Justice League - Danny Elfman |
11/22/17 |
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What You Will Hear: Big orchestra, brass, percussion, and choir. A few cover songs.
Standout Tracks: Everybody Knows, Hero’s Theme, Enter Cyborg, Wonder Woman Rescue, The Amazon Mother Box, Then There Were Three, Justice League United, Home, Friends And Foes, Will You Be Humming Along? Elfman’s Batman theme returns, as do John Williams' Superman fanfare, Hans Zimmer’s Wonder Woman theme, and the Amazon theme from Rupert Gregson-Williams. New material includes a Hero’s Theme, Anti-Hero’s Theme, a Justice Leage Theme, and (I think) some material for the Flash. The album this makes me want to dust off: Spider-Man – Danny Elfman
Will I come back to it? My response to this score might be the most conflicted of any in recent memory. The buildup to the release was massive, but was made even more exciting by Danny Elfman’s (somewhat smug) claim that “Batman has only had one theme.” The rumors that John Williams’ Superman theme would be used made it even more highly anticipated. The truth of the score lies somewhere in between the expectation and worst possible reality. |
Let’s start with Elfman’s use of classic themes. What was the big deal!? The total amount of time that these themes show up can be counted in just seconds. When considered in the larger context of the full score, it’s laughable and distracting. The Batman theme feels somewhat natural because of the overall darkness of the score. But, it is only ever used for short impact moments. The Superman theme is completely out of place. It feels like a shadow of itself (see: Friends and Foes). The absence of Hans Zimmer’s theme from Man of Steel was a huge letdown. John Williams’ theme is iconic, but the MoS material is also wonderfully uplifting, and just works better in a nonstop modern action movie. I had hoped that the Elfman and Williams themes would feel like seeing an old friend, but they just left me feeling awkward and longing for their original versions.
Wonder Woman’s theme shows up once, and without the signature electric cello. I criticized that instrumentation in Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman. But, oddly enough, I missed it here. It sounds like there might also be a bit of material for the Flash and Aquaman. The Flash has a playful repeated motif, but Aquaman’s cue is a RCP mess.
The new themes are just about as basic as it gets. It was shocking to hear such simplistic material from Elfman. While I enjoyed the somewhat quirky ostinato of the Hero’s theme, it completely disappears throughout the score. I challenge you to hum one of the new themes to yourself right now. Without looking at our transcriptions above… can’t do it, can you?
The orchestrations are rarely overbearing during the more epic moments, but I had to constantly remind myself that I was actually listening to Danny Elfman. Even though the writing is more substantial and much more complex than a generic Remote Control Productions style, the action cues most definitely live in that vein. There is plenty of overdramatic choir and blaring horns or trombones (see: The Final Battle). The lighter personal moments are a nice contrast (see: Home). But, at times even those lack any real heart. To say that Elfman’s music is better than average, is not the highest compliment he’s ever received… But, in this case, it takes what would probably be another forgettable Zimmer-clone, and at least makes it an enjoyable ride.
In the end, I will not be returning to Justice League. It is mostly a mess of competing concepts. Elfman's writing and orchestrations are interesting at times, but the mixture of modern action scoring and classic themes just does not work.
Wonder Woman’s theme shows up once, and without the signature electric cello. I criticized that instrumentation in Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman. But, oddly enough, I missed it here. It sounds like there might also be a bit of material for the Flash and Aquaman. The Flash has a playful repeated motif, but Aquaman’s cue is a RCP mess.
The new themes are just about as basic as it gets. It was shocking to hear such simplistic material from Elfman. While I enjoyed the somewhat quirky ostinato of the Hero’s theme, it completely disappears throughout the score. I challenge you to hum one of the new themes to yourself right now. Without looking at our transcriptions above… can’t do it, can you?
The orchestrations are rarely overbearing during the more epic moments, but I had to constantly remind myself that I was actually listening to Danny Elfman. Even though the writing is more substantial and much more complex than a generic Remote Control Productions style, the action cues most definitely live in that vein. There is plenty of overdramatic choir and blaring horns or trombones (see: The Final Battle). The lighter personal moments are a nice contrast (see: Home). But, at times even those lack any real heart. To say that Elfman’s music is better than average, is not the highest compliment he’s ever received… But, in this case, it takes what would probably be another forgettable Zimmer-clone, and at least makes it an enjoyable ride.
In the end, I will not be returning to Justice League. It is mostly a mess of competing concepts. Elfman's writing and orchestrations are interesting at times, but the mixture of modern action scoring and classic themes just does not work.