Fantastic 4 (Original Motion Picture Score)

Album Review

Composer John Ottman is no stranger to the superhero genre (X-Men 2), nor is he a novice when it comes to atmosphere and tension The Usual Suspects, so it comes as no surprise that his surprisingly spirited score for the latest big-screen comic book adaptation, Fantastic Four, is as faithful to the kid-friendly source material as the critically panned film itself. While Ottman maintains all of the predictably rousing choirs, cymbal swells, and swirling strings that have become the norm for films that feature actors in tights, it's his nod to the old Hollywood Western that gives Fantastic Four the courage to break from the pack. By infusing these flourishes of Americana with the thunderous timpanis and steely brass of the current DC Comics world, he's managed to inject some good old-fashioned Saturday morning magic into a genre that's beginning to mirror the dramas of its adult facilitators more than the open-mouthed awe of its original demographic.