The Amazing Spider-man

Final Musings: Horner delivers big time with his masterfully crafted web of musical ideas. A bold theme, enticing action and a creative musical atmosphere are tightly woven together by the meticulous spider that is Horner. The product? One of the best super-hero scores to come out in a while. Prepare to be taken on a fun adventure back to old-school comic book film scoring. With nearly every successful franchise receiving either a reboot or an endless course of needless sequels, it seems like Hollywood might be running out ideas for their usual cash-in blockbuster flicks. Marvels latest, The Amazing Spider-man might just be the most pointless of them all. Having only been released 5 years after the conclusion Sam Raimis own successful Spider-man trilogy, the need to reboot a remarkably recent, well-appreciated franchise was baffling. The film ended up being an enjoyable effort however. Critics praised director Marc Webbs capable directing and the gratifying ensemble cast. Although even in its success, the film couldnt escape its inevitable complaints of redundancy in its already-done origin concept. Now, with the path that film music in the comic book universe has taken, James Horner was certainly the last person anyone would have expected to get this assignment. So it shouldnt be too surprising to hear that it took some begging from the director to get the famed titan of industry to sign on. The veteran composer has only made one venture into the superhero genre with his exuberantly heroic score for The Rocketeer. But with a career like his, expectations were pretty high for this score. On the other hand, fans were also worried and waited in fear to see if Horner too had fallen victim to the modern scoring methodology; a contagion that seems to have caught the best of composers in the genre. So what do we get in the end? One word is all you need to describe the score. Refreshing. Thats it. This score, in every sense of the word is refreshing. Its a wonderful breath of fresh air after a tiring line of texture-based, ostinato-driven, Zimmer-style scores for our beloved heroes in their ever colourful tights. Horners score is explicitly old-fashioned in its nature. With a helluva bold main theme (something you dont hear much these days in summer movies), the composer guarantees his score a prominent presence in film. And contrary to the naysayers of the striking scores of yesteryear, Horners music works remarkably well to aid the film (to the point where even film critics found themselves in admiration of the music). There is a lot to like here. Considering Horners notorious reputation for self-plagiarism (amongst other forms), its a surprise to hear that The Amazing Spider-man is one of the composers most original efforts in quite a while. In fact, its originality goes to the extent that the famed danger motif is notably absent (an amusingly remarkable feat for the composer). Of course its ridiculous to expect an entirely original score because the mans well-known Hornerisms are aplenty here (youll hear hints of many scores like Alien, The Rokceteer, Titanic, etc). Theyre simply not as conspicuous as they have been in the composers past works. On that note, Horner chooses to build his score with the intent of evocating a consistent sense of wonder. For this purpose, much of the music is inspired by the constructs of A Beautiful Mind to a certain degree, as heard in cues like The Ganali Device. The scores greatest strength arguably lies in its incredibly unique soundscape. Its simply stunning to hear how Horner brings a meticulously diverse array of colourful elements to form an incredibly organic musical atmosphere. The electronics are the most obvious of these components. They are understandably added for stylistic purposes and it takes after much of Elfmans own electronic synth

work for Raimis films. Horner surprisingly employs them quite well, often making their inclusion great fun. To go on, the synth choirs are also effectively used to emulate the aforementioned sense of wonder as heard in cues like Saving New York. The boy soprano heard in Main Title Young Peter and The Birdge is a lovely touch as well. Several other bits add on to the musical environment but the more curious decision is the inclusion of certain ethnic vocals. As can be heard in the opening cue, Bens Death and Making a Silk Trap, Horner chooses to incorporate the middle-eastern male vocal work he explored extensively in Black Gold and The Four Feathers in his detailed soundscape. Although its contextual purpose remains ambiguous, it unexpectedly works in film; a sure sign that Horner truly is a master when it comes to musically mirroring whats on screen. Thematically, Horner chooses to address the duality of the character by giving him two themes. Peter Parkers theme is an intimate, often-piano led melody first heard at 4:09 in Main Title Young Peter. To some level of disappointment, its actually a very simple tune in its construct although its romantic interludes in cues like Rooftop Kiss and The Bridge are enjoyable for its warmth. The true highlight however is Spider-mans theme, a heroic theme built off of staggering ascending and descending phrases to represent the swinging action of the character. Its a wonderfully bold musical identity that listeners will find themselves relishing. To go on, Horner also assigns a small action motif for the Lizard as heard in full form at 0:50 in The Bridge and at 2:38 in Oscorp Tower. It is rather disappointing to hear a lack of a much bolder villainous identity for the Lizard. But Horners approach of focusing on a singular major memorable theme is understandable, though regrettable. Comparisons between this new Spider-man theme and Elfmans own classic theme are bound to come to mind. In that regard, Horners theme does fall a bit short as Elfmans theme continues to stand as the perfect musical embodiment of the character (its one hard theme to beat). But that shouldnt detract listeners from truly enjoying Horners work. After all, this score has got remarkable personality (yet another one of its assets). Aside from the persistent music of wonder (some might daresay overbearing at points), Horner makes sure to add a lot of fun attitude to the music in cues like Playing Basketball, The Spider Room Rumble in the Subway and Bens Death. Although that last cue does feature a strange chanting interlude at 4:27. One could assume its Horner having fun with his experimentation. Besides, that portion is largely harmless in the big picture. On that note, the action music is also incredibly exhilarating stuff. This is some of Horners strongest action material in a while and its wonderful to hear it in this setting. Lizard at School, Saving New York and Oscrop Tower acts as a great sequence of grand action fare for all listeners to enjoy. Muse on These: - Main Title Young Peter - The Bridge - Saving New York - Oscorp Tower - Promises Spider-man End Titles Ultimately, The Amazing Spider-man is an impressive feat by veteran composer James Horner. A wonderful blend of a great musical atmosphere, exciting action material and a bold theme gives us one the years best scores. In fact, this is the best super-hero score to have come out in a long while. Horners score is a wonderful treat in a largely disappointing year. Dont be surprised if you find your spidey senses tingling for what Horner will come up with for the inevitable sequels to come.