Soundtrack Review: Superman Returns

By Douglas Strassler Aug 9, 2006, 16:14 GMT

Bryan Singer breathed life into one of the biggest franchises in movie history with Superman Returns, one of the best blockbusters of the summer.  Superhero success is familiar terrain for composer John Ottman of Fantastic Four and X2 fame, and the score here is on the same level.

Recorded with a 97-piece orchestra led by conductor Damon Intrabartolo, Superman includes some original work and themes inspired by the great John Williams, who scored Richard Donner’s first Superman movie. He honors it, and adapts it with tracks like “Memories” and “You’re Not One of Them.”  I was also impressed by “How Could You Leave Us?” and “I Wanted You to Know;” the titles hint at melodrama but Ottman’s music is both lusher and richer than that.  It is also worth sitting through the credits music, “Reprise/ Fly Away,” in which the notes literally soar higher and higher, just like the subject does. 

My one complaint?  There’s no new song to rival the amazing “Can You Read My Mind?” from the original Superman; in fact, this film version opts for no song just like most of the other sequels had.  It’s a loss, but there’s still plenty to like about this soundtrack.