Marvel Music | Through the Shattered Lens

I’m a bit biased in that I do believe that at this very moment whatever film Marvel Studios releases I will probably like it. I’m very close to having drunk the MCU Kool-Aid. Which is a good thing that trashfilguru is here to keep me from drinking that delicious, overly sweetened drink by the liters.

I know that the MCU is not what one would call high-brow art, but I will admit that it’s a very entertaining piece of world-building that we really haven’t seen done in film history. Well, at least not in the scale that Kevin Feige and the creative minds over at Marvel Studios have been attempting (and succeeding) these past 7-8 years.

One film that I highly enjoyed and consider one of my favorites of 2014 (if not one of the best) was the sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger. This sequel was a game-changer in regards to the very cinematic universe that Marvel had been building since the first Iron Man. Captain America: The Winter Soldier looked to up-end the very foundation of this universe by making one of it’s bricks become something to not be trusted.

Lisa Marie did a great job in conveying my thoughts about what made Captain America: The Winter Soldier such a good film (I would say great, but again I have that glass of Kool-Aid). One aspect of the film that has been given little to know attention to has been Henry Jackman’s work as film composer for the sequel. In fact, the film’s score has been much-maligned just because the filmmakers made the decision to veer away from the Alan Silvestri musical cues and motifs that had become recognizable as Captain America.

Alan Silvestri did the film score for the first film, but Jackman was tasked with recoding the very musical DNA for the sequel. What we get is a film score that’s very minimalist and supplements well the very paranoia and conspiracy tone the film’s narrative took. This was quite the opposite of Silvestri’s score for the first film mirrored that film’s nostalgic and heroic themes.

The track “Taking A Stand” which scores the David Mack illustrated and Jim Steranko-influenced end credits sequence is a perfect example of why Jackman’s score for Captain America: The Winter Soldier should be put on more “best of 2014” lists.

I think it would be safe to assume that the last week or so has been all about Captain America.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier has been tearing up the box-office both here in the US and overseas. I have seen it twice already and most likely would be thrice if the issue of bills wasn’t coming up so soon. I’m still working on writing up a quick review about my thoughts on this latest Marvel Studios offering. Until then just enjoy one of the best pieces of film score ever created for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Alan Silvestri’s “Captain America March” from Captain America: The First Avenger definitely makes one feel the decency and righteousness of the good man that is Steve Rogers. It’s so earnestly patriotic (not jingoistic at all as some were afraid this score would be) that it echoes past classic John Williams scores for the Indiana Jones film franchise. It’s also one of the few film tracks where it makes great use of the brass and percussion section of the orchestra. This song wouldn’t feel out of place in a big band orchestra playing to help celebrate the soldiers coming home after VE-Day.