8) Don’t Treat The Score Like An Afterthought
Following the downright excellent work done by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL for the MoS and BvS soundtracks, Danny Elfman undoubtedly had some big shoes to fill. Yet, even with the occasionally unique track, the produced score came across as mostly generic. This led to several major moments in the film feeling far less epic and emotionally resonant than they could’ve been. Lacking the gravitas that came with the previous soundtracks, Elfman elected to go with a nostalgic “celebration” of DC’s musical history instead of something more original.
It’s unclear why Junkie XL was replaced/left the project, but it’s difficult not to be disappointed after thinking about what could’ve been. That being said, after recent reports that Danny Elfman had to use storyboards when making the soundtrack and how his inclusion was “very last minute,” it’s difficult to really blame anyone except WB (or whoever it was that hired him in place of Junkie).
They were so adamant about replacing Junkie’s score that they brought someone in las tminute to basically create ANYTHING that works. Without a proper creative process, the score got de-prioritized, Elfman got lazy, and his work ended up being pretty forgettable.
If there’s something the DC films clearly have over the MCU, it’s the well developed scores. With JL, the music is weak because it simply supports the action/events happening on screen. It doesn’t enhance them or end up doing more than just blending in with the scenery.
Superhero scores, when done right, heighten a movie’s quality far more than people realize. WB needs to think these things through and consider how their over-zealousness can lead to issues like this. Learn from this Warner Bros., and make sure that whoever ends up doing the next score gets the chance to provide a suitably super soundtrack.