12 Strong

• Composed by Lorne Balfe
• WaterTower / 71m

To suggest that Hans Zimmer is the most influential film composer of his generation is probably as uncontroversial as it gets; in recent years, particular influence seems to have been exerted by his scores for Christopher Nolan films.  The approach to the Batman trilogy had a large impact on scores for comic book films; Inception‘s HORN OF DOOM has made people laugh in action film after action film; and I’m sure filmmakers will be falling over themselves to get composers to remove every ounce of emotion possible in the style of Dunkirk in coming years.  Lorne Balfe has managed to write a score for 12 Strong – a film about the early CIA and Green Beret mission in Afghanistan immediately after 9/11 – which draws from all of them.  If “spot the temp-track” is your game, prepare for an easy challenge.  (Not just the Nolan films actually, there’s also the ubiquitous “Journey to the Line” from The Thin Red Line – in curiously cold, detached arrangements which seem to misunderstand the whole point of that piece.)

There’s the HORN OF DOOM, of course – slightly less expected is “Why So Serious?” – and they’re filtered through Dunkirk‘s filter to remove emotion and feeling.  There’s lots of banging of drums, some mechanistic electronics, just occasionally a fragment of melody (the title track, over half an hour in, has a little something to offer); but there isn’t heroism, or tragedy, or excitement, or drama.  If that was the intention then fair enough, but if it was then it’s a strange intention for a film score to have.  Sit through 71 minutes of this and frankly you deserve a medal.

Rating: No stars

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