by Ryan Keaveney

Music Composed by John Powell
Rating: ****

It has taken three attempts by three different composers to get the music for the popular X-Men franchise right. Michael Kamen’s score to X-Men, with all due respect, made no sense to me. There were no big themes to grab hold of. The X-Men series, which crams as many superheroes into a two-hour film as can be attempted by man, would kill any composer trying to assign a leitmotif for each of the major characters. But one strong, memorable theme is absolutely necessary to represent the whole X-Men team. John Ottman picked up the baton and ran a bit further with his X-Men 2 score. Finally, there was an X-Men theme… Unfortunately Ottman rarely presented the theme in all its glory, defeating the purpose of writing a big, memorable theme for the X-Men. Unfortunately, the only thing most people remember about X-Men 2’s score (despite being one of the composer’s best efforts) is the Mozart quotation at the beginning of the film.

John Powell

Finally, John Powell takes the baton and runs to the finish line with X-Men 3. Finally, a big memorable theme! Actually there’s at least 2-3 memorable themes (and a handful of sub-themes and motives). Powell crafts an X-Men theme not entirely different from Ottman’s (this probably wasn’t by choice), but uses it often and weaves it into the score for a variety of different situations. There’s also a secondary theme, the “Phoenix” theme which gets as much playtime as his X-Men theme, and is just as memorable, if not more so.

In a brisk 6/8 meter, Powell’s X-Men theme charges forward with the pomp and might of a Wagnerian march. The accompaniment may remind you of another famous superhero theme… It firsts appears in “Bathroom Titles,” with the same orchestration appearing in a few other cues (”Attack on Alcatraz,” “The Last Stand”) Powell is able to adapt the theme for emotional scenes in the film such as the “Funeral” cue where the theme takes a more appropriately sorrowful tone.

The Phoenix theme, with its exotic augmented seconds (read: it sounds a bit Arabic), makes its first spectacular appearance in “Whirlpool of Love.” This is where Powell also unleashes the female choir, which often accompanies many of the bigger statements of the theme. It should be noted, however, that Powell brings the choir to the fore quite a bit in this score… which reminded me a bit of some of Goldsmith’s great choral writing. The penultimate track “Phoenix Rises” has one of the best marriages of choir and orchestra heard in a recent film score. Many of my favorite moments in the score revolve around this theme. “Dark Phoenix’s Tragedy” is a fantastic action moment in the score as the theme is presented stoically in the strings with all kinds of rhythmic brass figures dancing around it.

The album is a somewhat enjoyable listen (Powell rarely bores). The first half of the album is a bit of a slow burn to the second half of the album which is sustained action until the denouement in “The Last Stand.” Anyone familiar with Powell’s music knows the composer’s stamina for keeping up with last reels comprised entirely of action sequences. The action is relentless from “Building Bridges” to “Phoenix Rises.” Again, anyone familiar with Powell’s music should know what to expect here…

X-Men 3 is by far the strongest score of this franchise. John Powell, who at this point is now one of the top composers in town, doesn’t miss a beat with this score. People perhaps afraid that Powell was going to make this third X-Men score into a hybrid of electronics and orchestra a la Mr. and Mrs. Smith or The Bourne Supremacy have nothing to fear whatsoever. 95% of X-Men: The Last Stand is pure orchestra with a huge heaping of women’s choir. There is sampled percussion and a few electronic loops, but it’s all transparent. If one were to find fault with this score, it’s that perhaps there’s nothing new is presented. Powell definitely doesn’t re-invent the superhero score with X-Men: The Last Stand. But then again, does he really need to? There’s nothing in this score we haven’t heard before. That said, all of the elements are blended together nearly perfectly (themes, orchestration, lots of bang). John Powell’s X-Men 3 is indeed one of the most solid efforts put forth in this genre.

Music Composed, Programmed and Arranged by John Powell; Orchestrated by Brad Dechter, Bruce Fowler, Randy Kerber, John Ashton Thomas, Suzette Moriarty, Rick Giovanazzo, Kevin Kliesch, Conrad Pope, Walt Fowler and Ken Kugler; Orchestra Conducted by Pete Anthony; Recorded and Mixed by Shawn Murphy; Album Produced by John Powell; Label: Varese Sarabande (302 066 732 2); Availability: In-print; U.S. Release Date: May 23, 2006.

01. 20 Years Ago (1′10)
02. Bathroom Titles (1′09)
03. The Church of Magneto/Raven Is My Slave Name (2′40)
04. Meet Leech, Then Off To the Lake (2′37)
05. Whirlpool of Love (2′04)
06. Examining Jean (1′12)
07. Dark Phoenix (1′28)
08. Angel’s Cure (2′34)
09. Jean and Logan (1′39)
10. Dark Phoenix Awakes (1′45)
11. Rejection Is Never Easy (1′09)
12. Magneto Plots (2′05)
13. Entering the House (1′18)
14. Dark Phoenix’s Tragedy (3′18)
15. Farewell to X (0′30)
16. The Funeral (2′52)
17. Skating On the Pond (1′12)
18. Cure Wars (2′57)
19. Fight in the Woods (3′06)
20. St Lupus Day (3′03)
21. Building Bridges (1′16)
22. Shock and No Oars (1′15)
23. Attack on Alcatraz (4′36)
24. Massacre (0′31)
25. The Battle of the Cure (4′20)
26. Phoenix Rises (6′29)
27. The Last Stand (5′29)

Total Playing Time: 71′27