Timeline
Brian Tyler
" Line the time when old is replaced by young "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Everybody's a Brian Tyler fan. When it was announced that Jerry Goldsmith's score for the failed Richard Donner movie was rejected after it was recorded and performed by a full symphony orchestra, everybody was disappointed and angry about it. When they heard rising composer Brian Tyler was writing the replacement score, somehow most people turned out to be happy instead, knowing it was gonna be him and not someone else. I however was just glad that the score of Goldsmith would receive a CD release no matter what, showing that Varèse Sarabande never understood the reason why it was rejected in the first place.
So in the end, we receive 2 good things. 2 Different scores from 2 different composers for the very same film. And it all starts the way .... Darkness Falls ended. With a lot of energy. "Main Title" is not your typical main theme, and it is definitely not a main theme as Jerry Goldsmith composed them, it's just a rambunctious energetic piece of action music that we heard before and especially after. It's a great way to begin this score, but is the rest gonna be different?
Well let's see. There a cool militaristic motif supported through choir in "Galvanize the Troops", immediately followed by a thunderous opening in "Battle of La Roque" (which houses the love theme and the evil four note motif of James Horner) that's thoroughly enjoyable, we have the main theme returning energetic in "Troops in the Fog", totally frenetic Darkness Falls like horror music in "1357 France", lots of rhythmic build up in "Enter the Wormhole" and "Timeline" and the return of the love theme in "Lady Claire and Marek". Meaning while nice and totally enjoyable, the action music has now showed you nothing renewing and the love theme is a lovely distraction from time to time.
Meaning, we get the same style of Tyler in returning form. The military motif in "Night Arrows", the first track but longer returning in "Storming the Castle" (watch out for the Darkness Falls motif around the 3rd minute) and we receive a particularly unmemorable finale in the final tracks, showing no sign of closure but in fact just the very same tone as we opened the experience some 47 minutes ago.
We all know it by now, but Brian Tyler has a serious problem. Today he has music that runs up to about 70 minutes, and he has the originality for about 30 or less. Timeline is exactly the same. He has about 20 minutes of originality and he puts it in the double amount. I'm not kidding, Timeline is pretty exciting and turns up the volume with loud energetic action / horror music. But I call this more wall to wall action scoring than actual filmmusic, because I don't see any progression or development here. Or the simple truth is that we discovered Tyler's flaw after already 5 scores. Timeline is thoroughly enjoyable, but if you want a more rewarding experience, check out Jerry Goldsmith's score as it is the master there who shows the rookie how it's supposed to be done.
Track Listing
1. Main Title (2.14)
2. Galvanize the Troops (0.45)
3. Battle of La Roque (4.15) Excellent track
4. Troops in the Fog (1.39)
5. Battalion (0.48)
6. 1357 France (2.54)
7. Enter the Wormhole (2.49)
8. Timeline (1.29)
9. Lady Claire and Marek (1.39)
10. Night Arrows (2.52)
11. Transcription Errors (2.05)
12. Storming the Castle (4.12)
13. Battlefield Revealed (1.07)
14. Interruptus (2.52)
15. Mysterioso (2.47)
16. Eternal (2.25)
17. Village Burned (1.18)
18. Descent (2.44)
19. History Will Change (2.12)
20. Past and Present (2.23)
Total Length: 45.29
So in the end, we receive 2 good things. 2 Different scores from 2 different composers for the very same film. And it all starts the way .... Darkness Falls ended. With a lot of energy. "Main Title" is not your typical main theme, and it is definitely not a main theme as Jerry Goldsmith composed them, it's just a rambunctious energetic piece of action music that we heard before and especially after. It's a great way to begin this score, but is the rest gonna be different?
Well let's see. There a cool militaristic motif supported through choir in "Galvanize the Troops", immediately followed by a thunderous opening in "Battle of La Roque" (which houses the love theme and the evil four note motif of James Horner) that's thoroughly enjoyable, we have the main theme returning energetic in "Troops in the Fog", totally frenetic Darkness Falls like horror music in "1357 France", lots of rhythmic build up in "Enter the Wormhole" and "Timeline" and the return of the love theme in "Lady Claire and Marek". Meaning while nice and totally enjoyable, the action music has now showed you nothing renewing and the love theme is a lovely distraction from time to time.
Meaning, we get the same style of Tyler in returning form. The military motif in "Night Arrows", the first track but longer returning in "Storming the Castle" (watch out for the Darkness Falls motif around the 3rd minute) and we receive a particularly unmemorable finale in the final tracks, showing no sign of closure but in fact just the very same tone as we opened the experience some 47 minutes ago.
We all know it by now, but Brian Tyler has a serious problem. Today he has music that runs up to about 70 minutes, and he has the originality for about 30 or less. Timeline is exactly the same. He has about 20 minutes of originality and he puts it in the double amount. I'm not kidding, Timeline is pretty exciting and turns up the volume with loud energetic action / horror music. But I call this more wall to wall action scoring than actual filmmusic, because I don't see any progression or development here. Or the simple truth is that we discovered Tyler's flaw after already 5 scores. Timeline is thoroughly enjoyable, but if you want a more rewarding experience, check out Jerry Goldsmith's score as it is the master there who shows the rookie how it's supposed to be done.
Track Listing
1. Main Title (2.14)
2. Galvanize the Troops (0.45)
3. Battle of La Roque (4.15) Excellent track
4. Troops in the Fog (1.39)
5. Battalion (0.48)
6. 1357 France (2.54)
7. Enter the Wormhole (2.49)
8. Timeline (1.29)
9. Lady Claire and Marek (1.39)
10. Night Arrows (2.52)
11. Transcription Errors (2.05)
12. Storming the Castle (4.12)
13. Battlefield Revealed (1.07)
14. Interruptus (2.52)
15. Mysterioso (2.47)
16. Eternal (2.25)
17. Village Burned (1.18)
18. Descent (2.44)
19. History Will Change (2.12)
20. Past and Present (2.23)
Total Length: 45.29