Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,853
Written 1/23/12
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Buy it... if an overdose of Latin style from John Powell's spirited
acoustic guitar and percussion reminds you of the carefree fun exhibited
in the film's plot.
Avoid it... if you require any meaningful substance in your film
music, because Powell missed a clear opportunity by failing to really
enhance the comedic narrative flow of that story.
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| Powell |
Mr. & Mrs. Smith: (John Powell) Rank the brainless
comedy action flick Mr. & Mrs. Smith high on the list of movies
better remembered for the controversial fornication of its stars than
its own cinematic qualities. Aided by headlines that Angelina Jolie and
Brad Pitt discovered the capabilities of each others' sex organs during
the production, much to the dismay of Jennifer Aniston fans, the Doug
Liman movie grossed nearly half a billion dollars worldwide during its
run through theatres during the summer of 2005, long stirring
speculation of sequels and prequels. Jolie and Pitt play a couple
experiencing marital dissatisfaction while maintaining secret lives as
assassins on the side. When they are both hired to knock off the same
target, their covers are blown, leading to a bizarre cat and mouse game
that, not surprisingly, arouses them sexually. Their domestic issues
eventually blossom into all-out war, first against each other and then
against the common foes who wish for the pair to be eliminated. In the
process, they take the destruction of household goods and department
store merchandise to all new levels, leaping from one fallacy of logic
to another in the process of going rogue together. The movie is awful in
many regards (and several major reviewers skewered it), though it
remains engrossing because of the obvious chemistry that exists between
the leads, who enthusiastically blast their way through the film by
reacting to adversity with undaunted humor. The movie's soundtrack
includes an odd collection of song placements, though composer John
Powell's score maintains a strong Latin identity throughout the film as
a representation of both the meeting place of the leading couple and the
general romance that comes along with that genre. Having already tackled
an entry in the Bourne franchise for Liman and proving his chops in a
number of other chase productions at the time, Powell was a smart choice
for this assignment. The breadth of his work, most notably exercised in
his music for children's films, has included a fair amount of Latin
material, and the sound was experiencing something of a rediscovery in
film music at the time due in part to James Horner's The Mask of
Zorro (and sequel) and the utilization of Heitor Pereira's skills
out of the Hans Zimmer production house. Powell seems comfortable
writing what essentially plays like a Latin extension of his music for
the Bourne movies, though don't expect any of it to exhibit high levels
of intelligence. In fact, Powell underplays his hand in the movie by
more of a factor than you might expect.
Powell tackles
Mr. & Mrs. Smith with the
personality of his instrumentation alone, leaving meaningful melodic
development and most of the extremes in the action and romance genres
behind. The ensemble consists of a standard orchestra, but the group is
absolutely dominated by the several guitarists, bassists, and
percussionists employed for the project. Nearly constant is some
rambling of acoustic guitars, often in supporting and primary roles at
once. The tone of the guitars rarely dissolves into the harshness of the
electric realm, usually content to affectionately whip along with
determined, plucked bass and a variety of drums and the type of clicking
and tapping percussive effects you'd expect for a wild Latin sound.
There are deviations, as with the retro tone of "Desert Foxes," but the
straight forward Latin personality of
Mr. & Mrs. Smith is mostly
unrelenting. The orchestra becomes more involved with the score as the
film progresses, though don't expect Powell to really merge the Latin
and classical mannerisms of the instruments to a satisfying end.
Thematically, there are motifs for the primary characters and a suspense
identity that is difficult to really appreciate on album. The album
opens with the theme for the leading couple and sends it off in
whimsical romantic shades in "The Next Adventure," a seemingly trite,
tongue-in-cheek parody of vintage James Bond music. The "Tango de los
Assassinos" is its own unique identity in the score, representing the
most noticeable Powell music in the film but failing, oddly, to generate
any of the real balance of romance and tension that the scene requires.
For all the style exhibited by Powell in the first half of the score,
his approach really doesn't follow any kind of narrative arc (outside of
hints in "Playing House"). In the latter half, his infusion of
Bourne-like ostinatos and more forceful enhancements from brass produces
adequate excitement but this material still doesn't really develop in a
clear direction. The percussive loops sometimes distract from the
orchestra during these passages (including the finale), and confirm for
the listener that Powell's role in
Mr. & Mrs. Smith was to add a
layer of flair more than meaningful depth. The Latin and flamenco flavor
is alone enough of an asset to make this score functional (and, in
passages, enjoyable), though on its score-only album, it's one of those
works that constantly promises more than it delivers. The unrestrained
feeling of fun that defines the movie isn't always prevalent in the
score, which often finds itself slapping, strumming, banging, and
striking all the right sounds without really accomplishing much of
substance. Given the marital counseling sessions that anchor the plot,
the lack of punchy narrative movement in the music is a major
opportunity missed.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For John Powell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.31
(in 51 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.16
(in 52,894 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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