John Barry - Mercury Rising: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998)

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John Barry - Mercury Rising: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998)

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Mercury Rising is a 1998 thriller directed by Harold Becker and starring Bruce Willis, Alex Baldwin and Mike Hughes. The government creates an unbreakable super code, they think. As a totally irresponsible and implausible decision some idiot in the government publishes the code in a magazine as a test. They never though the code could be broken, but a 9 year old boy with autism somehow breaks the code. Some people in the government then sees the boy as a threat to national security and wants to eliminate him. FBI Agent Art Jeffries, played by Bruce Willis, takes on the task of protecting the boy. This was quite a decent movie I thought, even though I felt the whole premise was very unrealistic. The government people are so incredibly stupid and even a boy with autism can’t break an unbreakable code. Besides that, there’s some fun to be had and this was while Bruce Willis still had a name worth checking out. The score is composed by John Barry and this review is part of composer of the month.

Mercury Rising is one of the later John Barry scores and as such there shouldn’t be much in common with his classic work. Still, it was only 8 years after Dances With Wolves, and it is John Barry, so I am expecting it to not suck. ‘The Story Begins’ opens with a few percussion beats and a strong press of the piano before the theme starts 50 seconds in. The string theme is quite sad, and a bit typical thriller-ish. Nothing special. ‘Simon’s Theme’ brings me right back to John Barry’s greatest hits with a nice woodwind and strings theme. Yes, this is the John Barry I know and love. I must admit I wasn’t expecting to hear that in this score, but I’m happy to have been proven wrong. ‘The Puzzle’ continues a bit with Simon’s theme and adds a bit of mystery with the piano, a theme for the puzzle. At around 1 minute it gets dramatic, but it’s still Barry and it’s still lovely.

It gets more dramatic now with ‘Barrel Kills Parent’ naturally, but it still has a little Barry feeling to it which is nice, although I much prefer his romantic and calmer themes. ‘Looking For Simon’ is more Barry thriller material, nothing special, but certainly not bad. Nice touch with some Simon music near the end. I do love Barry’s obsession with woodwinds. It strikes me again in the dramatic ‘Meeting With Kudrow’. It’s efficient and it’s fun to listen to. Art and Simon get’s a lovely saxophone theme in ‘The Train Search – Art & Simon’. Sounds perfect. ‘Simon On The Edge – Death Of Kudrow’ is the most dramatic I’ve heard this score so far, and it almost sound a bit like Bernard Herrmann in his Hitchcock years. Pretty fun stuff. The ending with ‘I’m A Friend Of Simon’s’ and ‘The Story Ends’ use the lovely Simon theme and although ‘The Story Ends’ has a few dramatic twists and turns, the Simon theme is truly great work by Barry and the one I will remember from this score.

Mercury Rising has more Barry-isms than I expected. He managed to put in a lovely “classic Barry” theme in here for Simon (and Art), which was a lovely touch. I really miss Barry of old and it turns out he never left. In the late 90s he could still do it and it still sounds pretty great to me.

Jørn Tillnes, SoundtrackGeek.com

“Mercury rising” is the other movie in which Bruce Willis has to protect a child with problems. Before ”The sixth sense” there was this movie where an autistic but brilliant kid cracked a secret government code which made all the agencies nervous. Ruthless Alec Baldwin sends a team of assassins to kill the boy and his parents. Bruce Willis finds the boy and tried to protect him from this madness. John Barry wrote the score and this review is part of John Barry month.

John Barry is a special composer to me. He’s one of the few musicians who have almost a perfect record of delivering great film music. Every score by him is a joy to listen to. I know beforehand that the music will be sensitive, melodic and with lush orchestrations. The story begins with memories of our favorite melodies from the James Bond movies. It’s that unique and unmistakable sound that almost acts like a silencer for the action and craziness on screen. It’s the orchestra that plays like a gentle brook before a brass instrument rises slowly like a hidden monster that comes from underwater.

“Simon’s theme” is serious and touching and the flute is at the heart of the cue. This instrument tells us that the theme was written for a child; it brings that innocence and it makes us care for the boy and his story. The flute also slowly hypnotizes me and opens a whole new world around me. “The puzzle” keeps the same dark but welcoming tone with some well places piano strokes which make me thinks of numbers flowing on a screen. I can understand the sequence, it makes sense.

I always appreciate the cohesiveness of John Barry’s compositions. The changes in mood and rhythm are subtle and polished and never sudden. The music is smooth as honey and protects the ears and soul. Even when things get serious and dramatic the composition keeps the melodic flow and doesn’t try to deliberately make us react. You are free to feel and think when listening to this music. John Barry provides the thick dark canvas on which each of us can bring his own colors and feelings. I love the fabric of this score. It’s made from threads of flute and it never lets me forget that the main character is fragile and innocent.

“Meeting with Kudrow” is a beautiful downward spiral that gets more and more ominous, louder and louder within the same dark confines the score created early on. You will not here a happy cue on “Mercury Rising” but absence of light can be beautiful as well. The large brass instruments and their echoes dominate and I recognize parts of the sound of “Moonraker” here. If writing a score and keeping a deep, constant rhythm were an endurance exercise of balance, “Mercury rising” could hold on forever without dropping the ball.

Fans of John Barry’s unique sound will love this score. It’s more of the same golden orchestral goodness that’s very rare in today’s film music. John Barry wrote a story, pure and simple. This artist was one of a king and we are fortunate enough to be able to take joy and comfort in his immense legacy.

Mihnea Manduteanu, SoundtrackDreams.com

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John Barry - Mercury Rising: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998)

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John Barry - Mercury Rising: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998)

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John Barry - Mercury Rising: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998)

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