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FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Wanted (Danny Elfman)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you've heard too many stereotypical, summer
blockbuster action scores and want a variation on that genre that,
despite its ills, provides a fascinating set of twists on those familiar
sounds.
Avoid it... if you don't like to reprogram or rearrange your soundtracks into custom listening experiences, because Wanted will likely benefit the various types of Danny Elfman collectors in only parts of the work.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Wanted: (Danny Elfman) Doesn't everybody at some
point sit in their cubicle at work and wonder if there is a higher
calling in life (outside of those obnoxious Scientology ads on
television, of course)? Perhaps The Matrix glorified this premise
as it could best be imagined, though 2008's Wanted takes another
slow-motion, bullet-flying, and car-spinning stab at the idea. The
Hollywood directorial debut of Kazakh director Timur Bekmambetov, this
double-studio event was generally praised as being dumb fun by the
rounds of critics but, despite some obvious sex appeal of lead actress
Angelina Jolie, didn't fare as well as hoped at the box office. The
young man in a dead end job and without a life to speak of in
Wanted is destined for a fate tied to a Jedi-like fraternity of
assassins, informed of his absentee father's membership by none other
than Morgan Freeman and expected to avenge himself of his father's
betrayal and murder. Having Jolie there to kick him in the ass and
provide other forms of stimulation doesn't hurt, either. In its genre,
Wanted owes much to The Matrix and Spider-Man, and
it is likely in part due to composer Danny Elfman's long history in the
reluctant superhero genre that he was offered this assignment. Elfman's
tenure in the Spider-Man franchise did not end well, and he had
subsequently explored classical writing for concerts and ballet,
documentary film music, and even some high profile involvement in
politics courtesy of the collective fear of one governor of Alaska.
While 2008 would prove to tax Elfman's abilities in a number of genres
and yield him awards consideration for his efforts in the second half,
Wanted defies the boundaries of usual summer thrillers in terms
of Elfman's attention to the intricacies of its music. It's easy to say
that Elfman over-thought this assignment; any number of less capable
composers would have been able to stir up the adrenaline adequately with
a synthetically pounding score for this event. But more fascinating
about Wanted is Elfman's ability to take stylistic pieces from
both his superhero music of the past and combine them with stereotypes
of the genre in general and still produce a remarkably unique piece of
music that transcends even his own trademark sounds at times.
Ironically, one could probably make a case that Standard Operating
Procedure contains more "Elfmanisms" than Wanted, though the
latter score is easily more engaging in its wild personality, a
characteristic that definitely ties the work to Elfman's devious
side.
On the surface, Elfman's genre-bending bombast for Wanted may seem either unorganized or overwhelming in its tone. Indeed, for some listeners, these characteristics will prove too irrational at times and yield a headache. The mid-section of Wanted, while maintaining loyalty to Elfman's constructs, does wander off course at times. But that doesn't account for the fact that Elfman's journey in this score, while unpredictable in its application of predictable sounds, is quite intelligently rendered even in its most flamboyant portions. It is a thinking man's blend of rock and orchestra, a presentation of processed sounds that not only function in this context, but are, at the very least, interesting to behold. The primary theme for Wanted is a vaguely Russian piece that revolves around one surprisingly elegant phrase that repeats in creative spurts to form continuous harmony at times. Heard almost immediately in "Success Montage," this theme's most intriguing performances are often carried by solo oboe or other unexpected instruments; the last minute or so of "Rats" is particularly clever. An electric guitar motif for the primary character is joined by two ideas for Jolie's persona, the first a mean ostinato on low strings and the latter a yearning piece for female vocal effects and, oddly, a duduk. The ostinatos that Elfman employs (and especially those that smoothen out into straight pounding) are perhaps a carry-over from the popular employment of that technique by Hans Zimmer, but without Zimmer's overbearing, droning bass mix, Elfman's equivalent in Wanted is strikingly sharp. It's tempting to say that the employment of vocals and duduk is a reprise of a sound that went awry in Hulk, but Elfman's handling of the sound here produces extremely attractive tones in "Fox's Story" and "Fox's Decision" without resorting to bland, over-generalized harmonics. The motif for the primary character is equally deceptive, actually based upon a four-note motif from Elfman's rock song "The Little Things" that accompanies the picture. Several diversions from the norm for typical orchestral and synthetic action blends include smart employment of the electric guitar as Jerry Goldsmith would have done, as one member of the ensemble rather than a standout solo piece. Electronica loops and pre-recorded percussion rhythms are applied in ways not unfamiliar to Graeme Revell's industrial sounds (though in lighter variations, both David Arnold and Craig Armstrong music will come to mind). A slight retro synthetic effect in "Exterminator Beat" is joined by straight forward wailing electric guitar blurts in "Revenge." The processed sound of the guitar and loops utilized by Elfman is countered by the composer's typically morbid sense of melodrama coming from the orchestra, though late in "The Train," one of the synthetic loops does suggest the worst effects of indigestion. Another unique element in the music for Wanted is Elfman's handling of the secret society, which receives neo-classical treatment in "Fraternity Suite" complete with clanging metallic sounds of austere, religious importance and deep, fluid Latin chanting from a male chorus. This sound, led by forceful string chops that remind of Zimmer's Backdraft, only partly evolves at the end of "Welcome to the Fraternity," one of the score's unfortunate missteps. A reprise of mixed choral tones at the end of "Fox's Decision" is a more familiar vocalized Elfman sound. After all the frantic movement and practical wall of sound heard in the action music in Wanted (often reaching the density of Hellboy II: The Golden Army), the redemption for some listeners will come in the final three cues, utilizing high strings (as a replacement for the synthetic elements) to create a more organic sense of direction and resolution to the score. In "Fate," Elfman even builds the ostinato and chopping motif into a bold crescendo not unlike many of his other superhero scores. A lack of prominent role for the flowing title theme in this closing cue is a disappointment. As a listening experience, Wanted does need to be divided into its components, for it contains material that will appeal to both Elfman's contemporary Mission: Impossible fans and those who long for the composer's morbidly tragic melodies from the early 1990's. With the five or six most hyperactive action tracks removed from the presentation, a very strong and harmonious collection of the ethereal and more conservatively determined material will result. Otherwise, Wanted, like Men in Black, may be a little too spread all over the musical landscape for some listeners. An added treat is Elfman's own rock song original to the film; "The Little Things" not only gives his vintage fans a chance to hear his voice in its original context, but the song defies categorization in any subgenre of rock music, giving Wanted a hard-nosed but distinct sound to extend its muscle outside of the underscore. In the end, Wanted is an admirable score with many highlights, though Elfman's attempt to draw his ideas into a cohesive evolution falls short in a few key places. It's a hell of a romp, though, and any formula film should count itself fortunate to have such richly textured and interesting twists on the norm in its music. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 48:06
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers, but no extra information
about the score or film.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Wanted are Copyright © 2008, Lakeshore Records and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 9/3/09 (and not updated significantly since). |
