Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Alan Silvestri
" pretty much uses the same tricks of the first "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
I think if you make a box office success (generating millions of dollars), I suspect a sequel must always be in order. After all it was the case for many movies in Hollywood and it will not stop with Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Luckily in some scenarios, you can get the same actors back with the same crew. And sometimes that can salvage a dumb ass movie. Considering I haven't seen it yet and adored the first one a lot, I keep this in consideration. But for the score by returning composer Alan Silvestri I can be brief. Whatever you got from the first, expect the same in the second.
Calling Night at the Museum 2 a hack job is not correct. Calling it partly a hack is better. After all this is reprising an idea and so you must keep these ideas alive in subsequent sequels as well. But sometimes this feels like bringing not the ideas, but whole tracks back to state the flow of the movie. For me there is not enough variation to make of it an entire new and exciting listening experience.
After all "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" is basically the same of "Night at the Museum" (aka the opening track of the first). Considering I love how it works in the first film, it will suffice again for the second. But at least Spider-Man 2 had a somewhat different opening from the first one. And if you hear "The Battle" and "Victory is Ours" and compare it with "Stage Coach" and "Heroes Return" you get the following conclusion. Both sounded a whole lot better in the first.
Luckily not all is returning from the first. "Daley Devices"" is a mambo jazzy piece, "Getting Past Security" a bouncy piece full of sneakiness, "Finding Jed and the Others" holds Godzilla mystery and a chanting choir and "The Tablet" finally holds some adventure music. But the silly little war tunes in the middle ruins what could be a cool track with choir. Sadly it doesn't matter anymore when The Postman's temp track comes rushing through.
Sometimes the trademark sound of Silvestri is so apparent, it somewhat destroys your experience. And "The Adventure Continues" is sadly that. Plus the fact it doesn't offer exciting adventure at all. Hell there's even Beowulf material (or sounding a whole lot like it) in "Gate to the Underworld". And quite frankly "Goodbye" and "Museum Open Late" are soothers, bringing soft piano but also lulling you into such a relaxing calm mode that you end quite frankly a comedic adventure with the feeling you are now totally relaxed.
Basically this must all sound quite painful and in a way it is. But Silvestri is no slouch. You listen to it and it works. You will hear it in the movie and it will work. And it is quite frankly all easy on the ears. It is however what we hear in several tracks that keeps it from making the same mistakes a Prince Caspian made. Meaning deliver us something totally new.
"Octavious Attacks" offers for brief seconds heroic colour and there's a wonderful main theme moment with choir in "Entering the Air & Space Museum". "On Your Toes" suddenly shows you an electric guitar riff with a main theme version so cool and of course in every score of Silvestri there must be a heroic crowd pleaser. I'm sure you were all wondering what kind of music that kite piece would receive. And luckily no temp track or revisiting material is stated. "Escape in Wright Flyer" may not be his best at all, but it is surely the best in here. A heroic new moment, strings for that flying effect and finally a heroic track on full force.
Considering the score is pretty much stating what the first offers makes it all the more easy or hard to state the following. I like how the score works in the first movie and I'll bet it will work so good in the second as well. But I never really liked the first one, except for its brief but dazzling moments. And the same can be said of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. This is standard Silvestri material and it pretty much uses the same tricks of the first. But in moments and thankfully in longer tracks as well, it does deliver you moments of Silvestri happiness that sooth our mind for just a while. It may not make a CD of it, but it definitely holds worthy compilation material.
Tracklisting
1. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2.38)
2. Daley Devices (0.35)
3. This Night is Their Last (4.35)
4. To Washington (0.36)
5. Getting Past Security (1.49)
6. Finding Jed and the Others (3.16)
7. I Have Come Back to Life (1.03)
8. The Tablet (3.25)
9. I Smell Adventure (4.31)
10. He Doesn't Have all Night (1.45)
11. The Adventure Continues (3.25)
12. Octavious Attacks (1.22)
13. Entering the Air & Space Museum (1.31)
14. Escape in Wright Flyer (3.29) Excellent track
15. Got the Combination (2.19)
16. Gate to the Underworld (1.02)
17. I Ride the Squirrel (1.25)
18. On Your Toes (1.53)
19. The Battle (1.43)
20. Divide the House (1.28)
21. Victory is Ours (1.19)
22. Goodbye (2.43)
23. Museum Open Late (2.02)
Total Length: 50.04
Calling Night at the Museum 2 a hack job is not correct. Calling it partly a hack is better. After all this is reprising an idea and so you must keep these ideas alive in subsequent sequels as well. But sometimes this feels like bringing not the ideas, but whole tracks back to state the flow of the movie. For me there is not enough variation to make of it an entire new and exciting listening experience.
