 |
| Poledouris |
RoboCop 3: (Basil Poledouris) The RoboCop concept
was never designed to be a franchise, its initial film in 1987
containing the complete narrative arc of the lead character, and nothing
more was required. And yet, the property was seen as a comic book hero
made from an original screenplay, and struggling Orion Pictures
considered the franchise part of its last-ditch effort to maintain
financial solvency. Though the cyborg cob would eventually return in
multiple television series and a cinematic reboot in subsequent decades,
the two sequel films of the 1990's were particularly awful. The whole
point of 1993's
RoboCop 3 was to shift the concept into the
children's superhero realm, the original vision of Paul Verhoeven and
the associated graphic violence of the first two films jettisoned for a
family-friendly PG-13 rating. Actor Peter Weller was conveniently
unavailable to reprise his role as Alex Murphy in the RoboCop suit,
forcing his replacement, a bigger man, to squeeze down into the smaller
costume, and you could feel the man's pain. Almost all the production
elements of
RoboCop 3 were cheap, and the plot relied upon new
Japanese involvement with the corporate overlords seeking to run Detroit
to fulfill its need for new antagonists. Along with this ethnic influx
come Japanese ninja androids and new heroes in a "resistance" that not
surprisingly include a young girl who is a computer expert. In the end,
the lack of graphic violence and Weller in the suit, as well as the
death of Murphy's partner (Nancy Allen's requirement for appearing in
the movie at all) all made
RoboCop 3 a pointless exercise. There
is one silver lining, however, and that was the return of composer Basil
Poledouris to the concept. Writer and director Fred Dekker recognized
that Leonard Rosenman's score for
RoboCop 2 was a substantial
misfire because of its needlessly intellectual avant-garde approach to
the story. That Rosenman was publicly dismissive of Poledouris
personally and found the first
RoboCop score to be "dopey, lousy"
and "absolutely dreadful" continues to annoy film music collectors
decades later, and Poledouris responded to Rosenman by writing a score
for
RoboCop 3 that remains best the franchise has ever
received.
Poledouris' work for
RoboCop remains respected but
has always exhibited a rough demeanor in not only its character but its
rendering. This raw sound suits the concept well for some enthusiasts,
but the composer better refined his electronics in subsequent years, and
RoboCop 3 benefits from this maturation. Because Murphy is more
comfortable with his identity by this point, an emphasis is placed on
the orchestral elements of the recording even though there are still
plenty of electronics mixed to represent the future technology in the
story. Interestingly, while some the rambling synthetic trademarks
return from other Poledouris scores, his array here sometimes sounds far
more like Jerry Goldsmith's applications in
Medicine Man than
Poledouris' own works, with the middle of "Sayonara McDaggit" strongly
resembling
The Shadow, too. The electronics in
RoboCop 3
are far better engrained than those in
RoboCop, and they rarely
present distractions until the electric guitars in "Robo vs. Otomo"
yield the one truly heinous moment in the work. The once raw brutality
of Poledouris' brass and percussion is maintained and provided deeper
resonance in this sequel as well, with the forceful performances of the
main militaristic themes offering muscularity with better superhero
appeal. Needless to say, Poledouris ignores the trite constructs
utilized by Rosenman and returns to his own set of prior themes at the
insistence of the director. Five motifs return from
RoboCop,
while another five are introduced here for the first time. Representing
the core identity of the franchise is Poledouris' rousing main theme and
its ballsy secondary motif of rhythmic force, both reprised extensively
in this work. The main theme itself is afforded an extra woodwind and
string counterpoint layer to keep it fresh, and that line of action
sometimes even precedes the theme itself. With RoboCop not present early
in the story, listeners first encounter the idea in usual form at 4:14
into "RoboCop in Pursuit/RoboCop Saves Lewis," recurring shortly
thereafter at 0:46 into "Flame Job/Nikko Remembers/Kanemitsu Building"
in percussive mayhem. Poledouris continues his technique of adapting the
theme into more compelling variants, as in its fluid melodramatic form
at 0:56 into "The Map/Unfinished Business."
