Poseidon

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Call Hollywood lazy or without inventive twists, but I guess visually Poseidon could lay the bar higher then its counterpart of 1972 namely The Poseidon Adventure, with a legendary Gene Hackman in the roles. And if King Kong is remade today to make sure the most expensive special effects are used, why criticize Wolfgang Petersen for making a second water disaster flick? I'll tell you why, the movie will make us cringe and make us sad, but the fact of the matter is, disaster movies aren't really successful nowadays, Dante's Peak or Volcano are but part of the Hollywood fare that came out with limited success and most earthquake movies are now b-productions for the small screen, it just doesn't work anymore. Hence the reason Poseidon missed its opening these past few weeks at the box office. However what Wolfgang Petersen did admirably was choosing his composers carefully. With Klaus Doldinger, Maurice Jarre, Alan Silvestri, Ennio Morricone, James Newton Howard, Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner he surely tackled the ball firmly in the good sense. Only Troy was his first miscasting even though Horner made something out of it. For Poseidon, Petersen went for upcoming protégé of Hans Zimmer, namely Klaus Badelt. Badelt hit the bullseye with The Promise and naturally we were there to assume Poseidon just might be worth it. Naturally a producer or editor or director still decides at the end what the movie will be portraying musically and thereby I just can't help but wonder that a restraint of invention is the drowning of this score. Poseidon listens as a tested formula, a piece of music that fulfils its role and does everything it needs to do, without little else pushing it along. I said before that you have 2 types of Klaus Badelt wandering around, the one where he symphonically weaves his orchestra to places where fans want him to go (The Time Machine and The Promise) and then you have the efforts in which the orchestra supports the more electronic edge that lays down the rhythm. Many efforts have been made by him and Poseidon can be added to that list. Its not that bad, but I feel a large epic drama ala John Williams just wasn't cool enough to keep the dandy actors happy, nor the viewers apparently.

I ain't even gonna talk about the wannabe Maria Carey (1) or Pink (2) songs because they aren't special any way, Fergie with that I mean. Badelt's score in truth isn't special either but it does function at least with momentum on CD. In 'The Poseidon' it grows from eerie strings to a percussion led main theme, rising with choir to give it a strong proud feel. This is one of the score's most enjoyable tracks but by that it doesn't bring anything remotely new. For 'The Wave' the electronics support the tension building and even mystery around the wave, the rhythmic brass and choir settle the rest in a rather emotional hell. Sadly tracks as 'A Map and a Plan' (low key track with occasional guitar support and a rise from the theme) and 'Fire Dive' with its underused heroic theme statement just bringing moments of noticed score are mere underscore on the CD. In 'Claustrophobia' the score gets again the electronic support, making it almost like a Marco Beltrami effort you're hearing or his Recruit score, basically not brining what you wanted in the end. It does build with a beat to an uplifting theme statement. And while 'Drowning' is effective and even thrilling with its racing percussion, its been done countless times before. 'Don't Look Down' shows the same premise, with the exception that a choir gives it a brief epic feel. And 'Escape' just heralds the main theme optimistically one last time, in good fashion alongside guitar. So basically Poseidon doesn't lack much in effective standards but it doesn't add much in anticipated ears either. Klaus Badelt made an effective score, as other movies have gotten from him in the past too. And maybe that's what Wolfgang Petersen wanted, maybe that's what the movie required, maybe Badelt was just out of breath after his amazing Asian adventure. And what does the movie have to show for that isn't on the CD? You search the answers yourself, Poseidon on CD just delivers you a small amount of effective yet unimpressive disaster fare.

Score: ***
Songs: **

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Won't Let You Fall: Fergie (4.36)

2. Bailamos: Fergie (3.10)

3. Postales: Federico Aubele (4.09)

4. The Poseidon (3.18)

5. The Wave (4.37)

6. A Map And A Plan (2.29)

7. Fire Dive (2.48)

8. Claustrophobia (7.09)

9. Drowning (3.04)

10. Don't Look Down (3.43)

11. Escape (2.41)

Total Length: 41.49

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: Klaus Badelt ===