Soundtrack Review: Green Lantern (2011)
| Reviewer: JØrn Tillnes |
Green Lantern Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the film score Green Lantern by James Newton Howard.
"What should have been a certain contender for score of the year is placing itself high on my list of disappointments this year."
Green Lantern is the latest superhero that has made the big screen. DC Entertainment's exciting character played by Ryan Reynolds is something a lot of people, including myself, has been waiting for. Directed by Martin Campbell, it's sure to be a hit as the current box office numbers show. It is without a doubt one of the most anticipated scores of the year and the composer is none other than James Newton Howard.
Track List
| 1. Prologue/Parallax Unbound | ** |
| 2. Abin Sur Attacked | **** |
| 3. Carold Scolds Hal | *** |
| 4. Drone Dogfight | **** |
| 5. Did Adam Put You Up To This? | *** |
| 6. The Ring Chooses Hal | ** |
| 7. Genesis of Good and Evil | *** |
| 8. The Induction Process | **** |
| 9. Welcome to Oa | **** |
| 10. We're Going to Fly Now | **** |
| 11. You Reek of Fear | *** |
| 12. The Origin of Parallax | ** |
| 13. Run | ** |
| 14. You Have to be Chosen | ** |
| 15. Hector's Analysis | *** |
| 16. Hal Battles Parallax | **** |
| 17. The Corps | *** |
| 18. Green Lantern Oath (Featuring Ryan Reynolds) | ** |
To be honest, Green Lantern was probably on my top 5 anticipated scores of 2011 list, at least in the top 10. I believe in James Newton Howard, and he has shown time and time again what a great composer he is. This year he has already scored "Gnomeo & Juliet" with Chris Bacon and "Water For Elephants", both were good. I expect nothing less from a composer who year after year continues to deliver me great music.
Not so for Green Lantern.
Score Of The Year
What should have been a certain contender for score of the year is placing itself high on my list of disappointments this year. I'm sorry James, but Green Lantern is dreadfully boring and far from your usual standard.
The music is here, 52 minutes of it, but all I can hear is nothing that gives me an emotional boost, not even close. It's like the director put shackles on Howard's hands and told him to create a lifeless score and stay away from grand themes and melodic structure. Maybe that's what happened. Because we all know James can do a lot better.
Take cues like 'Prologue/Parallax Unbound' and 'The Ring Chooses Hal' for example. The scenes they are supposed to portray gives boundless ideas for great music, but somehow this turns into tracks I want to skip so fast it makes my head spin. There is no direction, no flair, no James.
Sure, there is a theme in here that is hardly used to good effect. In 'Abin Sur Attacked' and other cues you hear a slightly heroic theme, but there's no goodness around it, nothing to complete it and make it good.
Conclusion
I feel like I have been betrayed by someone I truly respect and admire. There are small bits of the James Newton Howard I know and love, but that's probably me wanting to believe it. It's a borefest unfortunately and I want to find the one responsible and tell them a thing or two about great film music. This CD will be quickly forgotten and put into storage and perhaps I will be in complete denial that this thing ever got released.
CUE RATING: 61.1
->Buy the MP3 Album on Amazon<-
Listen to the Green Lantern soundtrack by James Newton Howard below:
blog comments powered by Disqus
