The Amazing Spider-Man

...and someone got "A Beautiful Mind" in my Spiderman. Thing is, I love the combo (same goes for chocolate and peanut butter). This score has some beautiful and touching moments mixed in with the bombastic, action-set music. There's even a sprinkling of horror. It's vastly different than Danny Elfman's Spiderman stuff, but if they're going to do a re-boot of the series -- I'm a fan of re-booting it all. Speaking solely for the Spiderman franchise, I think Horner outshines Elfman here (and I'm an Elfman fan too). This score has more dynamic, tonal, and emotional range. And Peter and Gwen's love theme is very memorable and melodic. After a disappointing "Avengers" score (though the movie as a whole was fantastic), I'm really happy the way this one turned out. For those seeking more Danny Elfman (and if you don't already own them) -- may I recommend "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and 1989's "Batman" -- in my opinion, still Elfman's absolute best score to date.

The Amazing Spider Man marks another wonderful moment for James Horner's compositions. Horner somehow continues to create meaningful, original, fascinating scores movie after movie, but for TAS, he has really hit one out of the park. The full color of the orchestra can be felt here, with oceans of cascading strings, heart pounding percussion, and melodic horns underpinning the music--but it is the soft touches that make this music shine. The gentle piano figures in "Ben's Death" sound like light on the water to me. "Metamorphosis" brings in a triangle and chimes to capture a moment of incredible change. "I can't see you anymore" is sombre, beautiful, and sad, with touches of Barber-like majesty and peace. Overall, this is a very enjoyable orchestral score that packs enough interest and color to keep film score buffs happy for a long time. Very enjoyable.

I don't know what some of these people who rated this score badly are thinking. James Horner's score did not disappoint me at all. In fact, I'd rate it as one of the best he's ever done. I'm a diehard Horner fan, but I know there have been scores in his past that have been less-than-perfect; however, this is not one of those scores.

First off, in the film, I can say the music and the action were so beautifully blended. Each moment, whether it was an action sequence, love story, or just spider-man swinging through New York, was a perfect fit with the music.

The score also stands very strong by itself. For those of you who say this doesn't have a theme, what do you call what you hear in the opening sequence? He most certainly presents a strong central theme that he uses in several tracks and even modifies that theme according to what is happening in the story at that moment.

There are several moments of some beautiful piano solos. The score has a techno/electronic feel too it, but it's still grounded and Horner never forgets the orchestra. The orchestra is in every cue, as they should be, which gives the score a classic, well-rounded, musical sound. The most thrilling moments in the score are after "Ben's Death." No one can hold a candle to Horner's action cues. No one, and he proves it again and again in this score. There are also soft cues like "Rooftop Kiss" which involves solo piano with oboe piping in later in the cue.

Basically, this score was everything I hoped it would be: exciting, relaxing, suspenseful, musical, well written, and well performed. I encourage you to buy it, as Horner does not disappoint. If you are on the fence, I recommend you see the movie first just so you can hear and see how everything goes together so well.