Review
Before I start this review, I have to get something off
my chest (pun intended). Almost every time you hear anything
about the score to the original "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie,
someone's always complaining that this isn't swashbuckling
music. It's not swashbuckling music because it doesn't
have this, it doesn't have that, or doesn't hit the notes
like the masters of old did it. It goes on and on for every
score that does something different. Apparently, if you
don't score a movie the same way everyone else did, you
suck.
The most absurd comparison like this deals with Ennio
Morricone's score to "Mission to Mars." Some
people thought the score was awful because it didn't sound
like "Apollo 13." Why should it have to? The
only thing that "Mission to Mars" and "Apollo
13" have in common is they're both in space. So every
space score has to sound the same? You get that with “Battlestar
Galactica,” and I could go on and on.
Who cares? Who cares if it isn't a traditional swashbuckler
score? The main question is: is it good? I'm all for people
trying to find different ways to break the mold. It makes
my job as a reviewer a whole lot easier when someone does
that. If I were to write this column week in and week out
saying that every score is written like John Williams but
done by a different person, this would get mind numbingly
boring. This score, however, gives me something to play
with.
Above being good, there's only one other thing a swashbuckler
score has to do. It has to be fun, just like the movie.
No one (except Hollywood critics) wants to go see a swashbuckling
movie about a Vietnamese homosexual transvestite hired
to find a lost treasure in order to pay for his sex change
operation and be the first "ladyboy" to sail
across the world. I can thankfully tell you that "Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" is a fun score.
However, not only does this score have to be fun, it has
to be something more important. It also has to be good.
That question is going to take some more time to answer.
The first "Pirates" score originally had Alan
Silvestri writing it. Supposedly, it hit all the right
notes and was your traditional swashbuckler score. However,
at the 11th hour, his score was rejected for reasons unknown
(probably because it was for a Jerry Bruckheimer movie).
As such, Hans Zimmer and his Media Ventures cohorts rushed
in and completed a score for a two hour movie in a very
short time period. For the sequel, the man himself gets
involved with the proceedings and has a lot more time than
a few weeks to write this score. While it is more orchestral
than the original, it is any good?
The first three tracks offer samples of the main themes
in the score. "Jack Sparrow" reintroduces the
theme for the main character from the first movie. It's
mostly played on solo cello that hasn't changed from the
first score. It's a nice piece that has a classical/romantic
feel to it. "The Kraken" introduces the theme
for the main bad guys in this film. It's a big, heavy baseline
that serves up reminders of previous Zimmer scores such
as "Crimson Tide and "The Peacemaker." The
last theme is for Davy Jones himself, and, you guessed
it, the track is called "Davy Jones." It's a
similar variation on the Kraken theme, except this is played
on the organ, giving it an almost apocalyptic nature, or
at least the signal that this guy shouldn't be taken lightly.
The rest of the score varies back and forth from the Media
Ventures aspects to bits of humor. An example of this is
the track "Dinner is Served." It starts out just
like any other Hans Zimmer action piece/power anthem. It's
a decent go, but halfway through, it switches to a whimsical
waltz that throws the listener off their rocker. It defies
your expectations on where the track is leading to, but
I'm not certain it's a good thing.
The soundtrack ends with a remix track done by DJ Tiesto.
If you need me to tell you 'it sucks,' then you have bigger
issues than I can help you with.
My main problem with this score isn't that it doesn't
sound like a swashbuckler score. My problem is it sounds
like every other Hans Zimmer action score you care to name.
There's no real variation. There's nothing new that he
hasn't done before, and there's nothing that suggests that
this isn't "Crimson Tide" rolled into a different
movie. Another problem with Zimmer's work of late is that
if you look in the booklet, you'll find there's seven people
credited for "Additional Music."
If I'm going to spend my money to buy a score written
by Hans Zimmer, I want it to be written by Hans Zimmer.
If I'm a director that's spending thousands of dollars
on a Hans Zimmer score, I damn well expect that Hans Zimmer
is going to score it. If there's a time crunch, I can see
where he'd need help. However, there's been no evidence
of the sort. I don't want to crack opened the album cover
and find music by some guy named Lorne "Shiver Me
Timbers" Balfe or Tom "Chum Bucket" Gire.
To make matters worse, the soundtrack doesn't tell you
what their stuff is and what isn't. All of these Media
Ventures guys rip off Zimmer's style, so you have no idea
where there is a composer change. If all the tracks on
the album are Zimmer's, then why even mention other composers?
In short, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" is
a fun score to listen to. "Dead Man's Chest" is
a good score, but it's not a great one. It doesn't do anything
that we haven't heard before and fades into silence. This
is Hans Zimmer punching the time clock, doing just enough
to get by, and going home.
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Pirates
of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest