close Enough (3.57) Excellent track
19. The Rise of Cobra (1.53)
20. I'm not Giving Up on You (1.49)
21. End Credits (2.21) Excellent track
Total Length: 71.54