MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

I’m going to start my review of Dragonheart II with the old chestnut “why doesn’t this composer get more work?” But you have to understand that, when I say that, I really do mean it. It pains me to see talentless hacks rise to the top of the scoring ladder writing bland action music for bland action movies, while imaginative, artistic composers like Mark McKenzie are stuck doing orchestrations for other people and scoring straight-to-video sequels like this movie. Other than the score and the special effects, there was very little going for the original Dragonheart – and certainly not enough to warrant a sequel. The screenplay was poor, the execution left a lot to be desired, and as a result it didn’t do particularly well at the box office. But despite all that, here it is – director Doug Lefler’s sword and sorcery follow-up that sees the original dragon’s son, Drake, teaming up with a young vagabond to do battle against evil knights and mysterious Chinese monks in an ancient kingdom. It’s got a great cast – anyone ever heard of Chris Masterson, Henry Van Gorkum or Matt Hickey? – and features Robby Benson (who regularly contributes to Disney animated features) as the voice of the fire-breathing lizard himself.

I’ll put up with all that, though, if it means I have another chance to listen to Randy Edelman’s majestic Dragonheart theme, easily the most respected and well-loved composition of his entire career. In many ways, Edelman actually saved the original movie from being a total flop, his music lending the film a sense of grandeur and nobility it really didn’t deserve. The theme has gone on to become a trailer favourite, rivalling Horner’s ‘Futile Escape’, Goldsmith’s ‘Judge Dredd’ cue and Edelman’s own ‘Fire in a Brooklyn Theatre’ from Come See the Paradise as the epic music of choice these days. Although I have not seen the film itself, I would imagine that McKenzie’s contribution to Dragonheart II was intended to fulfil the same objectives as Edelman’s – mask the film’s dramatic and narrative flaws, and lend the whole thing a polished sheen. Judging by the excellent quality of the music here, I would not be at all surprised if it actually worked.

Appropriately, McKenzie has made Edelman’s Dragonheart theme his melodic starting point, even going so far as to quote it verbatim in the opening ‘Main Titles’ and the subsequent cues ‘Friar Peter Went to Heaven’, ‘Dragon Heaven’ and the conclusive ‘Of My Heart to Thee I Give’. McKenzie has also cleverly adopted some distinctly Edelmanish tendencies in other cues, notably the light-heartedness of ‘Knighthood and the Old Code’ and especially ‘Serenade to the Stars’, which recalls the Mexican Standoff cue from the original. Unlike other sequel scores which completely ignore their musical predecessors, McKenzie’s choice to utilise Edelman’s music is the correct one. It provides a coherent link between the two movies and, by not demanding to write all original material, also shows that McKenzie is not a composer with a massive ego to bruise, a rare thing indeed in any creative profession.

But McKenzie’s original material is just as good anyway, with the staggeringly beautiful love theme ‘My Heart Goes With You’ his most effective contribution. The longing, searching stringwork and clever reliance on minor-key crescendos makes the cue work superbly, and leaves the listener constantly longing for more. Its gentle recapitulation in the sadly short ‘Tai Chee’ is lovely, but less successful is the vocal version of the theme that concludes the album, performed by actress Rona Figueroa with lyrics by screenwriter Shari Goodhartz. It’s a nice song, of course, and the music is lovely, but for some reason Figueroa seems to have some trouble singing it. Whether it’s to do with the complexity of the melodic line, or the fact that it’s written in a very high key I’m not sure, but whatever the case may be Figueroa constantly seems to be straining to reach the top notes, and to sustain them without cracking. It’s a minor point, but still slightly disappointing.

Unusually, some of the action music seems to have been derived from the score for Independence Day, especially during ‘I’m Flying’, ‘Chinese Battle the Knights’ and the massive ‘Terragoth Ambush’, all of which accurately recreate the über-patriotic flourishes of David Arnold’s science fiction epic, the right down to the chord structures, the underlying ostinato and ascending brass countermelodies. This is not to say that these cues are poor – on the contrary, they are marvellously exciting and dramatic. I was just surprised to find myself reminded of Jeff Goldblum and a load of aliens when I had previously been thinking about Dennis Quaid and a talking lizard. And then there are a couple of one-off cues that capture the attention, like the mock-baroque ‘Renaissance Banquet’ with its soprano recorder solo, and the powerful, poignant ‘Prophetic Transformation’.

As an album of film music, Dragonheart: A New Beginning takes some beating, and we should be grateful to Varèse Sarabande for rescuing it from the dusty shelves of the video stores where far too many good scores go unheard. It also shows a glimmer of hope that Mark McKenzie may finally be making some in-roads into carving out a solo composing career for himself, especially after the wholly positive plaudits Dr. Jekyll & Ms. Hyde and Durango received. As far as this score goes, it’s one of the most enjoyable fantasy efforts of the year, and it’s just a shame that it was written for such an undeserving and low-profile movie.

Track Listing:

• Main Title (4:49)
• I’m Flying (2:16)
• Knighthood and the Old Code (1:57)
• Friar Peter Went to Heaven (1:28)
• Lian’s Awesome Fight (1:34)
• My Heart Goes With You – Instrumental (2:16)
• Dungeons, Skeletons and a Dragon (3:42)
• Serenade to the Stars (1:02)
• Dragon Heaven (1:16)
• Roland Bullies Geoff (1:24)
• Renaissence Banquet (1:25)
• Chinese Battle the Knights (2:12)
• Withered Heart Tale (0:52)
• Tai Chee (0:46)
• Terragoth Ambush (2:10)
• Prophetic Transformation (1:20)
• Dragon Fight (1:24)
• My Wise Master and Closest Friend (1:28)
• Of My Heart to Thee I Give (1:41)
• My Heart Goes With You (written by Mark McKenzie and Shari Goodhartz, performed by Rona Figueroa) (3:19)

Running Time: 39 minutes 36 seconds

Varèse Sarabande VSD-6170 (2000)

Music composed by Mark McKenzie. Conducted by Peter Breiner. Performed by The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. Orchestrations by Mark McKenzie, Pat Russ and Warren Sherk. Original Dragonheart themes by Randy Edelman. Featured musical soloist Martina Lesna. Recorded and mixed by Otto Nopp and Armin Steiner. Edited by John Taylor. Album produced by Mark McKenzie.