MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

There aren’t many bonafide movie stars these days; actors or actresses who can will a film into production, attract top notch support, and get audiences flowing into cinemas, purely on the strength of their charisma and appeal. Tom Cruise is one of the few who can still do that in Hollywood, and his latest film – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One – is an action blockbuster tailored to his unique blend of movie-making. Cruise returns for the seventh time as IMF Special Agent Ethan Hunt, the all-action leader of a team of spies saving the world from clandestine threats and evil super-villains. In this latest film, the threat is a piece of rogue artificial intelligence nicknamed ‘The Entity,’ which was designed to sabotage digital systems, but has since achieved sentience and ‘gone rogue’ with the capability to infiltrate all of the world’s major defense, military, and intelligence networks. Control of the Entity is obtained by way of a specific type of key, which various powers attempt to obtain, while Hunt and his team try to stop the key from falling into the wrong hands – one of whom is a shadowy figure from Hunt’s own past.

Once this exposition around the central maguffin is out of the way, the rest of the film unfolds at a breakneck pace, and is filled with numerous spectacular car chases, fight sequences, high-tech espionage thrills, and some utterly mind-boggling stunt work, most of which was performed, for real, by Cruise and his co-stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, and Pom Klementieff. It’s a wonderful piece of escapist cinema, hugely entertaining, a true summer blockbuster. The film is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who also directed the previous Mission: Impossible instalments, Rogue Nation in 2015 and Fallout in 2018, and it ends with a perfect cliffhanger, setting up Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part Two, scheduled for release in 2024.

The score for Dead Reckoning Part One is by Scottish composer Lorne Balfe, and is his second stab at the Mission: Impossible franchise. The recent renaissance of Lorne Balfe’s career – the ‘lornaissance’ as I have sometimes called it – has been one of the most satisfying things to happen to film music in the last few years. The overwhelming majority of his recent scores – The Tomorrow War, Black Widow, Silent Night, Rumble, Black Adam, His Dark Materials, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – have been enormously impressive to me, and appear to me to be the work of a composer who is now fully comfortable in his own musical skin, free to be as fun and creative as he wants to be, whereas in the past he was perhaps a little reigned in or suppressed by his employers, and possibly by other factors too.

Longtime readers of this site will know that I was not a huge fan of Mission: Impossible – Fallout. My concluding paragraph of that review read “it’s not the fact that Balfe uses rhythms rather than melodies, or the fact that there is just as much synth as there is orchestra, that is the problem. It’s the fact that, too often, the music feels lifeless. There’s so much scope for there to be wonderfully complicated and invigorating percussion patterns driving the action along, for there to be cool and ballsy brass combinations, and for the strings to do more than simply chug along in basic repetitive ostinatos, but Balfe almost never seizes the opportunity. Ever since it first debuted in the 1960s Mission: Impossible has been about swaggering cool, and the almost complete lack of that in this score is what ultimately makes it so disappointing.”

Thankfully, absolutely none of that is the case with Dead Reckoning Part One. Right from the get-go, Balfe’s music feels fresh and stimulating, lively and exciting, and is filled with so much dense, complex, intricate writing for orchestra and percussion that it almost becomes mesmerizing. As the film’s production and subsequent post-production process was affected massively by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Balfe ultimately decided to make use of five orchestral ensembles in order to get all the music recorded – one in London, one in Rome, one in Vienna, and one in Budapest, plus a special ensemble of percussionists recorded in Basel, Switzerland – with different sequences of music being recorded as the film was being shot in the different locations. Balfe says he did this not only because of the way the production occurred, but also because he ‘wanted to be “pure and honest” at depicting the authenticity throughout the film’ by using musicians from the actual locale. He subsequently decided to use the Top Secret Drum Corps percussion group from Basel after McQuarrie and Cruise saw a performance by them at Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee birthday honors concert in 2022, and they suggested that they could be used in the score.

Thematically, the score leans heavily on both the original Mission: Impossible TV music, and on a couple of the thematic ideas Balfe introduced in Fallout, notably the ‘Ethan’s Burden’ theme that has become a recurring idea for the character. Regarding his use of Lalo Schifrin’s original themes, Balfe said in an interview with Jazz Tangcay for Variety that he intentionally “embraced it,” further explaining how “that DNA is well connected throughout the film. It’s connected to Ethan’s theme and the main opening titles.” As such, both the Mission: Impossible Theme and the Plot theme are woven deep into the fabric of the score; like he did on Fallout, Balfe presents full statements of both themes, but also breaks both themes down into smaller motifs and rhythmic elements that form the core of the score’s framework, while underpinning much of the action material. Once again, Balfe was able to adopt many of Lalo Schifrin’s quirks of orchestration, notably the increased use of bongos in the percussion section, to an exceptionally satisfying degree. The statements of the Mission: Impossible Theme in the “Opening Titles,” “Hit It,” and the conclusive “Curtain Call” are wonderfully enjoyable, as are the prominent statements of the Plot theme in “This is Not a Drill,” “The Plot Thickens,” and others.

