Scores To Marvel Films: Which do you like the most?

[Metamorpho1977]

I hope that one day when/if Marvel gets the X-Men back we get an X-Men movie with a John Williams score.

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

I liked the Wolverine score as well, but I wouldnt say its one of the best marvel score's its around the middle ground for me.



Armstrong's TIH score was very strong, I was really impressed as I didnt think they could compare to Elfman's score, and while it wasnt as good as that, it was still a great score.

I really liked the GR one as well, went really well with the character, wouldnt say its in the top 5, but top 10 definately for me.

Well I'm glad that you got something out of Armstrong's TIH score. It didn't do much for me but made a lot of noise. I was really hoping Armstrong would bring something new to the genre instead of something average,generic, and MV/RC esque. But oh well.

Young's GR score to me was another missed oppotunity b/c this movie was right up his alley. If you know what I mean. To me the score was too light by his standards and made the cheesy movie cheesier, instead of dark. Which the movie was severely lacking on, imo.

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by Metamorpho1977

I hope that one day when/if Marvel gets the X-Men back we get an X-Men movie with a John Williams score.

You do know Williams is pushing 80 and semi retired. And that it's a long shot that Williams would even score an X-men movie since it's going to take a while for Marvel to get the rights back from Fox.

[A Necessary Evil]

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

I liked the Wolverine score as well, but I wouldnt say its one of the best marvel score's its around the middle ground for me.

I'd say it was like...the 8th or 9th. The expanded version was much better than the retail album. Cues / themes were fleshed out more, instead of making an appearance or two on album.

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

Armstrong's TIH score was very strong, I was really impressed as I didnt think they could compare to Elfman's score, and while it wasnt as good as that, it was still a great score.

Yup agreed again here Elfman's was better, but Armstrong wrote some great stuff. Bruce & Betty is fantastic.

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

I really liked the GR one as well, went really well with the character, wouldnt say its in the top 5, but top 10 definately for me.

I remember 2007, being hyped for Chris Young scoring two superhero movies. Not only was I let down by GR (the movie), but sony pulled a letdown by not releasing the Spider-Man 3 score.

I was so pumped...two CY superhero scores...then there was one..

[A Necessary Evil]

Originally Posted by Metamorpho1977

I hope that one day when/if Marvel gets the X-Men back we get an X-Men movie with a John Williams score.

Williams didn't score the last Harry Potter, something he very much desired to do so.

I don't think he's gonna do X-Men.

[Gunga Diner]

Danny Elfman's score for the first Spider-Man movie has always been a favorite of mine. It's not just the hero theme that works; it's his ability to make score the character arc, as well as the intimate, emotional scenes that are the strength of the first movie.

The entire X-Men trilogy has incredibly solid music, each film with a different composer matching the mood and tone of the film, all of which are entirely different.

[Spidey 2007]

I voted for X2 for obvious reasons. I think tis the most well rounded and goosebump inducing score of them all. Props to X3 and Origins though. Ive looped those scores multiple times.

If Daredevil wasn't bogged down with all the pop songs, Im sure more people would have payed attention. To be honest its quite moving. Quite possibly the most fitting theme/score for a marvel superhero movie, with the drums and slight techno riffs at times, very menacing and moody.

The Punisher score is operatic and really surprised me at first. Over the years its grown on me and Ive come to love it.

Iron Man 2 whips on IM1 so bad in my opinion. Its just feels so much more "iron man" then 1 did. 2 had a harder rock vibe goin. But I enjoyed 2 more on a whole anyways.

Fantastic four has got the perfect score. Up there with Daredevil as a PERFECT fit. You listen to Ottmans F4 score and immediately think the 60's animated show (for those of you who watched it) theres such a great fantasy element about it that just WORKS. Too bad the movies sucked donkey balls.

Hulk I dont care for to begin with as a character, so ehhh... I cant even remember one bit of TIH score. Elfmans Hulk score ill remember but, Didnt think it was all that great though.

Spider-Man.. Good stuff, at least it kept its continuity and overall feel. It should have been Batman/Superman Memorable though, and it just isnt. Maybe the new flick will change that?

X-men reign supreme. The films have variety, and each of them is STRONG. The weakest link Id say would be X1 and that is still better than 75% of the other marvel movies.

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by Spidey 2007

I voted for X2 for obvious reasons. I think tis the most well rounded and goosebump inducing score of them all. Props to X3 and Origins though. Ive looped those scores multiple times.

Ottman's X2 score was great and it really fitted to what Singer was going for in that film at least. But I think Powell's X3 easily surpasses it. "Bathroom Titles" Both cd and film version. "Angel's Cure" ,"Dark Phoenix's Tragedy", "Farewell To X", "The Funeral", "St Lupus Day", "Shock and No Oars", The heck with it the whole score is INCREDIBLE.

