The art of the musical score is much more essential to a movie than many people give it credit for. After all, music is the emotional backbone of a film; it can shape audiences' responses to certain scenes, elevate the movie’s tone and atmosphere, and complement small nuances of characterization or world-building. Films likeNo Country for Old MenandCachécan work with little to no music at all, but with a good score, they can be skyrocketed to heights they could have never achieved otherwise.
More often than not, a great score is accompanied by a movie that lives up to its level of quality, but that’s not always the case.Sometimes, the score can be the best part, whether because of a film that is an outright flop or just not quite as good as the music in its background. It’s usually legends likeMichael GiacchinoandHans Zimmerwho are responsible for such musical masterworks, proving that they truly can make magic out of even the most forgettable of movies.
10’The Fountain' (2006)
Score Composed by Clint Mansell
Darren Aronofskycan sometimes be a bit of a hit-or-miss director; he’s never made a terrible movie, but his weakest ones tend to be pretty divisive. Such is the case withThe Fountain, one big surreal metaphor about a scientist struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save his dying wife. Beautiful and elevated, the film proves thatarthouse adventure movies can be done right.
The Fountainis a bit tonally inconsistent and unfocused in its ambition, but something it can’t be faulted for isClint Mansell’s (common Aronofsky collaborator) gorgeous score. Ethereal and intelligent in how it uses its Classical influences,Mansell’s work is just as grand and challenging as Aronofsky’s moviebut a fair more rewarding. What the narrative lacks in focus and restraint, Mansell’s score has in spades, bringing some much-needed direction to an otherwise aimless movie.
The Fountain
9’Game of Death' (1978)
Score Composed by John Barry
Bruce Leeis an absolute big-screen legend; there’s no denying that. However, it’s abundantly easy to callGame of Deathhis weakest film. It’s the story of a martial arts movie star who must fake his death to find the people trying to kill him. To be fair, it’s hard to fault the movie for how rough around the edges it is. After all,Lee tragically passed away before finishingGame of Death, forcing directorRobert Clouseand his team to work around that. All things considered, the film turned out as okay as one could have expected it to.
Viewers can debate whyGame of Deathis so bad all day, but their energies are better spent praisingJohn Barry’s outstanding score. Creative, playful, andmixing traditional martial arts movie music with disco and jazz sounds with glee, Barry’s work is delightfully and rewardingly experimental. It doesn’t quite make up for how uncomfortable and unsatisfyingGame of Deathis, but that doesn’t make it any less amazing; if anything, the opposite is true.
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8’Jupiter Ascending' (2015)
Score Composed by Michael Giacchino
TheWachowski sisterscompletely reinvented the action movie genre withThe Matrixback in 1999. Does that give them a pass for assaulting audiences' eyes withJupiter Ascending, one ofthe worst sci-fi movies of all time? Maybe, especially because this tale about a woman fighting to protect Earth after she discovers her destiny as an intergalactic noble heiress definitely has something going for it: Its score.
Penned by the brilliant Michael Giacchino, the score ofJupiter Ascendingimbues listeners' ears with the same sense of playful wonder that the Wachowskis tried to go for in the film.The music is lively, richly textured, and full of memorable leitmotifsthat help audiences get a sense of who these characters are and why they should care about them. Despite its abysmal quality,Jupiter Ascendingis a must-see for those who enjoy great movie music that conveys a sense of grandeur.
Jupiter Ascending
7’The Lone Ranger' (2013)
Score Composed by Hans Zimmer
Back in the ’40s and ’50s, when audiences were watching the iconic Western TV seriesThe Lone Ranger, they probably couldn’t have guessed that Disney would one day turn it into a star-studded action epic. That’s exactly what happened, and the result is a desert adventure where a Native American warrior recounts the tales that transformed a man of the law into a vigilante legend of justice.
The film itself is, to be gentle, one of Disney’s biggest failures in recent years, a genuine trainwreck with little to no redeeming qualities. On the other hand, the exceptional score is arguablyone of Hans Zimmer’s most underrated. Capturing the essence of traditional Western movie music and twisting it in fun, clever little ways,The Lone Ranger’s score is moody and evocative,a musical collection capable of being rousing, contemplative, and suspensefulall in the same track.
The Lone Ranger
6’Batman Forever' (1995)
Score Composed by Elliot Goldenthal
It wasTim Burtonwho proved with hisBatmanandBatman Returnsthat superheroes could be taken seriously. Later,Joel Schumacherdrove the genre back into the ditch it had come out of withBatman Forever, where the Caped Crusader battles The Riddler and Two-Face with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat. The movie andVal Kilmer’s portrayal of the title character aren’t without their fair share of fans, but the consensus is that this is not a very goodBatmanfilm — or even a very good film in general.