Regarding the ‘Ethan’s Burden’ theme, in the same interview with Variety Balfe says he went into a darker space for the chord progressions for this film than he did on Fallout, specifically revealing that he “went back and looked at Sergei Rachmaninoff and Igor Stravinsky and reinvented what was already there … taking that and delving into the emotional and tragic vocabulary, but twisting it differently.” This theme for Ethan is actually probably the most prominent thematic idea in the score; it is used in its full, complete form as part of the outstanding action sequences “Get Out Now” and “Chasing Grace,” both of which scenes in which Tom Cruise is engaging in his now-iconic sprinting, but then throughout much of the rest of the score it is reduced down to a three note motif – which itself is also a variation on the first three notes of the main theme – that acts as a herald, either for Ethan himself, for the members of the IMF, or for the mission as a whole. It’s everywhere in the score, front and center, and is usually carried by bold, weighty brass underpinned by throbbing strings and more of that rampant, raucous percussion.

The one new theme original to this score is the motif for the Entity itself, and for its counterpart Gabriel. The Entity motif is a two-note phrase performed on high wavering strings over a bed of unusual electronic textures, which seek to capture both the A.I. essence of the rogue computer program, and the very human element of Gabriel. You can hear it most prominently in “A Ghost in the Machine,” acknowledging the moment that it fatefully takes control of the Sevastopol submarine, and it features later in cues such as “The Entity,” “You Are Dunn,” “He Calls Himself Gabriel,” “A Most Probable Next,” and others, but like the concept itself the theme is somewhat amorphous and fleeting, sort of ominously lurking in the background rather than really dominating the score.

The album itself can be split roughly into four or five main sequences: the submarine-set opening deep beneath the Bering Sea (“The Sevastopol” through to “The Sum of Our Choices”), the set piece in Abu Dhabi International Airport (“This Is Not a Drill” through to “A Colourful Past”), the extended car chase through Rome (“Rush Hour in Rome” through to “Hit It”), the more introspective and emotional Venice sequence (“Run As Far As You Can” through to “Ponte Dei Conzafelzi”) and then the climatic scene on the Orient Express as it speeds through the Alps (“Murder and The Orient Express” through to “Countdown”), which includes the now iconic clifftop motorcycle jump that Cruise performs, and which is underscored by the “Leap of Faith” cue. There are some string-based linking cues and more low-key moments that bridge them, and I might have placed one or two cues in the wrong set, but basically that’s the gist of the album structure.

I will say, though, that yet again, the album is much, much, MUCH too long. With a running time of just a hair under two hours, it’s a feat of endurance on the part of the listener to actually get through this in one sitting, which is my preferred method of experiencing a film score album. As I said in my review of The Flash, for me, a soundtrack is all about the dramatic narrative journey the composer is taking me on, and the album is supposed to present a representation of the drama, with a sensible flow and structure. Having a composer, or an album producer, capable of curating that experience is starting to become a lost art form, and for people like me, who more often than not don’t have the time to devote to listening to an album that long, it means that instead you have to listen to it in chunks – which means that you don’t fully get to appreciate the impact of what the music is actually doing from a dramatic standpoint. I’m going to keep banging on about this for quite some time, I fear.

But, even taking that into consideration, there are still plenty of moments worthy of significant praise, in addition to those already mentioned. “The Phantom” is a terrific, tense action sequence, exciting and nerve-wracking, built around some wonderful percussion rhythms. The “Dead Reckoning Opening Titles” augments Schifrin’s classic theme with the Swiss drumline ensemble and a choir to exhilarating effect. The way Balfe interweaves large-scale performances of the three-note motif, the Ethan motif, and the Plot motif in “This Is Not a Drill” is a burst of kinetic energy. The scampering, insistent interplay between violins and cellos in “The Plot Thickens” has a terrific caper-like feel, and is greatly enhanced by the bass flute guest slot. The intense piano line that underpins most of “You Are Dunn” is outstanding, and reminded me of James Horner in his 1990s prime.

The swaggering rhythms in “Rush Hour in Rome” are excellent, as are the more muscular and punchy percussive ideas running through “Roman Getaway”. There’s some pretty, elegant, classically textured string writing towards the end of “He Calls Himself Gabriel” that speaks to the relationship between Ethan and Rebecca Ferguson’s character Ilsa, and which reaches its emotional zenith in the quite devastating “Ponte Dei Conzafelzi”. In between, “Run As Far As You Can” features a bank of wonderfully throaty horns, “Chasing Grace” revisits the ‘Tom Running’ variation on Ethan’s theme to rousing effect, and “I Was Hoping It’d Be You” adds an appropriate level of swash and buckle and dramatic intensity to Ilsa and Gabriel’s sword fight.

