Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #516
Written 12/22/06
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Buy it... if you adore Alan Silvestri's consistently rousing action
material for full orchestral and choral ensembles.
Avoid it... if you expect to hear Silvestri in top form, providing
consistent flows of rhythm that this particular film doesn't allow
for.
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| Silvestri |
Night at the Museum: (Alan Silvestri) As hard as it
may be for some people to believe, there is apparently a segment of the
population that had dreams (or nightmares) as children that they got
locked into a museum at night and all the exhibits came to life. This
scenario was premise for Milan Trenc's whimsical story that has now
inspired the holiday feature film Night at the Museum. A loser of
a husband and dad (Ben Stiller) tries to prove to his family that he can
be dependable and thus takes a job as a night guard at the New York
Natural History Museum. He soon discovers that the museum does indeed
come to life at night, forcing him to enlist the help of the exhibits
themselves to restore order. Little does he know at first that this
nightly adventure is just that... nightly. The film's appeal exists in
small and/or restrained performances by Robin Williams, Owen Wilson,
Ricky Gervais, Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney, as well the special
effects and lavish set design that transform the film into one giant
advertisement for the museum. Predictably, though, the film allows the
special effects to take center stage, causing critics to mention the
failure of Jumanji more than once. Also noted has been Alan
Silvestri's score. The veteran composer's output for mainstream
blockbusters has diminished in recent years, though he has proven
himself capable time and time again in providing solid music for the
children's genre. He may be a long way away from the glory of his great
1980's action scores, but he is always dependable when it comes to
generating creative volumes of genre-bending sounds for silly adventure
stories. The same equation is set for Night at the Museum, and
Silvestri responds with a loud and hyperactive series of short action
bursts written for a full orchestral ensemble and small choir. Some
limited presence of synthesizers is felt, though these are mostly
limited to the occasional drum pad hits and electric bass. The overall
package, strangely, is pleasantly obnoxious.
While Silvestri means well when it comes to his
thematic constructs (he typically invents compelling themes for most
major action projects for which he writes),
Night at the Museum
doesn't offer his best or most stylish themes. The various ideas he
concocts for the characters and chases in the museum are summed up in
the opening "Night at the Museum" cue. The main theme is adequate, but
not spectacular, reappearing a few times in the film during "down"
moments. It typically tingles with light percussion and moves with a
swinging intent; an electric bass is added for an extra cool effect in
its performance during "Study Up on History." The other themes for the
film begin to wash together as the story moves from topic to topic, and
few (if any) will stand out as you progress through them. Roosevelt's
trumpet fanfare is an exception, perhaps. With so many overwhelmingly
bombastic cues in succession, the charm of
Night at the Museum
exists in its low-key, personable cues led by keyboarding and light
strings. "One of Those Days" and "An Ordinary Guy?" are possibly the
highlights, though the short "Cab Ride" combines this hip, tingling
personality with the choir. The choral role in the score is not as heavy
as perhaps expected. Silvestri uses the small vocal group to accent a
few of the more mystical moments in the film, though it shines when
rooted deeply in the low male ranges. The massive "Heroes Return" track
is a rare moment when Silvestri uses the choir to stun you with majesty.
As for the orchestra's performance, there are a couple of moments when
Silvestri interestingly mirrors Jerry Goldsmith's writing style from the
1990's. The last thirty seconds of "Big Fan" are pure Goldsmith in the
role of the horns and fluttering woodwinds (that were manipulated by
Goldsmith in
The Edge to mimic his synthesizer rhythms when he
wasn't allowed to use them). A reprise of the theme of redemption
finishes the score in "Full House," though after 50+ minutes of
rollicking adventure, the album seems to come to an inglorious end. On
the whole, Silvestri succeeds in providing a decently rousing score for
the picture, but we've heard him in better form before, able to wrap up
the package into a neater whole. There are no unlistenable moments in
Night at the Museum, however, and something must be said for
Silvestri's proven consistency in the genre.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
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Bias Check:
For Alan Silvestri reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.47
(in 43 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.33
(in 40,196 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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