(Michael Keaton’s Vulture also has a moody, equally awesome theme.) And its buoyancy emphasizes the humor and grace of this new era of Spider-Man, before he had become a member of the Avengers or outed publicly by a sinister villain. The theme Giacchino created is, like his best work, incredibly malleable – played one way it can illuminate a moment of triumph, played differently it can add depth or suspense to a more melancholic or thrilling scene.
The “Spider-Man: Homecoming” score is an absolute joy from start to finish, with an upbeat, effervescent new theme for Spider-Man and moments of extreme bombast and tenderness elsewhere.
So imagine the thrill of getting a new score that contains all of those wonderfully hummable elements, and just a few years after the disastrous cacophony of “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” score (remember, the one that featured Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Johnny Marr and Junkie XL?). Spider-Man: Homecoming (Michael Giacchino)Ĭonsider that, until 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” the last time we had gotten a truly memorable “Spider-Man” theme was by Danny Elfman and accompanied Sam Raimi’s original live-action feature in 2002. Like Thor and Hulk getting waylaid by cosmic forces, the “Thor: Ragnarok” score is one that you can just get lost in. Mothersbaugh’s score is nothing short of a miraculous achievement, one that stands out not just against the rest of the MCU’s musical output but the scores of superhero cinema in general. (A cited touchpoint for the music was Jean-Michel Jarre.)
Mothersbaugh gives Thor his own, super cool theme, teleports us to the world of Asgard with soaring choral elements, makes sure we can feel the menace with booming drums, and adds wonderful layers of spacey vintage synths that amplify the movie’s 80s-indebted aesthetic. Up until “Thor: Ragnarok,” the character (played by Chris Hemsworth) didn’t have much of a musical identity – the first film’s score by Kenneth Branagh regular Patrick Doyle was an attempt at understated grandeur, while Brian Tyler’s score for “Thor: The Dark World” was, like the rest of that movie’s troubled post-production phase, a workmanlike “this’ll do” accomplishment.īut former Devo member Mark Mothersbaugh’s score for “Thor: Ragnarok” is truly outstanding, bringing disparate elements together in a way that is wholly unique and ridiculously entertaining.