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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Just shy of greatness, Sep 2 2006
Much like the film itself, this soundtrack has some truly beautiful moments all its own. John Ottman's work continues to improve and this is quite easily his most impressive and inspired work to date. There are, however, problems with the writing on both the artistic and technical fronts.
First the good! - For once, we have here a successful modern update of themes from a classic film score (1978's Superman: The Movie). Many of this score's brightest moments feature John Williams's classic themes and rhythmic motifs used in genuinely innovative ways. Track 6 ("How Could You Leave Us?") in particular stands out as the album's best listen - a wonderfully crafted take on the Superman/Lois love theme. Another highlight that figures prominently throughout the score is Ottman's new "introspective" theme for Superman. It holds up well against the Williams material and is the perfect underscore to the film's deeply emotional, thoughtful character (preview Track 15 to hear a bit of it). Lex Luthor's new theme is suitably dark, sinister and full of musical potential but is left conspicuously underdeveloped.
This score is at its best when playing to Ottman's strengths, namely harmonic innovation and orchestral colour/timbre. Modern instrumental techniques and the choir are frequently used to great effect while synthesized timbres are tastefully employed in a few places for added interest.
The score falls apart, however, where linear motion is introduced. The orchestrations become heavy-handed and sluggish in such places and passages featuring contrapuntal writing are in general unsatisfying and rather clumsy. The musical intent is usually clear but the so-so execution weakens the impact. The final moments of Track 9, for example ("Not Like the Train Set"), are decidedly cringe-worthy.
There are many missed opportunities here as well. I kept wishing that the score would go *further* with its many promising yet invariably short-lived passages of inspired writing. Epic moments are occasionally undercut by poor orchestration and/or suffer from weak contrapuntal/linear motion. Such instances show most plainly the gulf that separates Williams's work from Ottman's.
Some of these problems undoubtedly result from a tight production schedule, while others may be attributed to Ottman's lack of classical training. It's a testament to his astounding level of talent, however, that he achieves as much as he does with this score. Tracks 4 ("Rough Flight", the film's major action cue) and 6 (discussed above) in particular obviously received a great deal of care; they provide the most accurate measures of Ottman's current abilities (impressive) and future potential (sky's the limit). ;)
In the end, this music suits the film well and as noted above there are many *beautiful* and genuinely exciting moments in this music. Recommended!
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