Soundtrack Review: Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger: This is the review of the film score Captain America: The First Avenger by Alan Silvestri.

"In the beginning it felt a tiny bit restrained and it became a little bit frustrating, however it did grow on me in leap and bounds."

Captain America is the latest superhero to give it a try on the big screen. Directed by Joe Johnston and starring Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America, the hype is on and it seems justified. We are after all overloaded with superhero films, but most of them are sadly in the couldn't care less category. The music of a superhero film is a chapter on it's own and is ranging from the terrible to the superb. This year we had a bit of both. The composer for Captain America: The First Avenger is none other than Alan Silvestri who sees this as an opportunity to get back in the game for real.

There's been previews out for ages and they all seemed to tell a bit of the story, but not all. The full score contains 26 tracks (25 by Alan Silvestri) and if you bought it from iTunes, 1 bonus track is yours. What the previews didn't tell you was how complex this score is. The action material is however what this score is built upon and rightly so. Actually I would say the action material and the main theme.

Themes and Action!

Let's talk about the main theme, the Captain America theme. He is an all American hero after all, so Silvestri has created a very heroic superhero march that is incredibly bold and also feels like a hero of a different era than ours. You can hear it in 'Captain America Main Titles', 'Captain America "We Did It", 'Captain America', 'Triumphant Return', 'Captain America March' and other cues as well. It really is taking me back to the days were superheroes had grand orchestral themes like John Williams Superman and Danny Elfman's Batman. It is truly a wonderful superhero theme worthy of being mentioned with the best.

There's some superb action material in this score like 'Kruger Chase' where he draws inspiration mostly from "The A-Team" but also from "Judge Dredd", his perhaps best action score to date. Then there's 'Howling Commando's Montage' which again you can hear bits and pieces from "The A-Team". but he adds his own Captain America theme and some original action material best heard from the middle and to the end with some great percussion and horn. 'Hydra Chase' is another one that starts with a furious string rhythm which to me is the centerpiece of this track.

There's also a wonderful reflective and sad cue called 'Farewell to Bucky' that is certain to get you all emotional. We know Silvestri is great with this kind of material like he has shown in scores like "Cast Away" and "Forrest Gump". It is for me one of the top three cues on the score.

Conclusion

A bit unsteady in places, but Captain America: The First Avenger packs a punch or three. There's some very good action material on here and although some of it is taken from Silvestri's The A-Team, there's a lot here to please fans of the superhero genre. The Captain America theme is brilliant. It's heroic and sounds like it could be from the era of Captain America. In the beginning it felt a tiny bit restrained and it became a little bit frustrating, however it did grow on me in leap and bounds (see what I did there?) and I can see myself listening to this a lot in the future. Superhero score defined!

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Listen to the Captain America: The First Avenger soundtrack by Alan Silvestri below: