Salt
James Newton Howard
" Overlong action exercise of James Newton Howard "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
In the search for this summer's blockbuster champion, we had our pick between male and female leads. And when one talks about female leads one immediately comes to Angelina Jolie (most of us even literally). She is the kind of actress who can not only act, but also dares to excel in the action genre through her own stunts. And when Salt's script asked for a physical demanding role, Angelina was a safe and logical bet. In the end the film did moderately good at the box office.
The director of this film Philip Noyce worked a couple of times with composers James Horner and Craig Armstrong, but for whatever reason he found James Newton Howard to be his most logical choice, that was because John Powell didn't seem available anymore. Because Salt does sound remarkably similar at times to the now standard used action sound (namely the Bourne action sound). However alongside Bourne we started to hear The Fugitive (his other notable chase movie score) during the initial listen. And voila, you have Salt, a movie that I hope is as action packed as the score.
You see, Salt is terribly exciting in the begin. But after a while it does begin to sound a bit tiring, especially if you continuously begin to hear the one ballsy action chase cue after another. Because from the pulse pounding action of track 2 to the suspenseful finale in "Go Get Em", Salt is surely action packed all the way.
It nonetheless opens with a feeling that one man hunt chase does remind you often of another one, because how else can you explain that The Fugitive comes into my mind once hearing "Prisoner Exchange". The clever detail of the action motif on piano at the end dictates the chase will soon erupt. And not soon after that do we spot that very same motif making the means to an end in the absolutely thunderous "Chase Across DC". This one has Bourne rhythms, electric guitar moments, and that stylish action motif that keeps heating up the experience.
The already noticeable Bourne stile became apparent before that in the suspenseful climatic "Escaping the CIA" and its ferocious percussive continuation "Cornered". But if you think that's about it, then you're wrong. Because sometimes it feels that practically every track holds an action moment or a suspenseful interaction. In the end it makes the experience a bit tiresome. Nonetheless we were able to remember these following from the large bunch. The atonal at times "Attack on St Bart's Cathedral", the aggressive electric guitar moments in "Taser Puppet", the fast as hell string work in "I'm Going Home" or the threatening use of the action motif in "Eight Floors Down". The pinnacle of the action climaxes lies in "Mano a Mano", which goes for an all out finale with that action motif. Even the conclusive "Go Get Em" with the action motif and the Bourne strings sounds cool after all these attacks.
Luckily besides the expected, we sometimes receive the unexpected, and there are a few candidates in this category. In "Orlov's Story" there's a solo vocal and Russian resembling instrument that's quite fetching. Yet that isn't necessarily the candidate I was referring too, because it are in fact "You are my Greatest Creation", "Barge Apocalypse" and "Go Get Em" that belong in this category instead. You see, all of these contain a choral moment that does enhance the level a bit, especially if you realize that it fuels the suspense in James Newton Howard's writing. The emotional resolution in "Destiny" or the very welcome solo piano in "Not Safe with Me" come at just the right time.
The question is however, is Salt truly worth it? In the long run I would have to say no. No it becomes pretty tiresome after a while, especially if you realize one track after another just continues to fuel an already heated listening experience. For that Salt holds neither the true originality nor the classy qualities. It is obvious that Salt holds some excellent action theatrics in the begin, theatrics that begin to ware you down once you realize it is this sound to the end. For the Xth time I have to remind record producers to warrant interesting listening experiences before anything else. I know that people all make their own listening experiences now, but we as a reviewer still need to grade the whole picture. And 30 to 40 minutes would have made Salt a lot more believable in the end.
Tracklisting
1. Prisoner Exchange (4.09)
2. Escaping the CIA (5.21)
3. Cornered (1.10)
4. Orlov's Story (4.44)
5. Chase Across DC (6.51) Excellent track
6. Hotel Room Preparations / Parade (3.14)
7. Attack on St Bart's Cathedral (3.11)
8. A Dark Goddamn Hole (1.48)
9. Taser Puppet (1.35)
10. You Are my Greatest Creation (4.14)
11. Destiny (2.23)
12. Barge Apocalypse (2.26)
13. Day X (1.38)
14. I'm Going Home (2.17)
15. Eight Floors Down (2.51)
16. Arming the Football (2.11)
17. Not Safe With Me (2.27)
18. You're About to Become Famous (1.39)
19. Mano a Mano (1.51) Excellent track
20. Garroted (3.32)
21. Go Get Em (3.10)
Total Length: 62.30
The director of this film Philip Noyce worked a couple of times with composers James Horner and Craig Armstrong, but for whatever reason he found James Newton Howard to be his most logical choice, that was because John Powell didn't seem available anymore. Because Salt does sound remarkably similar at times to the now standard used action sound (namely the Bourne action sound). However alongside Bourne we started to hear The Fugitive (his other notable chase movie score) during the initial listen. And voila, you have Salt, a movie that I hope is as action packed as the score.
You see, Salt is terribly exciting in the begin. But after a while it does begin to sound a bit tiring, especially if you continuously begin to hear the one ballsy action chase cue after another. Because from the pulse pounding action of track 2 to the suspenseful finale in "Go Get Em", Salt is surely action packed all the way.
It nonetheless opens with a feeling that one man hunt chase does remind you often of another one, because how else can you explain that The Fugitive comes into my mind once hearing "Prisoner Exchange". The clever detail of the action motif on piano at the end dictates the chase will soon erupt. And not soon after that do we spot that very same motif making the means to an end in the absolutely thunderous "Chase Across DC". This one has Bourne rhythms, electric guitar moments, and that stylish action motif that keeps heating up the experience.
The already noticeable Bourne stile became apparent before that in the suspenseful climatic "Escaping the CIA" and its ferocious percussive continuation "Cornered". But if you think that's about it, then you're wrong. Because sometimes it feels that practically every track holds an action moment or a suspenseful interaction. In the end it makes the experience a bit tiresome. Nonetheless we were able to remember these following from the large bunch. The atonal at times "Attack on St Bart's Cathedral", the aggressive electric guitar moments in "Taser Puppet", the fast as hell string work in "I'm Going Home" or the threatening use of the action motif in "Eight Floors Down". The pinnacle of the action climaxes lies in "Mano a Mano", which goes for an all out finale with that action motif. Even the conclusive "Go Get Em" with the action motif and the Bourne strings sounds cool after all these attacks.
Luckily besides the expected, we sometimes receive the unexpected, and there are a few candidates in this category. In "Orlov's Story" there's a solo vocal and Russian resembling instrument that's quite fetching. Yet that isn't necessarily the candidate I was referring too, because it are in fact "You are my Greatest Creation", "Barge Apocalypse" and "Go Get Em" that belong in this category instead. You see, all of these contain a choral moment that does enhance the level a bit, especially if you realize that it fuels the suspense in James Newton Howard's writing. The emotional resolution in "Destiny" or the very welcome solo piano in "Not Safe with Me" come at just the right time.
The question is however, is Salt truly worth it? In the long run I would have to say no. No it becomes pretty tiresome after a while, especially if you realize one track after another just continues to fuel an already heated listening experience. For that Salt holds neither the true originality nor the classy qualities. It is obvious that Salt holds some excellent action theatrics in the begin, theatrics that begin to ware you down once you realize it is this sound to the end. For the Xth time I have to remind record producers to warrant interesting listening experiences before anything else. I know that people all make their own listening experiences now, but we as a reviewer still need to grade the whole picture. And 30 to 40 minutes would have made Salt a lot more believable in the end.
Tracklisting
1. Prisoner Exchange (4.09)
2. Escaping the CIA (5.21)
3. Cornered (1.10)
4. Orlov's Story (4.44)
5. Chase Across DC (6.51) Excellent track
6. Hotel Room Preparations / Parade (3.14)
7. Attack on St Bart's Cathedral (3.11)
8. A Dark Goddamn Hole (1.48)
9. Taser Puppet (1.35)
10. You Are my Greatest Creation (4.14)
11. Destiny (2.23)
12. Barge Apocalypse (2.26)
13. Day X (1.38)
14. I'm Going Home (2.17)
15. Eight Floors Down (2.51)
16. Arming the Football (2.11)
17. Not Safe With Me (2.27)
18. You're About to Become Famous (1.39)
19. Mano a Mano (1.51) Excellent track
20. Garroted (3.32)
21. Go Get Em (3.10)
Total Length: 62.30