Customer Reviews

Hancock [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am so tired of the misinformed giving 0 stars to music that is scored - ie. "composed" for a particular film because their favorite radio songs are missing. If you want a soundtrack with pop songs on it, then learn to read, but don't mislead the buying public by a negative review because you don't understand what you bought. John Powell is an excellent film composer and should be judged on those merits - not missing pop songs.
Please learn the difference before you add to a lower star average than is warranted. "Morons! I've got morons on my team!"

How refreshing to see an actual -score- from a film being released instead of songs you can barely hear in the background of some scenes. In most cases, those songs are readily available, either on CD or as downloads, whereas a score release is the only way to get the film's actual score. Kudos to the producer -- and kudos to John Powell for a score that suits the film.

John Powell is a brilliant composer and his orchestral music for the film is exceptional.

A super-hero with a self-loathing problem, and a penchant for causing more damage than is necessary when he uses his `powers'. A city who doesn't like the super-hero. A victim who, after being saved, decides to try to overhaul his hero's image. This is the story of Hancock, one of many super-hero films to hit cinemas in 2008, the latest film from director Peter Berg, which stars Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman and Eddie Marsan.

Along for the ride is the incredibly busy British composer John Powell, for whom Hancock was the fifth score of 2008 (after Jumper, Horton Hears a Who, Stop Loss and Kung-Fu Panda). As befits the character of Hancock, there's a slight sense of bitterness and despondency in Powell's music, counterbalancing the super-hero action. It all works wonderfully well. There's also a great deal of good, old fashioned orchestral excitement, as well as a touch of jazz, which comes as startling relief in contrast to the overbearing hogwash which usually accompanies films of this type - an irony indeed, considering Powell's roots at Media Ventures.

The opening cue, "SUV Chase" is a superb construct, pitting a wonderfully retro jazz theme, all Hammond organs and blaring trumpets, against a modern orchestra/electronics combo. Cues such as this are perfect examples of how synthetic and electronic enhancements and contemporary compositional techniques can be used in such a way as to enhance the orchestral component to great effect, and puts composers like Steve Jablonsky, Ramin Djawadi, and the others who unsuccessfully try to do the same thing, to shame.

The action music is dense, complicated and exciting, and often makes use of unexpected touches in the orchestration, ensuring that each cue has a life of its own, and is consistently interesting to listen to. There are flying bongos at the beginning of "Train Disaster", heroic horn triplets in the magnificent "To War", and by the time the fabulous "Hollywood Blvd" kicks in to high gear with its delicious brass flurries, muted gong crashes, intoxicating percussion and ebullient rhythms, one can't help but smile.

In fact, the entire finale - from "Hollywood Blvd" through to the conclusive "The Moon and the Superhero" - is a 20 minute master class in inventive scoring. The seemingly disparate musical styles and instrumental touches meld together perfectly, resulting in a musical collage that is enjoyable on a superficial level, but also stands up to intense scrutiny on a deeper, more technical level. The action moments sit perfectly with the more downbeat moments of introspective reflection, such as "Death and Transfiguration", while the conclusive moments of the score in "The Moon and the Superhero" (despite being clearly influenced by Danny Elfman's Spider-Man scores) are wonderfully stirring. It's also perhaps no surprise to see the name of Jane Antonia Cornish listed in the list orchestrators - someone with her talent and orchestral know-how will certainly bring something positive to the table.

Somewhat surprisingly, there's also a great deal of light lyricism to some of the cues, as well as a touch of sprightly comedy, as the likes of "John, Meet Ray" attest. "Meatballs" introduces finger-snaps as a rhythmic device which carries through much of the rest of the score, "Superhero Comix" and "Mary Brings meatballs" are lovely pieces of soft Americana with warm acoustic guitars, while "Getting Therapy" introduces a wonderful, upbeat theme anchored by a gorgeous duet between cello and accordion - an unexpected combo which works tremendously well. At the other end of the scale, "The Trailer" is a wistful piece which hints at Hancock's loneliness and alcoholism, and makes superbly soulful use of a solo Gospel vocalist.

Listening to this score alongside dross like The Dark Knight, Iron Man and Get Smart really makes you realize how far we have to go to get back to the time when scores of Hancock's quality were the rule, not the exception, in terms of summer blockbuster films. John Powell is developing into a composer of great skill and technique, with an ear for superb orchestral nuance, memorable themes, and interesting arrangements. In a summer where box office records have tumbled like dominoes, Hancock stands are one of its most accomplished and enjoyable musical by-products.

John Powell is having an amazing year as he turns out one great score after another. After I saw the movie I was a little disappointed with the story and the film itself but I still enjoyed it. In all honesty the only reason I enjoyed was because of the score. Powell did an excellent job of creating an underlying layer of emotion for Hancock. In the movie he is a superhero dealing with personal issues and Powell is able to score quiet thematic cues to hint at his inner strife.

The action stuff is right at home for Powell as he uses his signature percussion to structure the action around. I was surprised at how the film leaned way more on the dramatic side than the comedic side based off the trailers. The ending is really fantastic thanks to the music. Basically what they do for the final overcoming moment is let the music take over and fade out all the other sounds. I loved it. It uses the simple Hancock theme that Powell created and just lets it ride. As a standalone listen the last 3 tracks on the album got me to tear up because there is some truly beautiful music there. I heard some guitar cues that reminded me of the music in Friday Night Lights (also directed by Peter Berg) and I can't help but wonder if any of the music from that film was used as a temp track.

All in all the score is fantastic even if the movie falls short in becoming anything memorable. The score has some great Powell percussion to it and a grand emotional finale that stands superbly on its own. Horton Hears A Who is still Powell's best work of the year, but this comes in second.

I wish someone had warned me about this Hancock CD. This CD is a prime example why so many of my friends tell me that they haven't purchased music CDs in years and opt to just downloading them for free. They, like me, are tired of being RIPPED OFF by the music studios. Let me explain. I just saw the movie Hancock, and it was great. The best orchestral music in the movie is used in the scene where Will Smith's character Hancock first appears in his super hero costume and deals with the bank robbery. It was very Superman-like, a powerful and heroic score. So, naturally after the movie, I ran out and PURCHASED the soundtrack album. Now, guess what? That great orchestral music which heralds Hancock's superhero arrival is..... NOT ON THIS CD!!!! It feels like there is a missing track between tracks 11 and 12. The rest of the score is just ok. Composer John Powell does a good job, but the few worthy tracks on here (tracks 1, 11, 16, 19, and 20) are very, very good, but you still feel like something is missing after seeing the movie. This CD is a HUGE let down. I wish I could get my money back. I guess that's what I get for being honest and actually buying my music.

After watching the movie I checked out this CD. I especially like the slower tracks like The Trailer and Upon us all.

However, I was looking for a track that I couldn't find on the cd. After eating the spaggethi at Ray's house Hancock wakes up in his trailer. In the movie a really beautiful song is played with strings and piano. I expected this to be the song 'The Trailer' however this is not the case.

Can anyone perhaps tell me which song is played there?

Although there does appear to be a strong recurring melody, I still rate this as an excellent score. Of course, personal opinions being what they are...

This CD has many great tracks on it, Death and Transfiguration and The Moon and the Superhero being the best out of the whole soundtrack. I was very disappointed that the music from the bank robbery scene was missing as it was the main reason I got this soundtrack in the first place and can't fathom why it was dropped. You're better off listening to the music in the credits at the end of movie itself than buying this soundtrack.

These scores are what made the movie a meaningful and compelling story. Mary Brings Meatball is my favorite. If you buy the unrated version of the movie it won't be there. I did that, so I had to buy the other version as well.