“Murder and The Orient Express” is dark and brutal and almost overwhelmingly portentous, Balfe’s strings chugging in unison with the engine of the famous luxury train. Subsequent cues such as “Mask of Lies,” “Key Details,” “The Moment of Truth” and “Consequences” continue the sense of mystery and intrigue as Balfe’s strings shift ominously underneath the endless scenes of subterfuge, punctuated with explosions of sassy, sexy jazz. Tom Cruise’s daring motorcycle leap from a clifftop is given an appropriate amount of bravado and sensation in “Leap of Faith,” and then the final train crash plunge over an exploded bridge is captured in the superb, white-knuckle pair “Chaos on the Line” and “Countdown,” and then we can all breathe again… until Dead Reckoning Part Two next year.

Despite all this positive prose, the score is not without its negative aspects, above and beyond the extreme length of the album itself. Anyone who has still not warmed to the Hans Zimmer-inspired contemporary action sound that Balfe espouses here will still find themselves making the same old criticisms, irrespective of how much energy and panache Balfe brings to the table. Anyone who finds the lack of subtlety in modern blockbuster scoring overpowering will do so again here; Balfe doesn’t let up with the drums and enormous banks of brass for the entire running time, which may result in some listeners feeling like they have been bludgeoned by the music. One thing that I also noted is the fact that Balfe doesn’t alter the instrumental texture of his music very much – I might have enjoyed, say, a version of the Mission Impossible theme arranged with an Italian flair over the establishing shots of Rome, to give the score a little geographic specificity – but that doesn’t happen here, which is perhaps a little disappointing. Finally, anyone who is still lamenting the fact that Joe Kraemer was summarily dropped from the franchised after Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation will continue to miss his presence.

Overall, though, and if you can get over the immense running time of the album, I found Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One to be a wholly satisfying score, and a significant step forward from Mission: Impossible – Fallout that is very much in line with the progression of Balfe’s career as a whole over the past few years. The respect he pays to Lalo Schifrin’s iconic themes is admirable, and the way he makes those legendary pieces a part of the fabric of the score is impressive. The statements of, and variations on, the theme for Ethan from the last film are appropriate and at times terrifically crowd-pleasing, and the action music in general packs a huge kinetic punch. This is one of the most enjoyable action scores of the year, and bodes well for what (potentially) will be the franchise finale next year.

Buy the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One soundtrack from the Movie Music UK Store

Track Listing:

• The Sevastopol (2:07)
• The Phantom (3:06)
• Collision Alarm (1:31)
• A Ghost in the Machine (2:39)
• The Sum of Our Choices (1:24)
• Dead Reckoning Opening Titles (1:13)
• The Entity (3:23)
• Your Mission… (2:35)
• This Is Not a Drill (2:13)
• The Plot Thickens (8:22)
• You Are Dunn (5:55)
• Get Out Now (1:57)
• A Colourful Past (3:11)
• Rush Hour in Rome (3:33)
• Roman Getaway (2:47)
• You’re Driving (2:04)
• Hit It (2:11)
• He Calls Himself Gabriel (6:23)
• A Most Probable Next (5:20)
• Run As Far As You Can (1:59)
• You Are Done (3:28)
• Chasing Grace (2:51)
• I Was Hoping It’d Be You (1:42)
• Ponte Dei Conzafelzi (2:19)
• To Be a Ghost (2:22)
• What Is Your Objective (4:28)
• Murder and The Orient Express (3:34)
• Mask of Lies (2:37)
• I Missed the Train (3:06)
• Key Details (3:36)
• The Moment of Truth (2:18)
• Should You Choose to Accept (1:59)
• Leap of Faith (1:37)
• Consequences (1:41)
• You Stop the Train (3:48)
• Chaos on the Line (2:49)
• Countdown (2:54)
• This Was the Plan (6:15)
• Curtain Call (1:02)

Running Time: 118 minutes 19 seconds

Sony Music Entertainment/Paramount Music (2023)

Music composed by Lorne Balfe. London orchestra conducted by James Brett and Gavin Greenaway. Rome orchestra conducted by Ernest Van Tiel. Vienna orchestra conducted by Gottfried Rabl. Budapest orchestra conducted by Zoltan Pad. Orchestrations by Adam Price, Gabriel Chernick, Nicolo Braghiroli, Ben Frost, Aaron King and Harry Brokensha. Original Mission: Impossible themes by Lalo Schifrin. Additional music by Joshua Pacey, Bobby Tahouri, Stuart Michael Thomas, Adam Price, Peter Adams, Dieter Hartmann, Kevin Riepl, Max Aruj and Kevin Blumenfeld. London sessions recorded and mixed by Geoff Foster, Chris Fogel and Stephen Lipson. Rome sessions recorded and mixed by Fabio Patrignani. Vienna sessions recorded and mixed by Bernd Mazagg. Budpest sessions recorded and mixed by Denes Redly. Edited by Cecile Tournesac. Album produced by Lorne Balfe and Cecile Tournesac.