The Wolverine OST by Marco Beltrami (album review)
Patience is not something you’d associate with the permanently angry Wolverine but it’s certainly required to get through Marco Beltrami’s soundtrack.
From the very first ‘X-Men’ film, it was quite obvious that Wolverine was the one to watch and after the critically-mauled origin story ‘Wolverine’, Hugh Jackman and co decide to give it another go with ‘The Wolverine’ where Logan attempts to get over the loss of Jean Grey by relocating to Japan. Of course, his past catches up with him but you can read what SFCrownest thought of the film here.
This soundtrack is a bit of a slow burn. The first four tracks are relatively uninspiring and it’s only when it gets to track five, ‘The Offer’ that it gets interesting. It has a hint of Japanese influences with the cello used beautifully to create a sense of foreboding.
Unfortunately, after that, the album is back to the usual mysterious yet boring. It’s kind of ironic that Wolverine is the stand-out character of the X-Men film series but there’s nothing standing out about the first half of this album.
Track seven, ‘Funeral Fight’, picks up the pace a bit and the Wolverine finally unleashes his claws as the Japanese undercurrent continues to power the more quality tracks on this album.
There’s a lot of building on this album and, for some time, you feel there may be no actual pay-off. Be patient it does come eventually, it just depends if you can be bothered to wait for it really.
Track 14, ‘Katana Surgery’ begins that pay-off, building up the tension and leading neatly into the eponymous Track 15 where Logan really comes into his own and shows why he’s the best in the world at what he does.
Much like ‘The Wolverine’ is different to the ‘X-Men’ series, this soundtrack is a bit different to the usual action film score. It doesn’t build across three acts like expected but rather a slow burn across the first half before picking up the pace before the end.
Despite the pacing issues, it’s a solid soundtrack that’s unique and worth at least one listen if you can bide your time.
Aidan Fortune
October 2013
(pub: Sony Masterworks. 58:34 minutes, 23 tracks. CD and MP3: $12.79 (US), £9.94 (UK). ASIN: B00CSW07Z6)
check out website: www.sonymasterworks.com
