Fantastic Four


Colosseum (4005939666729)
Varèse Sarabande (0030206666724)
Movie | Released: 2005 | Format: CD, Download
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Main Titles2:34
2.Cosmic Storm4:48
3.Superheroes5:58
4.Experiments2:01
5.Planetarium1:29
6.Entanglement1:19
7.Power Hungry4:26
8.Changing2:47
9.Lab Rat4:50
10.Unlikely Saviors2:15
11.Bye Bye Ned2:16
12.Battling Doom7:02
13.Bon Voyage1:16
14.Fantastic Proposal2:21
 45:22
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Fantastic Four - 07/10 - Review of Tom Daish, submitted at
First there was Elf-Man who conquered the Bat, the Spider, the Dark, the Hulk, the Flash. Then, from out of nowhere, Ott-Man swept in to take on the X's, is soon to fly and (hopefully) be Super, but his current challenge is to take on the Fantastic 4 and usurp Elf-Man from his high station. Unfortunately, for legal reasons, the adventures of Ott-Man can no longer be told in this ridiculous way and a review must now take place. Evidently, directors and producers thought a lot more of Ottman's X-Men 2 score than I did and so he now seems to be getting the plum superhero assignments. Bringing to life characters who can stretch, flame, be invisible or resemble a giant turd is clearly a technical obstacle that only CGI can fully overcome and so we get to the Fantastic 4. If only they had bothered to make the rest of the film as well as the technical aspects it might have been brilliant, but this is aiming away from the angst and more to the popcorn end of the comic book to movie spectrum and entirely likely to become another ongoing franchise from the Marvel comic store.

Next to the dazzle of Elfman's efforts (even the slightly rushed Hulk), Ottman's score to X-Men 2 didn't impress me much and seemed surprisingly mundane and melodically uninteresting. However, for the Fantastic 4, Ottman has clearly been steered in the direction of an Elfman-lite sound world, notably the Spider-Man scores. Some of the Elfman flourishes are in evidence; the descending string motifs and even a short motif that concluded the Train cue from Spider-Man 2 which Ottman turns into a recurring action figure. It is actually quite effective here, but the nearness - in terms of the notes of the motif itself, the context, film genre and recentness of the precedent, makes the similarity rather off-putting. Having said that, Ottman's memorable, if rather brief, main theme is entirely his own invention. If a touch simplistic, it works nicely as a brief fanfare for the group, although it works better in the larger context of the action cues than in the Main Titles workout.

The action is generally well conceived, although Ottman's orchestration does tend toward the less inspired for these passages. Compared to the dizzying layers of orchestra, percussion and synths in Elfman's scores, Ottman's feels a touch simplistic, almost as though he isn't quite confident enough to mix and match layers of instrumental texture. The result is occasionally chunky orchestration with the musical line moving in the same direction rather than moving against each other, which is far more effective for generating momentum and dramatic tension. What's frustrating is that the darker portions show a composer with capable of far more sophistication. Power Hungry, Lab Rat and most notably, the end of Cosmic Storm whip up quite an impressive frenzy and show Ottman's skills and individual style much more strongly than the slightly simplistic superhero stuff. A few lighter moments disperse the action onslaught and Planetarium, Changing and Fantastic Proposal are quite lovely, if not hugely memorable.

If all that sounds a bit of a downer then be assured that there is still plenty to enjoy in the Fantastic 4 - it covers the main bases of excitement, darkness (notably some heavy duty choral work for Dr Doom) and some light character building moments. In isolation, Fantastic 4 stands fairly well on its own merits, but in a genre so replete with indelible efforts from the Hollywood composing elite at the top of their game, it isn't quite strong enough to join those ranks. I'm still unsure what he'll make of Superman (John Williams at the top of his game is nigh on impossible to follow), but Fantastic 4 shows Ottman getting more comfortable with bringing some of his personality to big money, mainstream Hollywood scoring. If he can come a little further out of the shadow of Danny Elfman and sharpen his action skills, he'll be producing some fine blockbuster scores in no time. Here's hoping. Not quite fantastic, but grand enough adventure all the same.
Trailer:



This soundtrack trailer contains music of:

Don't Worry, RipTide Music/Stereo Black (Trailer)
Tortured Voice Rise, RipTide Music/Joe Webb (Trailer)
Abusive Tendencies, Selectracks (Trailer)
Original Trailer Music, Sorman & Nystrom (Trailer)
F*cking in the Bushes, Oasis (song(s))
Dethroned, X-Ray Dog (Trailer)
Raging Mad Drums, X-Ray Dog (Trailer)
The Beach (2000), Angelo Badalamenti (Movie)
Prince of Darkness, Immediate Music (Trailer)
Smash, Megatrax (Trailer)
Damaged Goods, Selectracks (Trailer)
Hugh Jampton, Bruton Music (Trailer)
Betrayal, Immediate Music (Trailer)
Battleship Takeover, Selectracks (Trailer)
The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Don Davis (Track 16. Navras) (Movie)
Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rythm of The War Drums, A Perfect Circle (song(s))




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