If Daredevil wasn't bogged down with all the pop songs, Im sure more people would have payed attention. To be honest its quite moving. Quite possibly the most fitting theme/score for a marvel superhero movie, with the drums and slight techno riffs at times, very menacing and moody.

I was disappointed in this score at the time it was released, b/c I thought Revell was going to rival his "The Crow" score but didn't. As years went by and scores like BB, TDK, and IM came along. I've had a better appreciation for this score. It's not the best, but it's decent. I agree it does capture some aspects of the character.

The Punisher score is operatic and really surprised me at first. Over the years its grown on me and Ive come to love it.

This score is so underrated. Very Morricone-esque. I remember being very impressed with this in the movie and couldn't wait for a score release album. That theme really fits the character. Very memorable. It captures the tragedy, heroism, militarism, and darkness of the character with that theme, imo.

Iron Man 2 whips on IM1 so bad in my opinion. Its just feels so much more "iron man" then 1 did. 2 had a harder rock vibe goin. But I enjoyed 2 more on a whole anyways.

I'm not a fan of both IM scores. Probably b/c I'm not a fan of Debney and Djawadi. Both scores didn't do anything for me. So I never ( and will never) bother buying the score albums. Hopefully the new film will get an A-list composers who knows his way around an orchestra and synthesisers. Especially now that Favreau is gone.

Fantastic four has got the perfect score. Up there with Daredevil as a PERFECT fit. You listen to Ottmans F4 score and immediately think the 60's animated show (for those of you who watched it) theres such a great fantasy element about it that just WORKS. Too bad the movies sucked donkey balls.

I find the FF scores to be very annoying. The first score made the first film even more cheesy, imo. Plus he's ripping off Elfman's Spider-man in a lot of cues. The second score while better than the first score. I didn't care for. I guess the movie it's attached to will do that to you.

Hulk I dont care for to begin with as a character, so ehhh... I cant even remember one bit of TIH score. Elfmans Hulk score ill remember but, Didnt think it was all that great though.

I find Elfman's Hulk score to be very underrated and unique from a lot of his CBM scores. Really dense and a lot of fun. It probably isn't everyone's taste. It's a thinking man's comic book score. I agree about TIH. Not only it wasn't memorable, but it also generic, imo.

Spider-Man.. Good stuff, at least it kept its continuity and overall feel. It should have been Batman/Superman Memorable though, and it just isnt. Maybe the new flick will change that?

I'm one of those who believe Spider-man doesn't need a march like Batman and Supes. Spider-man is not like Batman and Superman. I like that Spider-man has a motif rather than a march. Plus you can do a lot more with the motif texturally. Elfman's Spider-man scores are dense scores. He really plays with the variations of the motif to the point where you're not sure what's the main theme. Which kind of explains the complexity of the character. I'm interested what the reboot approach will be as long as it ain't some MV/RC, Daft Punk, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and the like scoring it. But someone who knows how use an orchestra at their advantage.

X-men reign supreme. The films have variety, and each of them is STRONG. The weakest link Id say would be X1 and that is still better than 75% of the other marvel movies.

The X-men score wasn't the way Kamen originally wanted it to be. I heard that the producer Laura Shuler-Donner stop the orchestra before
playing. So Kamen could rewrite the score to what she and TPTB wanted. At least that's what I heard from some film score experts. Too bad we'll never really know what Kamen would've done.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

After much thought and hard decision making I had to go with the score for X2, it has been the only score from a marvel movie that I have instantly loved upon watching the movie in the cinema, plus it perfectly matched the movie and got the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. The others, many of which I have loved, I came to appreciate over time, but with X2, I loved it instantly.

[Mary Jane Watson]

SM2 is the best superhero movie........EVER.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^We are just about scores in this thread though, you know that, right?

[Spidey 2007]

Originally Posted by Elevator Man

Ottman's X2 score was great and it really fitted to what Singer was going for in that film at least. But I think Powell's X3 easily surpasses it. "Bathroom Titles" Both cd and film version. "Angel's Cure" ,"Dark Phoenix's Tragedy", "Farewell To X", "The Funeral", "St Lupus Day", "Shock and No Oars", The heck with it the whole score is INCREDIBLE.

I agree to an extent, but the thing about that is everytime I listen to it, it reminds me of a ****** movie... where as When I listen to X2's score, Im filled with utter joy from when I first saw it... So X2 edges it out.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^Thats pretty much how I see it, X3 had a good score (though in general not as good as X2's IMO) but it just reminds me of a movie I hate, so it brings about bad feelings.