The aforementioned counterpoint lines engaging before the
main theme's melody in
RoboCop 3 become a highlight starting with
wild flutes at 0:22 into "Robo Torches Rehabs/It's Not a Robo Knock/Robo
Visits McDaggit," the same technique utilized at 1:38 into "Van Chase
II." The composer diminishes the theme to tenderness on solo oboe at
0:47 into "Cops Help Rebels/Robo vs. Otomo" and allows it solemn
nobility sans militaristic rhythms at 2:33 in that cue, shifting it
again against the breathy Japanese synthetics at 4:07. Inspired by a cue
from the first score, Poledouris offers the main theme at 0:24 into
"Finding the Flight Pack" with more deliberate anticipation, moving into
a slow tempo fantasy mode for the idea at 0:07 into "Robo Flies/Rehabs
Chase Marie." The militaristic version reemerges at 0:36 with the
anticipatory flute counterpoint, and the composer allows the theme a
heavy dose of victorious finality at 2:57 into "Sayonara McDaggit." In
the "End Credits" suite, the theme does its obligatory duty at 0:28 and
7:14. For some listeners, the true motific identity of RoboCop's
righteous, ass-kicking tendencies is embodied by the main theme's
secondary sequence that sometimes serves as its introduction. This
pulsating series of three-note phrases with striking ensemble volume
explodes with pounding force at the start of "Flame Job/Nikko
Remembers/Kanemitsu Building" and returns with cymbal-crashing heroics
at 2:34 into "Death of Lewis." Its use at 0:40 into "Robo Torches
Rehabs/It's Not a Robo Knock/Robo Visits McDaggit" leads to a more
determined performance with less volume at 2:11. Multiple performances
of this idea occupy "Van Chase II" starting at 0:28, and Poledouris
opens "Sayonara McDaggit" with this motif joined by flailing woodwinds.
The "End Credits" suite offers this motif twice, at 0:45 and 4:40. The
composer's somber theme for Murphy's former life, known as the "home"
theme, returns as well, its soft woodwind and synthesizer alternation
between two notes serving wider duties at 1:14 into "Delta City/Media
Break/Nikko," 1:12 into "Flame Job/Nikko Remembers/Kanemitsu Building,"
and 0:53 into "Robo Recalls/Murphy, Is It You?," where secondary
phrasing struggles to assert itself. As the theme comes to also
represent the young girl in this story, Poledouris applies the "home"
theme at the start of "Nikko at Station/Otomo Meets Resistance" for
about half a minute and in its fullest renditions in "Nikko and Robo"
and at 3:18 into "End Credits."
A few other, lesser motifs carry over from
RoboCop to this sequel score for Poledouris, including the "soul"
motif first hinted on flute in "RoboCop in Pursuit/RoboCop Saves Lewis"
and provided several massive performances in the last minute of "RoboCop
in Pursuit/RoboCop Saves Lewis." The theme for the original villain of
the franchise, Boddicker, is reprised in the middle of "Death of Lewis"
to establish parallels with the new goon, and this cue is also joined by
a return of the suspenseful nightmare material from the first score as
well. An ascending woodwind fantasy motif is re-developed, too, at the
start and end of "Death of Lewis," at 3:05 with larger scope in "Robo
Torches Rehabs/It's Not a Robo Knock/Robo Visits McDaggit," at 0:29 into
"Sayonara McDaggit," and at 0:16, 5:08, and the conclusion of "End
Credits." The new themes by Poledouris for
RoboCop 3 are a mixed
bag in their continuity of application within the narrative, but they
serve their purpose well enough in each case. The major new identity
represents the civilian resistance force in the story, a noble and
militaristic theme with tortured secondary phrasing. It receives a
pleasant debut at 1:44 into "Main Title/The Resistance/The Searchlight"
and returns in the middle of "Getaway" in slight shades. It's often
pinpointed thereafter, as at 1:28 into "Police Alert/Robo
Pack/Response/Armory Escape," at 0:39 into "Refuge" on far softer
strings, and late in "Van Chase II." The idea receives full treatment at
0:49 into "Rehab Raid," a cue that remains perfect music for this
concept: brutally dark and propulsive with ripping snare and frequent
metallic percussion, the sinewy progressions recalling the composer's
Conan the Barbarian. The resistance theme takes a more stoic and
heroic stance at 0:13 into "Good Cops Revolt" on trumpets and horns, and
fragments open "Cops Help Rebels/Robo vs. Otomo." A slower tempo awaits
the theme at 1:00 into "Robo Flies/Rehabs Chase Marie," but the idea is
largely supplanted by RoboCop's material at the end of the score, the
theme only supplied at 1:47 into "End Credits." The other new
protagonist material in
RoboCop 3 belongs to the girl, Nikko, but
Poledouris often applies his "home" theme to her interactions with
Murphy. Otherwise, the rambling synthetics of this music joins with
Goldsmith lyricism and a hint of techno savvy early in "Delta City," at
0:24 into "Police Alert/Robo Pack/Response/Armory Escape," throughout
"Tracking Beacon," and most clearly in "Nikko to O.C.P.," where its
nicely rendered, light synthetics are both techy and charming.
