Soundtrack Review: Cloud Atlas (2012)

Cloud Atlas Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the film score Cloud Atlas by Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil and Tom Tykwer.

“It is just as good as I expected it to be.”

Cloud Atlas is an exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution. It’s directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski. The film stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant. The score is composed by Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil and Tom Tykwer.

Track List

1. Prelude – The Atlas March	80
2. Cloud Atlas Opening Title	80
3. Travel To Edinburgh	80
4. Luisa’s Birthmark	60
5. Cavendish In Distress	100
6. Papa Song	60
7. Sloosha’s Hollow	80
8. Sonmi-451 Meets Change	80
9. Won’t Let Go	100
10. Kesselring	80
11. The Escape	100
12. Temple Of Sacrifice	80
13. Catacombs	60
14. Adieu	80
15. New Direction	80
16. All Boundaries Are Conventions	100
17. The Message	80
18. Chasing Luisa Rey	80
19. Sonmi’s Discovery	60
20. Death Is Only A Door	100
21. Cloud Atlas Finale	100
22. The Cloud Atlas Sextet For Orchestra	80
23. Cloud Atlas End Title	100

Cloud Atlas is epic, well the trailer is. The film? It depends on your definition of it of course. The score however is epic at times, but it’s not its epic-ness I like about this score, but there are other far more interesting factors. The trio Johnny Klimek, Reinhold Heil and Tom Tykwer is doing something a little different than I have heard from them before, which is a good thing in my opinion.

The score feels fresh, it’s not something I could listen to and immediately recognise that I have heard before with a couple of exceptions like the main theme. ‘Cavendish In Distress’ for example is a great cue, but it sounds like one of Danny Elfman’s Pee Wee scores. There are other cues which I enjoy for other things such as ‘Won’t Let Go’ that feels epic at times. It’s a very fast-paced cue, but it never goes off the rails. The main theme heard in ‘Prelude – The Atlas March’ is good, and I’m glad they got to expand on it to create a wonderful cue in ‘All Boundaries Are Conventions’ and also ‘Cloud Atlas End Title’.

Conclusion

Does Cloud Atlas, the film score, fail like the film itself? In my opinion, no it doesn’t. It is just as good as I expected it to be. It surprised me a little bit having heard a lot of scores from Klimek, Heil and Tykwer, but in a good way. Other than that I am happy with what I have heard here.

GEEK SCORE: 82.6