Review: The Dark Knight OST
Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard
One would be hard pressed to find any film score buff who was impressed with the music to Batman Begins. A lot of people, while liking the revamp of the Batman franchise, simply could not get used to the change in style in the music.
Danny Elfman's Batman theme is instantly recognizable, and his music created an environment for the first two movies. When Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard were brought on board to work on Christopher Nolan's film, they created a new electronic universe for the new series. Unfortunately, the change in direction was not as successful as some would have liked.
The score is not very good. I know that seems like a cop-out description, but because it's so disappointing a track-by-track analysis is not necessary. Like the score, this review would be so repetitive and unmemorable as to make it unreadable. A focus on the highlights (and not so good) is all that is necessary for this score.
Why So Serious?
The Dark Knight kicks off with what is believed to be the Joker's new "theme." The first track, Why So Serious? scores the opening sequence, and it is mostly a loud siren noise underscored later with a pulsing beat. Nothing too original or memorable there. It definitely throws things off-kilter a bit, fitting of the Joker, but you can't help wondering if another composer could have created something much more effective. It's 9 minutes long and pretty repetitive.
Harvey Two-Face
Harvey Two-Face features a break from the generic action noise of the first two tracks, Harvey Two-Face begins with a solemn sounding piece, undoubtedly written by Howard, followed by more of the pulsing beat and some typical piano work.
A Little Push
A Little Push is just downright eerie. This is where the "noise" that Zimmer is so fond of actually works, even on the album. There is no real development, just some creepy music that might truly work in the film underscoring the Joker. Truly menacing.
Like a Dog Chasing Cars
This track includes the Joker's siren in a much better way than the opening track. It's not as long.
Introduce a Little Anarchy
This contains the only variation of the Batman theme on the CD. Then generic action beats.
A Dark Knight
A Dark Knight is about as close as you can get to real music on this album, and it's probably the highlight both because it signals the end of your listening experience and because it serves as a "Best Of" track for the CD. If you want to hear the score I would recommend listening to this track and skipping the rest, it contains the actual music minus a lot of the pulsing underscore.
The common trend in every track is that just when you wonder if the track is going to get somewhere or reach a crescendo or accomplish anything, it ends. The electronic pulsing gets really old by the fourth track (Aggressive Expansion), and almost the entire album is underscored with it. It's hard to believe that combining a skilled composer like James Newton Howard with a guy like Hans Zimmer who has created some memorable music even if you dislike his methods could produce something so...forgettable.
And if this review seemed a little sparse in description, it's because The Dark Knight didn't offer much to work with.
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