Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you can be patient with the retro jazz portion of the score for the title character's cool persona and appreciate the more thematically cohesive and largely orchestral "revelation cues" at the end. Avoid it... if you require your scores to have a distinct anchor in theme or tone from start to finish, for John Powell's score is as transient in its first half as the title character in the film. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Hancock: (John Powell) With such an intriguing concept at its core, it's disappointing that director Peter Berg's Hancock was hacked into such a confusing mess. In its short hour and a half, the film attempted to merge two completely different kinds of fantasy concepts into one, and unfortunately, the part everybody seems to have liked was that which occupied the first half of Hancock. In that half, Will Smith carries the film with his carefree, "asshole" persona, a smart-mouthed anti-hero who saves people with his special powers despite a complete lack of appreciation, not to mention police and lawyers in pursuit. The premise of Hancock is surprisingly similar to that of the Pixar hit The Incredibles, portraying the real world as treating its superheroes with either indifference or lawsuits. Despite the potential of that premise, Hancock explores significantly larger fantasy topics with almost Shakespearean tragedy in tow, leading to a film ultimately far weightier than it needed to be. These flaws in the story didn't stop Smith's attractively defiant attitude from helping Hancock to significant box office returns, however. John Powell's music for the film suffers from all of the problems inherent with an untethered script, bouncing through genres of music with reckless abandon. Powell's extensive talents in all of the necessary genres allows for a score that competently travels through the three emotional realms of the film: lonely confidence with snazzy attitude, straight superhero action, and the contemplative "meaning of life" material caused by the last 40 minutes of the production. Weaving in and out of these three general sides of the score are two dominant thematic structures that receive significant exploration. These two themes end up being the salvation of a score that otherwise wanders through the remainder of its material in workmanlike, but bland fashion. Critical ears will also hear influences from other composers' music mixed into the equation at times, too, making Hancock a purely average listening experience. Powell does his best to integrate the three various sides of the score into one cohesive whole, even if at times he does not entirely succeed. The first side is obviously the hip accompaniment to Smith's/Hancock's personality. A slightly retro, jazzy appeal, complete with organ and finger snapping effects, faithfully follows the character's troubled, but funny interactions. This tone merges with the action material, starting immediately on album with "SUV Chase," to transform into a high style jazz persona that borders on being a parody of the classic James Bond sound. Other action pieces do stray into a more robust orchestral realm. Unfortunately, while there are connections that can be made between these two action styles and Powell's previous, strong works in the genre (Paycheck comes to mind, among others), these moments also provide the clearest reminders of other composers' works. In the high-flying combination of electronics, orchestra, and jazz appeal in "SUV Chase" and "Hollywood Blvd," the latter being perhaps the most engaging cue on album, you hear significant similarities to Michael Giacchino's The Incredibles. In the crescendos late in both "To War" and "The Moon and the Superhero," there is a very distinct connection in instrumentation, pacing, an progression with Danny Elfman's Spider-Man finales, which might be explained by the director's previous collaboration with Elfman leading to some temp-track usage. They make for great listening here, but they are derivative. The third and final part of the Hancock score is the contemplative meanderings that accompany the larger purpose of the title character and one other in the film. The tremendously out of place back story is treated with due gravity by Powell, who usually addresses the situation with solo piano or other instrument of lamentation performing one of the score's two themes. One of Powell's most successful achievements in Hancock is his ability to merge the instrumentation of the three parts into the whole, leaving an overall impression of defiant coolness that is especially prevalent in the final cue on album. The two primary themes of Hancock are both quite attractive, even if they don't necessarily strike you as being either original or ethnically appropriate. Powell doesn't make the purpose of the two readily apparent in their structures, but one seems to underscore Hancock's inevitable maturation on a personal level while the other seems to address the character of Mary and/or her larger significance. They are entertaining themes, culminating in some extremely rowdy performances at the end of the film. That said, they do both take quite some time to develop. Both are introduced in "John, Meet Ray," the first of which being stated in the opening 30 seconds. This fluid, harmonically pleasing theme is difficult to appreciate in that cue and "Mary Brings Meatballs," but receives a sorrowful performance on strings at the beginning of "Getting Therapy." Short statements follow in "Standing Ovation" and "Mortal," but the theme explodes into its full ensemble glory two minutes into "Death and Transfiguration." With its heroic maturation on brass, the theme very much resembles Harry Gregson-Williams' material for Aslan in his score for The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian, which shouldn't be too distracting but does further tie the two composers together. The second theme is heard 30 seconds into "John, Meet Ray" and is more fleeting in the score (pieces are worked into "Superhero Comix") until the theme dominates the first half of "The Moon and the Superhero" with an extraordinarily upbeat spirit. A slightly Irish feel to the jaunty progressions of the theme is odd in this context, but forgivable. Overall, the album is a bit too disjointed in its parts to be a readily enjoyable experience. The soft soul (with occasional slight vocal effect) and retro jazz, while defining the score, is absent from its best cue with both major themes, "Death and Transfiguration." Powell was likely put at a disadvantage by the script he was writing music for, and so one can't fault him for writing music that saves its revelations until the end and only coalesces at that point. It's not as fragmented as his recent Horton Hears a Who! score, for it has some lengthy statements of consistency late on the album, but you still get the impression that Hancock lacks a definitive anchor for all of its components. *** Track Listings:
Total Time: 44:35
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