Power Anthems: Part 2

X-Men: First Class-Henry Jackman
For the most part, Henry Jackman's scores (like John Powell's) have been more complex and orchestrally adventurous than those from his fellow MV/RC graduates. But for Matthew Vaughn's impressive follow-up to Kick-Ass, Jackman composed a simple, robust anthem for Xavier's mutants and their emerging heroism. While best heard in its full form in the track "First Class," (actually the last part of the end credits) Jackman also incorporates more adventurous, higher-tempo variations in the cues for the lengthy final battle. The ten-note melody is interesting in that it sounds like it's going to resolve in note eight, but instead rises up for the conclusive descending figure.

Speed/Speed 2: Cruise Control-Mark Mancina
The noble, surprisingly evocative main theme for Speed is a catchy tune that is played with more of an orchestral sound than the typical power anthem, and even gets a tender piano and string rendition in the end credits of the first film. There is also more standard, minor-mode anthem that often follows the main theme as well as a staccato six-note action motif. The score for the second film introduces even more themes. In addition to the Caribbean-style love theme and chromatic villain theme, there are no less than three distinct anthems. Having not seen the film, I have no idea what each relates to, but one is a faster-paced one introduced in the opening "Motorcycle Chase", one is a more triumphant fanfare heard in "Last Lifeboat," and the last is the most power anthem-y of them, heard in "Final Chase" and the commercially-unreleased cue "Tuneman." Mancina's score for Speed would have a large influence on the action music of the rising Media Ventures "club."

Twister-Mark Mancina
Although Twister contains a lively Copland-esque theme (introduced in "Wheatfield") and a wondrous theme representing the awesome power of tornadoes (best heard in "God's Finger"), it also contains one of my personal favorite power anthems. The climatic cue "Mobile Home" includes a pounding ostinato that leads into the impressive anthem, which is modulated upward for its second statement before returning to the ostinato and climaxing with a dramatic rendition of the Copland-esque theme. This cue segues right into the splendor of "God's Finger," and they are a pair of cues that I play often.

BLOOD+-Mark Mancina
For this ambitious anime series, Mancina composed several themes, two of them fitting in the "power anthem" category.  "Saya's Victory" introduces a triumphant theme that reminds me a little of his superb work on Tarzan, while "BLOOD+ Grand Theme" is a dramatic march (with the inevitable Mars/Holst-inspired section.) The whole score is full of riches, from tender passages and raging action to a fantastic aria.

Antz-Harry Gregson-Willams and John Powell
This isn't the first score to spring to mind when one thinks "power anthem," and indeed, this gem of a score is in a category of its own. But the theme for General Mandible does fit into this category. While it is introduced on exotic instruments, male choir soon enters and exposes the theme for what it really is. A high-energy variation of the theme is played during the termite battle. The fact that this is actually one of the more minor themes in this theme-heavy score illustrates the strength of the composition as a whole.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty/Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater/Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots-Harry Gregson-Williams
For the second installment of this complex video game series, Gregson-Willams "power anthem-ized" the theme from the first game composed by TAPPY. For the third game, HGW introduced his own epic theme to accompany the original theme. A plagiarism suit involving TAPPY's theme kept it from being included in the fourth game, but HGW was able to update his own theme, giving it a faster pace and a part of it beautifully performed by solo trumpet in the cue "Metal Gear Saga." Oddly enough, HGW does not use his theme much in the actual underscore to the games (at least not in the cues he composed), which is a shame because it's a rousing theme.

Team America:World Police-Harry Gregson-Williams
This just might be the best power anthem score there is, maybe because it's parodying the style and HGW thus does not need to restrain himself in any way. The "Team America March" opens with an ultra-macho theme complete with male choir accompaniment, and then moves on to the most used theme of the score, a triumphant melody more reminiscent of the composer's work with John Powell on Chicken Run than any power anthem. The track closes with a true power anthem that starts quietly before blossoming into full chorus, orchestra, and synth-orchestra. "F.A.G." contains a brief rocking anthem while "Putting a Jihad on You" contains a classic, four-chord masculine melody that brings to mind a Michael Bay film with a line of macho US Military soldiers walking toward the screen in slow motion. Truly an enjoyable score.

Next: The conclusion with Hans Zimmer.