After all "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" is basically the same of "Night at the Museum" (aka the opening track of the first). Considering I love how it works in the first film, it will suffice again for the second. But at least Spider-Man 2 had a somewhat different opening from the first one. And if you hear "The Battle" and "Victory is Ours" and compare it with "Stage Coach" and "Heroes Return" you get the following conclusion. Both sounded a whole lot better in the first.
Luckily not all is returning from the first. "Daley Devices"" is a mambo jazzy piece, "Getting Past Security" a bouncy piece full of sneakiness, "Finding Jed and the Others" holds Godzilla mystery and a chanting choir and "The Tablet" finally holds some adventure music. But the silly little war tunes in the middle ruins what could be a cool track with choir. Sadly it doesn't matter anymore when The Postman's temp track comes rushing through.
Sometimes the trademark sound of Silvestri is so apparent, it somewhat destroys your experience. And "The Adventure Continues" is sadly that. Plus the fact it doesn't offer exciting adventure at all. Hell there's even Beowulf material (or sounding a whole lot like it) in "Gate to the Underworld". And quite frankly "Goodbye" and "Museum Open Late" are soothers, bringing soft piano but also lulling you into such a relaxing calm mode that you end quite frankly a comedic adventure with the feeling you are now totally relaxed.
Basically this must all sound quite painful and in a way it is. But Silvestri is no slouch. You listen to it and it works. You will hear it in the movie and it will work. And it is quite frankly all easy on the ears. It is however what we hear in several tracks that keeps it from making the same mistakes a Prince Caspian made. Meaning deliver us something totally new.
"Octavious Attacks" offers for brief seconds heroic colour and there's a wonderful main theme moment with choir in "Entering the Air & Space Museum". "On Your Toes" suddenly shows you an electric guitar riff with a main theme version so cool and of course in every score of Silvestri there must be a heroic crowd pleaser. I'm sure you were all wondering what kind of music that kite piece would receive. And luckily no temp track or revisiting material is stated. "Escape in Wright Flyer" may not be his best at all, but it is surely the best in here. A heroic new moment, strings for that flying effect and finally a heroic track on full force.
Considering the score is pretty much stating what the first offers makes it all the more easy or hard to state the following. I like how the score works in the first movie and I'll bet it will work so good in the second as well. But I never really liked the first one, except for its brief but dazzling moments. And the same can be said of Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. This is standard Silvestri material and it pretty much uses the same tricks of the first. But in moments and thankfully in longer tracks as well, it does deliver you moments of Silvestri happiness that sooth our mind for just a while. It may not make a CD of it, but it definitely holds worthy compilation material.
Tracklisting
1. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2.38)
2. Daley Devices (0.35)
3. This Night is Their Last (4.35)
4. To Washington (0.36)
5. Getting Past Security (1.49)
6. Finding Jed and the Others (3.16)
7. I Have Come Back to Life (1.03)
8. The Tablet (3.25)
9. I Smell Adventure (4.31)
10. He Doesn't Have all Night (1.45)
11. The Adventure Continues (3.25)
12. Octavious Attacks (1.22)
13. Entering the Air & Space Museum (1.31)
14. Escape in Wright Flyer (3.29) Excellent track
15. Got the Combination (2.19)
16. Gate to the Underworld (1.02)
17. I Ride the Squirrel (1.25)
18. On Your Toes (1.53)
19. The Battle (1.43)
20. Divide the House (1.28)
21. Victory is Ours (1.19)
22. Goodbye (2.43)
23. Museum Open Late (2.02)
Total Length: 50.04