Soundtrack Review: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The Amazing Spider-Man Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the film score The Amazing Spider-Man by James Horner.

“This is one of the better superhero scores I have heard, and it comes as no surprise that it is James Horner who is responsible.”

The Amazing-Spider Man is a reboot of the whole Spider-Man franchise and while some would ask the question ‘why?’ I would ask ‘why not?’. Despite me liking Spider-Man 3, there was a lot of criticism towards it. It did well at the box office though and Spidey is such a cool character that deserves another chance. Marc Webb is directing and it stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans.

Track List

1. Main Title – Young Peter	100
2. Becoming Spider-Man	100
3. Playing Basketball	60
4. Hunting for Information	80
5. The Briefcase	80
6. The Spider Room – Rumble in the Subway	60
7. Secrets	80
8. The Equation	80
9. The Ganali Device	80
10. Ben’s Death	100
11. Metamorphosis	100
12. Rooftop Kiss	100
13. The Bridge	100
14. Peter’s Suspicions	80
15. Making a Silk Trap	100
16. Lizard at School!	100
17. Saving New York	100
18. Oscorp Tower	100
19. I Can’t See You Anymore	100
20. Promises – Spider-Man End Titles	100

So who was surprised to see James Horner doing Spider-Man? I certainly was, but what an exciting prospect! Horner, despite his critics, is a legend in the film music business and has earned the right to be called one of the greats. What is also great about Horner is that he is of the old school, so we are in for something special.

The new main title ‘Main Title – Young Peter’ is yet another great main theme in the Spider-Man series of films. It’s a mix betwen Young and Elfman’s main theme with some Hornerism thrown in there, like “A Beautiful Mind”. In fact, I can hear lot of similarities to “A Beautiful Mind” as I listen to the score, but don’t let that put you off. Oh, I love the little boy singing in the main title and other cues, it’s really a great touch.

After the first couple of cues, you can be forgiven for skipping through a few tracks as this is a bit of a slow starter. The meat of this score starts with track 10 ‘Ben’s Death’ and continues all the way to the end. What a fantastic range of cues, all very dramatic and beautiful. ‘The Bridge’ is perhaps my favorite track of the whole score. A great beginning before Horner starts off his horns and there’s a brilliant use of guitar as underscore in there. By the way, the horns are well underused in action/fantasy scores and Horner brings it back in a glorious manner. ‘Lizard at School’ is another fast-paced menacing action track that has your pulse going with some exciting and heavy percussion sequences.

‘I Can’t See You Anymore’ is a tear jerker for sure with that beautiful string opening, a very strong emotional track to end it all with the added ‘Promises – Spider-Man End Titles’ to follow on that note but end it with some pulsating Spidey action.

This score feels fresh and new and perfectly suited for the Spider-Man series. I liked both Spider-Man 1 and 2 from Danny Elfman and also Spider-Man 3 from Christopher Young, but this is easily the best for me with such a number of impressive cues. Oh, and for Horner-haters, there’s no sign of the dreaded “four note” motif that everyone seems to fear.

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Conclusion

This is one of the better superhero scores I have heard, and it comes as no surprise that it is James Horner who is responsible. He uses what is known to him and because of Spider-Man’s legacy he creates something fresh and interesting, even to those who has long given up on Horner. Well done! I hope that for the sequels he is ready to do us soundtrack fans a favor once more.

GEEK SCORE: 90

Listen to The Amazing Spider-Man by James Horner:

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