Is it too much to expect a soundtrack to an action film to have
a score which has a little more of a rock beat to it?
That is precisely what I found myself thinking as I listened to
the soundtrack to
Thunderbirds, yet another film this year scored by Hans
Zimmer (who must be earning some serious overtime pay). With an
action-packed theme and kicking off the soundtrack with a
beat-oriented version of “Thunderbirds Are Go! Original TV Series
Theme,” you can’t help but think that this is going to be an
exciting listen.
Alas, we’re wrong. The score quickly dissolves back into
traditional film scoring with no real excitement to the listener.
While there are passages which suggest serious action on the
screen, it doesn’t have the same kind of snap that one would have
expected, and ends up disappointing on several levels.
Okay, I can understand utilizing the traditional school of film
scoring for portions of the soundtrack. Tracks like “Can’t Wait To
Be A Thunderbird” and “International Rescue” do set the proper tone
for the action I can imagine to be occurring on the screen. And, in
these instances, Zimmer does utilize his craft well, keeping the
listener interested in what is happening, both in the speakers and
in their minds.
Yet
Thunderbirds is an action movie, and the score sadly is
lacking in that kind of energy one would think the music called
for. Tracks like “The Hood,” “You Need To Grow Up,” “Thunderize!”
and “Buggy Chase” don’t have much snap – or much of anything, for
that matter. The soundtrack quickly becomes background material –
and while I am no film expert, I would like to think the music
should be as much a part of the mood as the action on-screen.
Closing the disc with a take on “Thunderbirds Are GO!” done by
Busted is a nice idea, but it does make me wonder who the film
(and, in part, the soundtrack) was marketed toward. People my age
and a little older remember
Thunderbirds as those freaky marionettes on the television
show; while the film is definitely marketed towards re-generating
the brand name for today’s youth, it almost feels like Zimmer aimed
for the teeny-boppers with this selection. I don’t quite know if it
was an appropriate move.
Thunderbirds is a typical soundtrack which could have been a
spectacular one, had Zimmer thought outside of the box in terms of
the music and its structure. A little less orchestra, a little more
drums and electronic noises a la keyboards, and you would have had
a disc that could have gone from zero to MACH-3 in ten seconds.