The thematic identities by Poledouris for the villains
in
RoboCop 3 are sufficient but often confusing, as the motifs
often cross-populate when the Japanese and American corporate baddies
operate in unison. There are separate ideas for the Japanese corporation
and its "Otomo" ninjas, as well as a more general theme for the new
American villains, the "Rehabs." The Japanese flavor is decent but not
frequent or exciting, introduced in "Kanemitsu Building" and a
synthetically dominant, more ominous version in "Otomo/Otomo Exits." It
consolidates at the end of "Otomo Meets Resistance" and adopts an even
more menacing electronic posture in "Robo vs. Otomo" and at 0:57 into
"Sayonara McDaggit" with extra timpani bravado and later percussive
chaos. It dies off at the start of "End Credits" but repeats its
"Sayonara McDaggit" performance at 5:35 into "End Credits." Meanwhile,
the Rehabs theme builds momentum and development as the group becomes
more prominent. Teased early in "Delta City" and "Main Title" with
driving force, the idea begins its stomping routine at 1:01 into "Bertha
to Base" and continues in the second half of "It's Not a Robo Knock/Robo
Visits McDaggit." It's teased at 0:23 into "Van Chase II," returns in
the middle of "Rehab Raid," and is twisted into a stately, positive
march in "Johnny Rehab Commercial." The Rehabs theme interjects late
"Nikko to O.C.P.," erupts with electronic guitar wildness at 3:16 into
"Robo vs. Otomo" (a truly bizarre but unique technique), enjoys a last
hurrah at 1:20 into "Rehabs Chase Marie," and is teased around the
Japanese material late in "End Credits." The only other new motif of
interest in
RoboCop 3 is a chasing idea that is cyclical on brass
and percussion with vaguely exotic winds, dominating the "Van Chase I"
cue and reprised at 1:00 into "End Credits." These various melodic
elements form a fairly robust narrative even if the attributions on the
new themes aren't always crystal clear. More importantly, this is a
RoboCop score at heart and supplies a dutiful attitude to the
story. It's a superior evolution to the original, with even the prior
headline news source motif returning in better sound. The typical
30-minute album from Varèse Sarabande in 1993 was replaced in
2016 by a "Deluxe" edition from the label with an attractive 70-minute
presentation and fantastic sound quality. The latter album, re-issued in
2024, does great justice to the electronic choral tones as in "Death of
Lewis" and the throat-singing effects later in the score. Ultimately,
this music represents a muscular blend of Poledouris' and Goldsmith's
mannerisms of the era, the most mature RoboCop score in existence. The
only highlight of Pedro Bromfman's music for the 2014 remake was one
brief reference back to Poledouris' popular theme.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| Bias Check: |
For Basil Poledouris reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.54
(in 35 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.3
(in 36,800 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert of the 1993 album contains no information about the film and score.
That of the 2016 and 2024 albums offer extensive details about both.
