Some expectations will peg Holkenborg's
Divergent as a work as derivative of Remote Control conventions
as
300: Rise of an Empire so disappointingly was. In reality,
that fear is only partially realized. You really have to
compartmentalize this Holkenborg music, because he seems to have made an
honest attempt to separate himself from both the Zimmer and Howard
moulds. That is, in some of his own music's factions. In
Divergent, the score can be divided into the modern soft rock for
the lead character, the largely electronic ambience for the futuristic
world, the brutally percussive element for the fight sequences, and the
orchestral lamentation for the main characters' plight to save society
from itself. Two of these factions in the score are surprisingly
engaging while one is unremarkable and the final one reminiscent of the
derivative nature of
300: Rise of an Empire. The highlights are
the modern rock and orchestral lamentation factions, for the former an
effective emulation of Danny Elfman's similar blend in
Anywhere But
Here and
Real Steel (with Goulding's vocals reminiscent of
those Elfman scores as well). The best of this material for the lead
character is summarized in the lengthy "Tris" and developed subsequently
during Goulding's other performances. The symphonic portions of sadness
for familial sacrifice consist of mostly tonal string ambience, "Faction
Before Blood" and "Sacrifice" quite lovely. Conversely, the fight
sequences resort back to the looped pounding for synthesizers and
oppressive orchestral shades that made
300: Rise of an Empire so
tiring. In these three factions, however, Holkenborg can be commended
for maintaining and even developing three or four motifs for specific
concepts in the story, some of them overlapping appropriately during
conflict. Unfortunately, the final faction, the electronic groaning and
nondescript background effects, do stunt the growth of those themes.
Some of these atmospheric cues are truly a waste. If you combine the
modern rock and orchestral family material, you have twenty minutes of
very easily digestible music. Some may criticize Holkenborg negatively
for the "abuse" of the stereotypical female vocals in this score, but
given that vocalist's contribution to the songs and the gender and age
of the lead character, this is a more appropriate place for such vocals
than in many other scores. On album,
Divergent can drag at times,
the 75-minute score-only product in need of some significant trimming to
produce a consistent listening experience. Be careful about your
expectations regarding this score. Holkenborg exhibits signs of
intelligence beyond what you hear in concurrent Zimmer scores, and
that's a welcome change for any Remote Control-related effort.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
