Point of no Return
Hans Zimmer
" old school merging of synthesizers and cool melodies makes for one guilty pleasure "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
A remake of the French hit Nikita (which was directed by Luc Besson), 80's and 90's director John Badham presents Point of no Return, starring Bridget Fonda as Maggie Hayward. She's a drug addict who's trained to become a deadly assassin for a secret government agency. However in time she begins to hate her new life and wants out. Though the movie was a decent remake and a strong enough box office success, Point of no Return never equaled Nikita's strength. However much better was Hans Zimmer's emotional rollercoaster score for the film, capturing a style of class he delivered to a lot of movies of which he worked on during the 90's.
Point of no Return comes 3 years after Bird on a Wire and 1 year before Drop Zone, 2 other successful scores for John Badham films. However the strength of Point of no Return lies in the delicate balance between Maggie's renewed faith in life and her cold deadliness for her line of work. And in time, that difference gets mixed up as Maggie begins to question her assignments. For me that moment comes in "Wedding Bells", a moment where the amazing suspenseful build up gets even more emotionally intoxicating when Maggie has to make the hard choice. What I love so much about this piece of music here, is how Zimmer clearly states Maggie's doubts counter attacking the never ending orders of her superiors. This gets the ultimate climatic battle during my favorite moment of the disc.
The album opens however with "Hate", a perfect representation of Maggie's rough life as a criminal. Though the vocal screams out a girl crying for a way out, the first part is relentless and loud, offering Hans Zimmer's much beloved fusion of synthesizers and electric guitars. In the second part things calm down considerably and Hans unleashes a quite intoxicating charming theme for Maggie's new life and renewed spirit. This kind of melody and unashamed cheesiness is something we don't hear from him anymore, though in one form or another it never gets old. This amazing theme gets another prime time moment in "Happy Birthday, Maggie", making it even more memorable here. In "Hells Kitchen" the strong vocal work of Sam Ellis spices things up again, unleashing rage and emotion that is too cool to ignore, making each track considerably different from one another.
As for those who wonder about the many songs of Nina Simone after that, Maggie's character has a fascination for Nina Simone in the film, resulting in the use of many of her songs throughout the movie. Point of no Return is one of those never aging scores of the good old period of Hans Zimmer. The coolness it unleashes is unparalleled and transports us back to a time where Zimmer could barely do something wrong. In a way it is cheesy and less refined, but back then the melodies and themes Zimmer unleashed did possess such an undeniable strength that it's tough comparing them to the ones he composes today. Making Point of no Return a bonafied classic for the die hard Hans Zimmer fans.
Favorite Moment - Wedding Bells (4.15 - 4.55)
The build up reaches its climax as Zimmer unleashes all the stops
Track Listing
1. Hate (7.26) Excellent track
2. Happy Birthday, Maggie (5.36) Excellent track
3. Wedding Bells (8.06) Excellent track
4. Hells Kitchen (5.08) Excellent track
5. Here Comes the Sun: Nina Simone (3.35)
6. I Want A Little Sugar in my Bowl: Nina Simone (2.31)
7. Feeling Good: Nina Simone (2.53)
8. Wild is the Wind: Nina Simone (6.57)
9. Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair: Nina Simone (3.26)
Total Length: 45.38
Point of no Return comes 3 years after Bird on a Wire and 1 year before Drop Zone, 2 other successful scores for John Badham films. However the strength of Point of no Return lies in the delicate balance between Maggie's renewed faith in life and her cold deadliness for her line of work. And in time, that difference gets mixed up as Maggie begins to question her assignments. For me that moment comes in "Wedding Bells", a moment where the amazing suspenseful build up gets even more emotionally intoxicating when Maggie has to make the hard choice. What I love so much about this piece of music here, is how Zimmer clearly states Maggie's doubts counter attacking the never ending orders of her superiors. This gets the ultimate climatic battle during my favorite moment of the disc.
The album opens however with "Hate", a perfect representation of Maggie's rough life as a criminal. Though the vocal screams out a girl crying for a way out, the first part is relentless and loud, offering Hans Zimmer's much beloved fusion of synthesizers and electric guitars. In the second part things calm down considerably and Hans unleashes a quite intoxicating charming theme for Maggie's new life and renewed spirit. This kind of melody and unashamed cheesiness is something we don't hear from him anymore, though in one form or another it never gets old. This amazing theme gets another prime time moment in "Happy Birthday, Maggie", making it even more memorable here. In "Hells Kitchen" the strong vocal work of Sam Ellis spices things up again, unleashing rage and emotion that is too cool to ignore, making each track considerably different from one another.
As for those who wonder about the many songs of Nina Simone after that, Maggie's character has a fascination for Nina Simone in the film, resulting in the use of many of her songs throughout the movie. Point of no Return is one of those never aging scores of the good old period of Hans Zimmer. The coolness it unleashes is unparalleled and transports us back to a time where Zimmer could barely do something wrong. In a way it is cheesy and less refined, but back then the melodies and themes Zimmer unleashed did possess such an undeniable strength that it's tough comparing them to the ones he composes today. Making Point of no Return a bonafied classic for the die hard Hans Zimmer fans.
Favorite Moment - Wedding Bells (4.15 - 4.55)
The build up reaches its climax as Zimmer unleashes all the stops
Track Listing
1. Hate (7.26) Excellent track
2. Happy Birthday, Maggie (5.36) Excellent track
3. Wedding Bells (8.06) Excellent track
4. Hells Kitchen (5.08) Excellent track
5. Here Comes the Sun: Nina Simone (3.35)
6. I Want A Little Sugar in my Bowl: Nina Simone (2.31)
7. Feeling Good: Nina Simone (2.53)
8. Wild is the Wind: Nina Simone (6.57)
9. Black is the Color of my True Love's Hair: Nina Simone (3.26)
Total Length: 45.38