Superman Returns Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The legend of Superman is BIG.  With many years as a pulp comic book hero, as a star on the small and big screens - in B/W and colour – and as the model of truth, justice, and “all that stuff,” the music has to ring louder.  It has to be heroic in nature and it has to be memorable.  After all, it’s Superman that we’re talking about here.

Some of you reading may say, “bullshit.”  After all, comics and fictional heroes aren’t for everyone.  However, judging by the successes that Superman has brought to DC and others, you have to believe that enough folks buy into this.  John Williams’ original score to the Reeves-era films are incredibly big, if not bigger than Superman himself.  With a defining theme as recognizable as Jaws, Halloween, and The Exorcist, it’s damn near impossible to top.

With Superman Returns and the accompanying Motion Picture score, new entry, John Ottman, has the unenviable task of creating a score that transcends.  And since that is quite impossible, it stands that the score must incorporate the energies and creativities of Williams’ masterpiece production without attempting to shadow those very themes by introducing an new set of themes that does not match.

Ottman’s gift is a genuine blend of Williams’ perfect themes with the adds of themes for characters who have never had one, Lex Luthor, for instance.  Otherwise, themes for Superman, Lois, etc were blended with new elements to sustain a strong familiarity while updating and adding more modern, grandiose components.