For whatever reason, Holkenborg decided to reprise Zimmer's themes for Superman, Wonder Woman, and Lex Luthor from Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice while creating all-new themes for the other characters, including an abandonment of Zimmer's Batman theme. It goes without saying that he doesn't access any themes by Elfman or other composers. Some of the broader statements of his themes merit praise in this score, even if their intelligence levels are rather low; there is tonality in these ideas that surpasses the dreadful structures of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But don't expect any of Holkenborg's new themes to really stick in your mind outside of his unnecessary new identity for Batman, which is itself a completely illogical construct. The team as a whole receives a "Justice League" theme highlighted in percussive fight mode in the suite arrangement of "The Crew at Warpower." It explores romantic inclinations with choir in "The Foundation Theme," a return to a grinding action mode in "We Do This Together," and noble, anthemic tones on brass at 2:31 into "At the Speed of Force" and 0:40 into "An Eternal Reoccurrence of Change." Holkenborg closes out the identity in "Our Legacy is Now," but the overall arc of the theme isn't significant enough, nor the progressions memorable enough, to compete on any level with Alan Silvestri's primary franchise theme for The Avengers. His theme for Batman doesn't make a whole lot of sense in that he emulates Elfman's basic idea of repetitive phrases leading up to one big, dramatic chord shift, but the repeated phrasing is descending. This downward movement to the theme makes it a really viable and memorable villain's identity, one obviously misplaced for this superhero. Holkenborg applies the theme frequently and inartfully throughout the picture, debuting it in the story during "Things Fall Apart" before softening it in "Long Division." Later, the main five-note descent in the theme comes to represent the bat signal, as near the end of "Carry Your Own Water." The batmobile sequence at 1:21 into "And the Lion-Earth Did Roar, Pt. 1" is truly terrible, and the menacing overtones in "The Provenance of Something Gathered," leading to the dramatic chord shift, confirm that this theme needed paired with a villain. The album features two suites for this awkward but moderately catchy theme: "Batman, a Duty to Fight" and "Batman, an Invocation to Heal."

The Superman material in Zack Snyder's Justice League will be among its highlights for enthusiasts of Zimmer's music for this franchise. Holkenborg puts some effort into expanding the identity's range in this work, though don't expect it to adequately address all the familial relations with Clark Kent and Lois Lane. The idea, originating from Man of Steel, is explored in both "Superman Rising, Pt. 1" and "Superman Rising, Pt. 2," the second cue pounding at the identity. A better representation of the idea comes in the resurrection of nobility summarized in "Monument Builder." Holkenborg doesn't dial back the theme well in conversational scenes or those for Lois, a cue like "A Splinter from the Thorn That Pricked You" barely registering any warmth whatsoever. That's precisely what Holkenborg attempted with Cyborg's theme, summarized best in "Cyborg Becoming." This idea is intentionally acoustic but still ends up sounding synthetically rendered in the mix, and don't expect to recall this moderately pleasant material after it is over. Meanwhile, Holkenborg sadly neglects to reference any of the existing options for a Flash theme, his original take on the character in "Flash, the Space to Win" resorting to anonymous rhythmic pounding in minor third alternations, droning bass, and heavy electric guitar. The absence of any reference to Rupert Gregson-Williams' surprisingly melodic score for Aquaman is a major detriment in this work, though Holkenborg does apply electric guitars in a vague fashion to suggest a connection. You'll encounter this music from the fifth minute onward in "The Center Will Not Hold, Twenty Centuries of Stony Sleep" and during "Aquaman Returning/Carry Your Own Water," both of which particularly lazy in their rendering. Lastly, in the league of heroes is Wonder Woman, whose music in Zack Snyder's Justice League is the source of much ridicule. The character's war anthem is reprised, but Holkenborg totally ignores all motific development from the much superior Wonder Woman 1984. Instead, in "Wonder Woman Defending" and "Wonder Woman, a Call to Stand/A World Awakened," you get a new wailing female vocal motif that is applied liberally throughout the score, possibly increased in frequency by the film's editors. In this context, it's almost a parody application, doing nothing to merge with or extend the rhythm or war cry of the character. The fact that the wailing vocal effect occurs when Wonder Woman is only one of several heroes on screen is humorously ridiculous.

For the villains of Zack Snyder's Justice League, Holkenborg doesn't need to darken the mood much from the heroes' themes. He throws in deeper bass, atonal electronic effects, and an extra dose of thrashing for these tired moments. Steppenwolf receives rising, menacing chords in "Middle Mass" and "As Above, So Below" (how can Steppenwolf 's theme be ascending and Batman's be descending?) and informs the confrontation in middle of "And the Lion-Earth Did Roar, Pt. 2." The idea transitions to Darkseid as necessary in "That Terrible Strength," suggesting that these foes are interchangeable musically. The late Lex Luther scene draws an obnoxious reprise of Zimmer's theme for the character from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in "Your Own House Turned to Ashes," but, more interestingly, Holkenborg decided against applying Zimmer's pitch-defying motif for the Joker in "All of You Undisturbed Cities." None of these bad-guy themes can compete with Batman's villainous new identity, however, an astonishing misfire. One of the most amazing aspects of Zack Snyder's Justice League is that the score had four hours in which to develop these themes into a tight but expansive narrative. And yet, it doesn't. There's no arc to most of the themes or to the score in its entirety, leaving it a long, tiresome conveyance of individual themes and boring action sequences that achieve the basic emotional needs of the film but nothing more. Three hours and forty-five minutes of score occupy the album, many tracks with long fade outs at their ends, revealing unnecessary silence to slow the pace further. The majority of the film's songs are not on the soundtrack, but the two that do appear as bookends are easy on the ears. When comparing the album to the film, expect substantial difference in areas, with alternate cues or micro-editing making the match difficult. In the end, enthusiasts of Zimmer's darker music for these DC films will be impressed by Holkenborg's faithful impression of his work. It's impossible to compare this approach to Elfman's alternative, though even listeners guided by nostalgia might admit that Holkenborg's music is a better fit for the tone of this film. It is deeply flawed functionally, though, its themes poorly rendered and barely enunciated with any adequate emotional range. The orchestrations and mixing give the work a constant demo feeling, the result sounding cheap. Someone needs to better equalize these Remote Control-inspired albums, too. Zimmer can defend all of this until he's blue in the face, but this score cannot support a four-hour listening experience and proves little more than Holkenborg's paycheck-earning imitation skills.  **   @Amazon.com: CD or Download