Hancock
John Powell
" Put your Hancock here, Mr. Powell, because it is obviously yours! "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
The movie Hancock shows fallen hero Will Smith wrecking more than saving some. In order to get back into peoples hearts, Ray (Jason Bateman) finds a perfect scheme to make that happen. In all the blockbusters of his career, Smith said this one was his biggest yet. While I still find Independence Day to have a lot more bigness, Hancock surely is entertaining stuff. John Powell came on board as composer and I must say I wasn't that thrilled. I wanted him to give us more Paycheck, Evolution, X-Men 3 and a little less Horton, Ice Age. Naturally the difference is that the one is animation and the other live action. So you could have guessed which direction he would go to.
The score and the movie are actually 2 different parts. Or you have the comedic pieces in the film, which are followed by the more soft comedic music, stating the ideas always partially or softly. They are never fully stated because Hancock is still not the hero he supposed to be. The great opening cue "SUV Chase" states in all its trumpet frenzy partly the theme of Hancock, while it appears gloomy in "John, Meet Ray" alongside a sound for Ray.
While the score does take a bit of patience (not like say the movie), "Train Disaster" throws in drums and whirling Happy Feet trumpets, giving you the funky vibe for Hancock later on. Powell stays with this sound by the way, meaning the cool loose funky style for Hancock. For instance through finger snapping in "Meatballs?", "French Asshole" and "I Really Hate That Word". But the more the score progresses, the more the actual orchestra appears to become stronger and bigger, considering Hancock is becoming the hero people want him to be.
His lonesome soft theme goes through a transformation as well, from the softly desolate feeling you receive in "The Trailer" to a more believable one in "Standing Ovation". Mary's presence is stated more through acoustic guitar in "Mary Brings Meatballs" while a Batman Forever theme emerges in "To War". This all seems not enough to warrant a successful CD, but during the movie the score is absolutely hitting all the right notes. Meaning for whatever it misses on disc, it makes up for it in the movie.
Speaking of missing, how come the cool bank heist action music is once more missing from this album? There was a Superman like theme heard lovely over the speakers, and there was enough thrill to be heard during the explosions. Once again this is missing from this album and I wonder sometimes why? Is it written by somebody else? Did it therefore not make the album because the rights were an issue? Whatever comes in the movie must also appear on the CD. If not the work and delight coming from the composer(s) is neglected.
Nonetheless the best is saved for last. Now Hancock's the hero and the twist is discovered in "The Kiss", so things become more serious and are fleshed out on disc. The highly entertaining "Hollywood Blvd" is sadly drowned out through the sound effects, but on disc it makes for a hell of an experience. It is a feisty string / percussion battle.
And in the movie "Death and Transfiguration" makes the most of Mary's emotional theme to create an emotional climax, which works wonders in the film. Luckily the end credits are not abruptly put to a halt in "The Moon and the Superhero" and it can make Hancock's theme shine like no other. This is Powell at his most amusing once again.
Sadly with the absence of the cool bank heist music, Hancock is highly enjoyable in all parts, but only memorable during the latter cues. Therefore it leaves you a bit unsatisfied, despite having the best saved for last. There is no denying that I love Powell more when he creates thematic music for Hancock than say for stuff like Horton. People wanted a X-Men 3 score and I think they got a part of that magic. Because in the final tracks, Powell does show he can do a lot with more serious emotional adventure material than most people seem to realize.
Tracklisting
1. SUV Chase (2.01)
2. John, Meet Ray (2.04)
3. Train Disaster (2.39)
4. Meatballs? (0.57)
5. The Trailer (2.01)
6. French Asshole (1.32)
7. Superhero Comix (0.43)
8. You Should Go! (0.51)
9. Mary Brings Meatballs (1.35)
10. Getting Therapy (2.18)
11. To War (1.19)
12. I Really Hate That Word (0.48)
13. Standing Ovation (1.06)
14. The Kiss (2.19)
15. Indestructible (2.05)
16. Hollywood Blvd (6.24) Excellent track
17. Mortal (5.27)
18. Upon us All (1.19)
19. Death and Transfiguration (3.55) Excellent track
20. The Moon and the Superhero (3.12) Excellent track
Total Length: 44.43
The score and the movie are actually 2 different parts. Or you have the comedic pieces in the film, which are followed by the more soft comedic music, stating the ideas always partially or softly. They are never fully stated because Hancock is still not the hero he supposed to be. The great opening cue "SUV Chase" states in all its trumpet frenzy partly the theme of Hancock, while it appears gloomy in "John, Meet Ray" alongside a sound for Ray.
While the score does take a bit of patience (not like say the movie), "Train Disaster" throws in drums and whirling Happy Feet trumpets, giving you the funky vibe for Hancock later on. Powell stays with this sound by the way, meaning the cool loose funky style for Hancock. For instance through finger snapping in "Meatballs?", "French Asshole" and "I Really Hate That Word". But the more the score progresses, the more the actual orchestra appears to become stronger and bigger, considering Hancock is becoming the hero people want him to be.
His lonesome soft theme goes through a transformation as well, from the softly desolate feeling you receive in "The Trailer" to a more believable one in "Standing Ovation". Mary's presence is stated more through acoustic guitar in "Mary Brings Meatballs" while a Batman Forever theme emerges in "To War". This all seems not enough to warrant a successful CD, but during the movie the score is absolutely hitting all the right notes. Meaning for whatever it misses on disc, it makes up for it in the movie.
Speaking of missing, how come the cool bank heist action music is once more missing from this album? There was a Superman like theme heard lovely over the speakers, and there was enough thrill to be heard during the explosions. Once again this is missing from this album and I wonder sometimes why? Is it written by somebody else? Did it therefore not make the album because the rights were an issue? Whatever comes in the movie must also appear on the CD. If not the work and delight coming from the composer(s) is neglected.
Nonetheless the best is saved for last. Now Hancock's the hero and the twist is discovered in "The Kiss", so things become more serious and are fleshed out on disc. The highly entertaining "Hollywood Blvd" is sadly drowned out through the sound effects, but on disc it makes for a hell of an experience. It is a feisty string / percussion battle.
And in the movie "Death and Transfiguration" makes the most of Mary's emotional theme to create an emotional climax, which works wonders in the film. Luckily the end credits are not abruptly put to a halt in "The Moon and the Superhero" and it can make Hancock's theme shine like no other. This is Powell at his most amusing once again.
Sadly with the absence of the cool bank heist music, Hancock is highly enjoyable in all parts, but only memorable during the latter cues. Therefore it leaves you a bit unsatisfied, despite having the best saved for last. There is no denying that I love Powell more when he creates thematic music for Hancock than say for stuff like Horton. People wanted a X-Men 3 score and I think they got a part of that magic. Because in the final tracks, Powell does show he can do a lot with more serious emotional adventure material than most people seem to realize.
Tracklisting
1. SUV Chase (2.01)
2. John, Meet Ray (2.04)
3. Train Disaster (2.39)
4. Meatballs? (0.57)
5. The Trailer (2.01)
6. French Asshole (1.32)
7. Superhero Comix (0.43)
8. You Should Go! (0.51)
9. Mary Brings Meatballs (1.35)
10. Getting Therapy (2.18)
11. To War (1.19)
12. I Really Hate That Word (0.48)
13. Standing Ovation (1.06)
14. The Kiss (2.19)
15. Indestructible (2.05)
16. Hollywood Blvd (6.24) Excellent track
17. Mortal (5.27)
18. Upon us All (1.19)
19. Death and Transfiguration (3.55) Excellent track
20. The Moon and the Superhero (3.12) Excellent track
Total Length: 44.43