[Elevator Man]

To me a bad movie shouldn't rub off on the score. I hear a lot a people love the Spidey 3 score the most of the trilogy and it's attached to a bad movie. I hear people tear the movie Hook to shreds. Yet John Williams gets high praise for his score to it. The movie never ruins the enjoyment of the score for them. So why should X3 hurt Powell's great score. Which is probably the best thing about X3.

That's almost bias if you like the score (X2) better than another score (X3) b/c it's attached to a better movie. Eventhough you both actually liked the X3 score better musically than X2's. I don't care. Great music is great music. Don't let the movie it's attached to rub off on the score. Especially if the score is better than the movie. To me that just proves Powell was trying to convey what the movie was trying and failed to achieve. That's part of what film music is suppose to do. At least for the movie it's written for.

[A Necessary Evil]

to this^

That being said, I love hook

[Spidey 2007]

Originally Posted by Elevator Man

To me a bad movie shouldn't rub off on the score. I hear a lot a people love the Spidey 3 score the most of the trilogy and it's attached to a bad movie. I hear people tear the movie Hook to shreds. Yet John Williams gets high praise for his score to it. The movie never ruins the enjoyment of the score for them. So why should X3 hurt Powell's great score. Which is probably the best thing about X3.

That's almost bias if you like the score (X2) better than another score (X3) b/c it's attached to a better movie. Eventhough you both actually liked the X3 score better musically than X2's. I don't care. Great music is great music. Don't let the movie it's attached to rub off on the score. Especially if the score is better than the movie. To me that just proves Powell was trying to convey what the movie was trying and failed to achieve. That's part of what film music is suppose to do. At least for the movie it's written for.

Well Sure I agree with this to an extent too, but I never said I actually like the X3 music more haha. Nor did AVE. I think its GREAT, but I still think X2s score is greater, more well rounded and emotional. Just because it reminds me of a fantastic movie is a bonus. X3 reminds me of a crap movie. so why would I want to think about a crap movie when I listen to its music?

Still... the score has everything to do with the movie attached to it. Its the reason the score is even made! It puts music to whats happening on screen and if it wasn't for whats on screen there wouldn't be a score in the first place to debate about. It wasn't made as a separate entity, or to be heard on its own. The movie has a tremendous amount to do with the enjoyment of the score. The score and movie count as one whole package, HORRIBLE music can absolutely put you off a fantastic movie and if you prefer a score to a better movie, rather than a crap movie, I wouldn't call it bias.

Now if i made the score or directed the movie myself.. then yea id probably be a little bias.

that being said haha, Im one of the few who actually liked Spider-Man 3, but I didnt like the score as much as Spidey 1. It was off putting. and I also liked Hook!

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Originally Posted by Spidey 2007

Well Sure I agree with this to an extent too, but I never said I actually like the X3 music more haha. Nor did AVE. I think its GREAT, but I still think X2s score is greater, more well rounded and emotional. Just because it reminds me of a fantastic movie is a bonus. X3 reminds me of a crap movie. so why would I want to think about a crap movie when I listen to its music?

Still... the score has everything to do with the movie attached to it. Its the reason the score is even made! It puts music to whats happening on screen and if it wasn't for whats on screen there wouldn't be a score in the first place to debate about. It wasn't made as a separate entity, or to be heard on its own. The movie has a tremendous amount to do with the enjoyment of the score. The score and movie count as one whole package, HORRIBLE music can absolutely put you off a fantastic movie and if you prefer a score to a better movie, rather than a crap movie, I wouldn't call it bias.

Now if i made the score or directed the movie myself.. then yea id probably be a little bias.

that being said haha, Im one of the few who actually liked Spider-Man 3, but I didnt like the score as much as Spidey 1. It was off putting. and I also liked Hook!

Yeah, exactly, I never once said I liked X3's score better than X2's, X2's is a better score hands down for me, X3's is good, but the fact its attached to a movie I hate doest help it, either way X3's wouldnt make my personal top 5.

Agreed on Spidey 3 as well, I liked the movie but thought the score wasnt as good as the first 2 movies.

[A Necessary Evil]

I will third the Spider-Man 3 notion

But on the score, I liked it more than Elfman's. /shrug.

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by Spidey 2007

Well Sure I agree with this to an extent too, but I never said I actually like the X3 music more haha. Nor did AVE. I think its GREAT, but I still think X2s score is greater, more well rounded and emotional. Just because it reminds me of a fantastic movie is a bonus. X3 reminds me of a crap movie. so why would I want to think about a crap movie when I listen to its music?

Still... the score has everything to do with the movie attached to it. Its the reason the score is even made! It puts music to whats happening on screen and if it wasn't for whats on screen there wouldn't be a score in the first place to debate about. It wasn't made as a separate entity, or to be heard on its own. The movie has a tremendous amount to do with the enjoyment of the score. The score and movie count as one whole package, HORRIBLE music can absolutely put you off a fantastic movie and if you prefer a score to a better movie, rather than a crap movie, I wouldn't call it bias.

