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The X-Men franchise along with maybe Mission Impossible has probably been the most inconsistent franchise musically speaking. Every other franchise whether they're able to keep the same composer all the way through (Pirates Of The Caribbean/The Pink Panther) or not (Harry Potter/James Bond) is usually able to find a unified voice and every composer who jumps on board tends to stay in the style of that franchise. For X-Men we started with Michael Kamen and from then on saw John Ottman, John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams and now Henry Jackman. Each of those brilliant composers did their own thing with no regard to what the previous composer did before them. The end result is each film feels disconnected. I'm happy to say that Henry Jackman does indeed provide this scattered franchise with its best score yet and what ended up being a damn great score overall.
Jackman has just started getting his solo career underway with such films like Monsters Vs. Aliens and Gulliver's Travels. He's also done some collaborative work with Hans Zimmer on a few of Zimmer's scores and worked with Hans for the score to Henri IV. Jackman was also part of the musical effort of Kick-Ass where his collaboration with director Matthew Vaughn began. For X-Men: First Class the music takes a very different stylistic approach than anything we've heard. While I would call this an orchestral score it definitely has plenty of electronics and hard electric guitar. Some people may compare the score to Inception as it borrows a few of Hans' elements here and there. The heart and soul of the score though is Jackman's unique voice and much of it reminded me of Kick-Ass. I think the big thing that Henry brought to the table here is an emotional wallop. I was surprised at how big the score was and how much of the characters' inner struggles were reflected within the music. Towards the final act of the film my eyes were watering in the theatre because the music became so overwhelming that it took hold of me. The X-Men have never really had a theme (not talking about the TV show), and while Jackman has one here it's not a superhero theme that maybe we all are accustomed to. This is a good thing because we are meeting these characters before they become "heroes". This lets us connect to them on a human level and become emotionally invested in their struggles. Magneto is the main focus of the film and it's his inner struggle that gets the bulk of the story so the music plays heavily on his character. The final act of the score is an intense, stunning and grand experience. Jackman meshes his central theme with the darker Magneto theme to great effect. That central motif comes into full fruition and we are left with a quiet and touching conclusion in the track "Mutant And Proud".
Henry Jackman knocks it out of the park with this score and lays the strongest musical foundation down that this franchise has ever seen. Not only is it an intense summer action score but a brilliantly structured and executed score, period. With the CD release finally hitting the states we can now enjoy what is without a doubt Henry Jackman's best work to date. I really hope Fox keeps Vaughn as director and that will allow Henry to come back and build off his magnificent effort here.
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Top reviews from other countries
Maria P. Muñoz Casanellas
Love this score.
Reviewed in France 🇫🇷 on August 10, 2015
