Dragonball: Evolution Soundtrack Review
Another Thrilling Action Score from Brian Tyler
Apr 9, 2009 David Abraham Dueck
Brian Tyler, one of the film scoring industry’s brightest up-and-coming composers, is renowned for his thrilling orchestral action scores. Dragonball: Evolution is his latest action-adventure tour-de-force in an already impressive discography, and while it does not depart in any great way from his most well-loved scores, it remains a solidly engaging, robust, and complex musical thrill ride.
Familiar Tyler Orchestrations and Tone in Dragonball
Brian Tyler is known for his very organic scores: his music is typically very orchestral, and when he uses electronics, they are integrated quite seamlessly and tastefully with his larger ensembles. Even in his more pop-music-based scores such as Fast & Furious and War, Tyler seems to make sure that his electronics are only present where they are most suitable; and this certainly holds true in Dragonball.
Dragonball: Evolution is orchestral for the bulk of its running time, and features instrumentations, rhythms, and even chord progressions that are extremely reminiscent of his other, more high-profile scores such as Children of Dune and Partition. Even so, the fresh immediacy and visceral bombast of Dragonball makes it engaging enough that even the most familiar of Tyler’s devices (such as the Holst-like rhythms of “Dragonball Evolution” or the thudding, relentless percussion work in “Fulums”) retain an invigorating, infectious, full-bodied sound lacking in many electronics-based action scores.
Differences in Dual Musical Styles in Tyler’s Score
Electronics are not wholly absent from Dragonball’s score, however. Tyler’s most obvious use of electronics in this particular score is in the rock/metal cues, first heard briefly in the seventh track, “Master Roshi” and heard again sporadically through the rest of the album. Although the edgy contemporary sound of these cues no doubt is perfectly fitting in the film’s context, they do not blend well with the more traditional orchestral elements (although it is admittedly a stretch to call Tyler’s orchestral music “traditional”). Within the context of the album, these moments are largely forgettable.
Dragonball Soundtrack is Exciting, Not Groundbreaking
The only real problem with the album is that, despite its obvious attractions and incredibly enjoyable sound, it deviates very little, stylistically, from other, better scores by Brian Tyler. The sheer majestic fantasy of Children of Dune and the furious heart-pounding thunder of Eagle Eye are easily more memorable.
Had Tyler written this score five years ago, it would undoubtedly seem much more impressive, but the fact remains that Tyler’s body of work has been not only amazingly prolific but also very consistent, and Dragonball: Evolution simply lacks enough musical distinction to stand out from the rest of his soundtracks. Its quality and enjoyability are indisputable; its only shortcoming is its lack of a distinctly original musical direction, which admittedly was not required by a film of this kind.
Summary
Brian Tyler’s score is a solid action-adventure romp which, typically for the composer, is very muscular and robust. Also, it is easily enjoyable and certainly technically splendid: his action cues are as florid and amazingly layered and dense as usual, and his themes are fluid and majestic. Some may call it a simple rehashing of Tyler’s previous masterpieces, but even so it is definitely preferable to an amazing amount of concurrent action and thriller scores, and Brian Tyler’s consistency and proficiency in orchestral action scoring is very admirable. Recommended.
See also: Eagle Eye Soundtrack Review
Dragonball: Evolution Soundtrack Album Cover
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Brian Tyler, Composer
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