Rating:  -
While the name may be unfamiliar to some, John Williams vast volume of work speaks for itself. Hardly a person alive today will fail to recognize the themes to Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ET, Jaws, and yes, Superman.
Now, enter a man that even lovers of movie scores, such as myself, have heard little of, and give him an impossible task. Let him fill William's shoes and remake the Superman score. Ottman knew that millions would hold his composition up to Williams, and judge it on that, without even seeing how it related to the movie. As I write this, I have not yet seen the movie. I, in fact, did just what many will do. I listened to the original score, and then to this one.
I must admit, that Ottman rose to the occasion spectacularly. Hopefully, he would consider it the compliment I intend this as, to say that halfway through listening to the score, I forgot that it WASN'T Williams I was listening too.
The mood, the flavor, the imagry of Chris Reeve flying through Metropolis was brought to mind yet again by the haunting familiar, yet strangely new tones Ottman employed.
Now if the movie is only as good as the score.
-Dawn
Rating: -
Once I saw Superman Returns, I went out and got the soundtrack. Talk about outstanding score writing, Ottman is turning ears towards his style of music writing. What makes it outstanding for me, is how much he does both his own style, and keeps the style of John Williams from the orginal Superman. Very thematic, like Richard Wagner or Gustav Mahler. You hear the theme over and over, and yet you still here new and fuller music as well. Just another addition to the list of wonderful soundtracks out there.
Rating: -
The X2 and Fantastic Four scores where really weak thematically. Those scores had a restrained sound to them with some gaps in the orchestral performances. Not so with Superman Returns! Ottman has composed a score staying true to Williams' original without it BEING Williams' original.
The Kent Family theme, Superman March and love theme are all here with a few different renditions such as a prelude to the heroic theme in SAVING THE WORLD. Ottman also wrote a theme for Lex Luthor which was missing from the other scores.
All in all, the score sounds epic and heroic. This is a must own for Superman fans and score collectors alike.
HIGHLIGHT TRACKS:
-Main Titles
-Memories
-Rough Flight
-Saving the World
-Reprise/Fly Away
The CD includes enhanced content:
Superman Returns Trailers #1 and #2;
Behind the Scenes: Superman Returns Score
"Look up in the Sky: Amazing Story of Superman" - Trailer
Rating:  -
John Ottmans work is fairly new to me. He came to my attention with his score for X2- X-men United, which i thought was a great improvement from the first X-men film. After that whenever i would see his name i would pay closer attention to his music, such as the case with the movie Hide and Seek which i think he did a wonderful job on.
Now he has paired with long time collaberator and friend Bryan Singer to score Superman Returns, the long awaited sequel which has been in the making for some 15 or so years.
One thing that really disappointed me about the third and foruth Batman films (besides how bad they were) was the fact that Danny Elfman's theme was disgarded for a cheap imitation by Elliot Goldenthal. Not the case with Superman Returns. The film was more of a continuation of the Donner films, and so was the score. While it was a great thing to prominantly feature Williams music in the film, I wish Ottman would have been a bit more daring in making this score HIS. But that is about the only negative thing I have to say about this otherwise beautifully orchestrated score.
Ottman helped to tell the story without being overly intrusive, which is kind of hard to do especially when making a Superman film. Supermans personal theme was a nice addition, although Lex Luthors theme came up a bit empty. There is beautiful use of choir, and strong horns as well.
Its not the greatest score ive ever heard but it is definitely a great addition to anyones collection. I look forward to hearing more from John Ottman, and as an aspiring filmmaker, I would hope to one day work with him.
Rating:  -
If you want something to collect with your memorabilia for the movie, than by all means add this to your collection. But, in terms of having something memorable to listen, there is nothing here. This is a very paint-by-numbers score. Some basic themes with the standard dependency on some chorus to make it sound bigger than it is. This isn't a soundtrack that you'll want to listen to over and over for its own sake. It's very formulistic with no driver or passion. I haven't seen the movie yet to know how it fits in with the tone and mood of the film. On its own, it pales in comparison not to just William's majestic effort, but to standard film scores of the time.
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