What’s absolutely undeniable is thatElliot Goldenthal’s score works wonders, both as an accompaniment to Schumacher’s campy direction and as a standalone music album. It’s one ofthe best superhero movie scores, taking the foundations laid byDanny Elfmanin his score for Burton’s twoBatmanmovies and building on top of them withmusic that’s both dark and laid-back, exciting and mysterious. It’s also quite versatile, brooding when Batman is on camera yet impish onceJim Carrey’s Riddler bursts into the scene.
Batman Forever
5’TRON: Legacy' (2010)
Score Composed by Daft Punk
Now a surprising cult classic,TRON: Legacycame as a legacy sequel to the 1982 sci-fi classicTRON. It’s about the son of a virtual world designer who goes looking for his lost father and accidentally ends up inside the digital world he designed. Though it neglects its story and characters in favor of dazzling visuals, there are plenty of reasons why the movie became such a beloved gem — and one of the main reasons is the score.
Composed by the French electronic music duoDaft Punk, the score ofTRON: Legacyhas become a cult classic in itself, earning its spot as a staple of modern pop culture.Loud and rousing but surprisingly smartif one takes a moment to look deeper under the surface, the duo’s work is the perfect accompaniment to the eye candy devised by directorJoseph Kosinskiand DPClaudio Miranda. IfTRON: Legacy’s standing has improved over the years, it’s largely because of its score, which shines brightly in the sci-fi genre.
TRON: Legacy
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4’The Amazing Spider-Man 2' (2014)
Some hate it, some are just okay with it, and some will defend it until their dying day, but it’s hard to deny thatThe Amazing Spider-Man 2was a new low for the Wall Crawler on the big screen, effectively killing all plans for a new franchise starringAndrew Garfield. The movie follows Spidey as he tries to save New York when it’s put under siege by OsCorp.
The film is definitely not without a few redeemable aspects,such as its great beginningand, of course, Hans Zimmer’s delightfully creative score. Zimmer, the master of memorable leitmotifs, gives characters like Electroa dubstep-inspired sound full of imposing voices in the background. A character like Spider-Man has tracks that effectively sound like the definition of heroic. It’s a unique score that feels very different from anything else Zimmer has done in the superhero genre and is easily the best part of the movie, alongside Garfield’s chemistry withEmma Stone.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
3’Avatar' (2009)
Score Composed by James Horner
Canadian filmmakerJames Cameron, always an innovator looking to push the envelope, madeAvatarafilm that revolutionized visual effectsand changed the blockbuster landscape in Hollywood. Sadly, it’s not a particularly extraordinary film, narratively speaking, settling on telling the simple tale of a paraplegic Marine dispatched to the alien moon of Pandora, where he becomes torn between following orders and protecting this new world.
The dull, surface-level story may not exactly doAvatarany favors, but fortunately for viewers,James Horneris there to save the day. On his third collaboration with Cameron (afterAliensandTitanic),Horner effortlessly defines the mystique-filled personality of Pandora, as well as the emotional core of the narrative.Avatar’s music is as dramatic as it is imaginative, something the likes of which only Horner could have created.
2’Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace' (1999)
Score Composed by John Williams
As the years have passed,George Lucas’s highly divisiveStar Warsprequel trilogy has grown a loyal fanbase. Once upon a time, though, it was regarded as one of the most disappointing things that had ever happened to sci-fi. Even now, it’s typically agreed that movies likeEpisode I — The Phantom Menace, the origin story of two Jedi finding a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, aren’t exactly great.
There’s one thing aboutPhantom Menacethat has been legendary since day one and has stood the test of time, and that isJohn Williams’s exceptional score. It’s easily one of the legendary composer’s best creations, featuring in tracks like “Duel of the Fates,” some of his best-ever and most rousing compositions.Phantom Menaceoverall may be vastly different from the original trilogy, butits music is every bit as creative, exciting, and magical.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1’Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones' (2002)
IfPhantom Menacewas childish but fun,Episode II — Attack of the Clonescommitted the far greater crime of being boring. It’s a bizarre attempt at a love story, where Anakin is tasked with looking after Padmé Amidala while beginning a forbidden romance with her. It has its moments, but overall,it’s a failure of a film all around — with the noteworthy exception of John Williams’s score.
Tracks like “Jango’s Escape” make creative use of the saga’s typical sounds. Meanwhile,“Across the Stars” is nothing short of one of the most gorgeous pieces of musicthat have ever been written for a film, effortlessly selling the otherwise uninteresting love story. Williams singlehandedly manages to multiply how romantic, exciting, and compellingAttack of the Clonesis tenfold, and that’s a testament to the inimitable power of movie scores.
