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| Marianelli |
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: (Dario Marianelli)
After successfully transferring ownership of the
Ghostbusters
franchise to the descendants of Harold Ramis' character, Egon Spengler,
in 2021's
Ghostbusters: Afterlife, the concept explores an
episodic venture teaming those new main characters with some of the
legacy favorites in 2024's
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. The
younger Spenglers now operate the original paranormal-encasing firehouse
in New York that was featured in the first two films of the 1980's, with
assistance received from several original characters. The movie attempts
to be two things at once, telling of a demonic god that seeks to destroy
the city and universe, which is completely normal for the concept, and a
coming of age tale about Phoebe Spengler, who is ostracized in the story
because of her younger age. The new threat to humanity is rather mundane
and not really all that scary, and the comedy of the tale is provided by
the bumbling fool whose destiny it is to defeat the monster with the
help of the original Ghostbusters group. The heart of the story lies
with the Phoebe loneliness portion, however, making
Ghostbusters:
Frozen Empire a surprisingly serious and at times almost boring
experience. The movie lacks the nostalgic appeal and massive heart of
its predecessor, exposing uncertainty about the path forward for both
the new and old characters. Nevertheless, there is enough familiarity in
the movie to suffice, from Dan Aykroyd's lovably outsized role to
hearing someone to refer to William Atherton's returning Walter Peck
character as "dickless." One aspect of the movie that was very curiously
diminished is its music. The iconic Ray Parker Jr. song, "Ghostbusters,"
returns as necessary in the final scene of victory, but the film
otherwise uses only a couple of source songs and pushes its score to
minimal volumes for much of its running time. More than any other
Ghostbusters movie, the soundtrack is largely irrelevant in
advancing the narrative or feel of the experience.
The soundtrack for
Ghostbusters: Afterlife by Rob
Simonsen was an immensely surprising deviation for the composer, but he
turned the assignment into the pinnacle of his career at the time. His
attention to Elmer Bernstein's original 1984 score was extraordinarily
admirable; not only was the faithful reprise of the Bernstein sound
merited due to the return of several story elements from the first film,
but Simonsen proved just how intelligently any franchise's music can be
adapted for new characters. Along the way, Simonsen also wrote a
heartbreaking theme for the Spengler family that rose to magnificence in
the final scenes of that score. Sadly, nothing that he conjured freshly
for
Ghostbusters: Afterlife survives in the score for
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Taking over the director's chair is
Gil Kenan, and with him came his prior collaborator, Dario Marianelli,
for the score. While the loss of Simonsen was immediately lamented, the
addition of Marianelli raised hopes for an equally superb score, as the
composer has not only shown himself to be extremely thoughtful but has
proven his chops in major adventure scores since the 2000's, including
an impressive entry for
Bumblebee in the "Transformers"
franchise. Thankfully, he did emulate Simonsen in one way: he consulted
with Bernstein's son, Peter, to assist in the adaptation of the melodic
pieces and instrumentation from the 1984 score into his own. Marianelli
deserves credit for taking this approach just as Simonsen had, though he
doesn't really succeed to the same precise degree as the prior composer
did. The references to Bernstein are definitely present throughout
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, but they aren't as magical nor
intricate. The ondes martenot is once again performed by Cynthia Millar
just as it was in all its glory years with Bernstein and in
Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and its employment throughout the score
in various emotional guises is really well handled. Marianelli also
employs piano, tuba, and woodwinds in ways highly familiar to the source
of inspiration. He adds these elements to a full orchestra and
occasional choir and synthesizers to produce a broad fantasy and
suspense atmosphere for his score.
Although Marianelli's technical prowess in conjuring
complex action is noteworthy in several instances, his narrative in
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is merely adequate and at times
frustrating. There are some major missed opportunities to drive the
villain material especially, but cues like the non-descript "The Orb"
and some of the action passages tend to obfuscate thematic development.