Now if i made the score or directed the movie myself.. then yea id probably be a little bias.

that being said haha, Im one of the few who actually liked Spider-Man 3, but I didnt like the score as much as Spidey 1. It was off putting. and I also liked Hook!

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

Yeah, exactly, I never once said I liked X3's score better than X2's, X2's is a better score hands down for me, X3's is good, but the fact its attached to a movie I hate doest help it, either way X3's wouldnt make my personal top 5.

Agreed on Spidey 3 as well, I liked the movie but thought the score wasnt as good as the first 2 movies.

That's cool. I respect that.

[Milu]

My favorites are the scores to the first two Spider-Man films. The third just wasn't the same without Elfman.

And I'm glad I'm not the only one who liked DD's score. The combination of orchestral and electronica elements was perfect for the film's urban atmosphere. You can also count me as a fan of the song album too.

[Gunga Diner]

Danny Elfman's score for the first Spider-Man movie is emblematic of everything that I liked about the movie itself: It's a superhero movie with a heart and a soul. It finds just the right balance between thrilling heroics and a humanity that never feels forced. His Spider-Man theme is exciting and empowering; he uses a strings section to brilliant effect where they frequently sound like Spidey's web. But what makes the score memorable are the scenes between Peter Parker and Uncle Ben, Aunt May, and Mary-Jane.

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

Still gives me chills.

The second movie has some great musical moments from both Elfman and Christopher Young, but I can't rank it anywhere near the first movie because the recycling of musical cues from the first movie sounds cheap and distracting. The third movie had the same problem. It's a blend of bombastic and fun villain themes by Christopher Young and replayed clips from the first movie.

I also really loved Graeme Revell's score for Daredevil. His music is almost able to make up for the shaky direction, because he finds a unique sound and a well-developed mood for the entire score. But surprisingly, my favorite track from the entire score isn't any of the action cues or the Daredevil theme (which is awesome), but the scene where Matt takes Elektra onto the roof.

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

A musical cue from a C-Grade action movie that's subtle, beautiful, and romantic? What's going on? Is he allowed to do that? Am I going insane?

Other favorites:
John Powell's score for X-Men: The Last Stand elevates that movie like crazy

John Ottman's score for the Fantastic Four movies nails the characters and the spirit of the comic perfectly. (His Ben Grimm theme says everything I love about that character in 6 notes)

Danny Elfman's score for the Hulk captures all the weird art-house-meets-action-movie goodness that made that movie what it was.

[DieSmiling]

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

X2 Theme, set with cartoon opening. My favorite Marvel theme.

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by Gunga Diner

The second movie has some great musical moments from both Elfman and Christopher Young, but I can't rank it anywhere near the first movie because the recycling of musical cues from the first movie sounds cheap and distracting. The third movie had the same problem. It's a blend of bombastic and fun villain themes by Christopher Young and replayed clips from the first movie.

The tracking of music from Spidey 1 Elfman had nothing to with whatsoever. The same for Young on #3. They both wrote original material for their installments, but TPTB liked the temp music from #1 for #2. As well as the temp music from both movies for #3. So they kept most of the temp music in the film. On the Spidey 2 score album you can hear some of the original material Elfman wrote before Raimi and the TPTB rejected it. Someone on YT posted the original music (by Elfman) from #2 to their original scenes 4 years ago. It's still up there.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DannyBiker

You can also find the original music from #2 and (some of) #3 posted on YT somewhere.

[Elevator Man]

Originally Posted by DieSmiling

VIDEO-CLick to Watch!:

X2 Theme, set with cartoon opening. My favorite Marvel theme.

Fixed. I think it fits Singer's take and idea of the character's perfectly than it does X-men. But that's just me.

[Gunga Diner]

Originally Posted by Elevator Man

The tracking of music from Spidey 1 Elfman had nothing to with whatsoever. The same for Young on #3. They both wrote original material for their installments, but TPTB liked the temp music from #1 for #2. As well as the temp music from both movies for #3. So they kept most of the temp music in the film. On the Spidey 2 score album you can hear some of the original material Elfman wrote before Raimi and the TPTB rejected it. Someone on YT posted the original music (by Elfman) from #2 to their original scenes 4 years ago. It's still up there.

http://www.youtube.com/user/DannyBiker

You can also find the original music from #2 and (some of) #3 posted on YT somewhere.

Yeah, I know that it wasn't Elfman's decision for his own score to get re-used. A lot of his original score fits really nicely, and I wish a lot of it had been in the film. But other parts of it, like Young's score for the train sequence, are way better than what Elfman had written.