The foremost loss is the absence of the Spengler theme that Simonsen
wrote for
Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This movie badly needed that
identity to accompany the continued struggles of that family dynamic and
Phoebe in particular. Instead, Marianelli concentrates on bringing back
several motifs from Bernstein's score and three all-new themes that are
hit and miss in quality. Bernstein's main theme is an oddity in
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire because Marianelli, for whatever
reason, opted to never express the idea in its default comedy form. Its
underlying rhythms are relied upon instead, and the melody is certainly
adapted as an action fanfare a few times, but you never get the kind of
affable, full rendition that Simonsen provided. Although the theme may
seem diminished compared to the last score, it is all over this sequel,
starting in large suspense mode at the end of "Manhattan Adventurers
Society." It laces the pursuit nicely at 1:24 into "The Sewer Dragon"
before becoming heroic at 3:30. Noble fragments on trumpet at the start
of "Firehouse" lead to an obtuse rendition of the comedy rhythm. Some of
that upbeat personality is exuded at the start and middle of "Chess in
the Park" and barely influences the end of "Paranormal Research Center."
Bernstein's main theme is lovely at 0:32 into "A Tour of the Firehouse"
alongside the harmonic structure of Marianelli's new main theme, and it
shifts to a balance of action and comedy in the latter half of "Should
We Investigate?" The idea assists in the panic late in "Back to
Headquarters," helps drive the action motif in several places throughout
"New Proton Packs," and vaguely guides the fantasy crescendo at 1:22
into "Possessor's Mistake." It offers its chords and fragmentary melodic
action to the battle early in "Last Frozen Stand" before achieving a
massive, gothic presence with choir at the climax. The comedy rhythm
returns as the victorious gang leaves the firehouse in "The Thawing"
prior to the title song.
The loyalty Marianelli shows towards Bernstein's secondary
constructs is significant, the composer using the related 1984 mystery
and action motifs liberally throughout. The simple rising or falling
ondes martenot pitch represents mystery, and it is sometimes paired with
orchestral pulses to become a tool of action. The mystery version is
heard immediately in "Manhattan Adventurers Society" before it shifts to
pulsating action mode at 0:57 on strings with the ondes martenot in tow.
The action version blasts at the outset of "The Sewer Dragon," guiding
the first minute of the cue, and the familiar, driving action rhythm of
Slimer's advance from 1984 is reprised at 1:10 into "A Ghost in the
Attic." The mystery element toys with the main theme's rhythm at the
beginning of "Chess in the Park" and descends in both "Slimer" and early
in "Dadi's Secret Room." The action variant bursts forth in the middle
of "Should We Investigate?" before the mystery slurs shine on ondes
martenot early in "Dr. Wartzki." The action version opens "The Horns"
and "Back to Headquarters" with haste while the mystery motif returns at
0:41 into "Back to Headquarters" alongside main franchise theme. The
action rhythm is slowed at the start of "New Proton Packs" for more
punch under the mystery motif, the rhythmic pulses then standing alone
at 1:32. The mystery motif stutters early in "Possessor's Mistake," but
both versions of this idea fade away in the score at that point.
Interestingly, Marianelli chose to revisit Bernstein's original Gozer
material as the representation of the villain, Garraka, and ghosts in
general. Hinted at 0:46 into "Manhattan Adventurers Society" and further
previewed on organ at 2:39 into "The Sewer Dragon," this theme opens
"When the Light is Green..." in various guises. It stalks momentarily in
the middle of "Paranormal Research Center," provides mystery at the
beginning of "A Call," is restrained at 1:44 into "Dr. Wartzki" but
emerges with more power at the cue's end, and receives slight references
at the conclusion of "Patience." The villain's theme opens "It's Your
Turn" ominously and builds in the middle of "The Horns" until a
momentous announcement at 1:20, much like the first Gozer arrival. It
provides a fanfare at 1:42 into "New Proton Packs," stews at the start
of "Was Any of it Real?" and surprisingly fails to figure in the
climactic battle music before dying off in the last minute of "Last
Frozen Stand."
Among Marianelli's three new themes for
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, one stands apart in its duties and
placement despite minimal screen time. This new main theme technically
represents the "fabric of the universe," but it is effectively a Melody
and Phoebe love theme. Its wonderfully descending phrases of lament
often extend to secondary figures that supply all the warmth in the
score. Introduced at 0:14 into "Chess in the Park" on ondes martenot and
then violins in suspense, the idea turns serious at 1:59 on the ondes
martenot while maintaining a touch of whimsy. It's a smartly
foreshadowing cue that unfortunately doesn't receive enough volume in
the film's mix. The theme is slightly fanciful but tentative early in "A
Tour of the Firehouse," struggles to emerge late in "Was Any of it
Real?," starts its turn to redemption at 1:01 at "Last Frozen Stand,"
and offers a soothing, breathy tone to the outset of "The Thawing"
before developing nice string lines thereafter. The suite arrangement of
this theme, "In the Fabric of the Universe," follows the Ray Parker Jr.
song and mid-credits scene as the bulk of the credits sequence (with
"New Proton Packs" and the opening logos music after). This suite
concluding the album is an outstanding and gorgeous highlight that
unfortunately doesn't fit with the tone of suggested adventure at the
end of the film. More elusive are the two other new themes of the score
despite their greater prevalence. The idea for the Firemaster is an
exotic, meandering woodwind identity with hints of John Williams
mannerisms, and don't expect to hear more than fragments of this theme
impact the story on screen. In fact, most viewers of the film won't even
know it's there despite Marianelli's smart handling of it on frequent
occasion. The idea is barely present on woodwinds behind thumping piano
at 1:14 into "Manhattan Adventurers Society" and returns with slight
suspense at 0:41 into "Ray's Occult," in which the woodwinds are joined
by muted trumpets. Interestingly, the Firemaster theme is only barely
evident in "Dadi's Secret Room" but mingles well with the Bernstein
mystery material in the first minute of "Dr. Wartzki," influencing much
of the rest of the cue. Allusions to it open "Patience," and its full
form is reprised at 0:20 into "It's Your Turn" in overlapping phrases
for the influence of the character on fire. It reforms to become a
massive action motif in the middle of "Last Frozen Stand" as
appropriate.
The final new theme in
Ghostbusters: Frozen
Empire will also likely leave listeners cold with no impression
whatsoever, representing the Paranormal Research Center and its advanced
ghostbusting technology. This theme receives a slightly militaristic
persona at the outset of "Paranormal Research Center" that is reprised
largely intact at 0:15 into "A Call." Thereafter, the idea is more
restrained, shifting to piano solace in the middle of "A Tour of the
Firehouse" in a rare moment of obvious placement for the score in the
film's mix. The motif's chords only open "Ionic Separator" on
synthesizer while the proper theme joins after about a minute. It yields
to extremely sad piano and string shades for that scene in a
tear-jerking moment of betrayal, and enthusiasts of James Horner's score
for
Casper may find some ironically similar treatment of the
concept in this cue. The Paranormal Research Center theme recurs once
again as its technology saves the day while merging with the main
franchise theme at 0:25 into "New Proton Packs." No other motif makes a
major impact on the score, with something of a Possessor motif utilizing
clanging metallic instrumentation in "Possessor's Mistake" but not
defining that particular ghost well enough elsewhere. These efficient
but forgettable themes together really don't form the kind of cohesive
narrative needed for
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire to thrive. Some
listeners may blame this nagging malaise on the lack of definitive new
material for the rather shallow villain while others may struggle to
expand the pretty but melancholy love theme to the Spengler family as a
whole. In reality, Simonsen's Spengler family theme could have sufficed
entirely for the love theme here and would have naturally served the
evolution of the relationships on screen. Instead, you have a score that
is technically smart and contains no overt weak points, the loyalty in
adapting Bernstein's music more satisfying than it could have been. In
the end, though, Marianelli's competent and occasionally impressive toil
for this film simply reinforces the achievement realized by Simonsen for
the previous film. Those who wish to appreciate any of the finer points
of Marianelli's score will need to do so on the digital or CD album due
to the film's unforgivable diminishment of the music in the mix, and the
beautiful "In the Fabric of the Universe" alone supports a fourth star.
As with the relationship between Phoebe and Melody in this picture, the
music of the
Ghostbusters franchise is now a shell of what it has
been and could be.
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- Music as Written for the Film: ***
- Music as Heard on Album: ****
- Overall: ***
| Bias Check: |
For Dario Marianelli reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.64
(in 11 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 3.33
(in 5,489 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
|
The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
