Green Lantern (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score composed by James Newton Howard to the 2011 superhero film Green Lantern directed by Martin Campbell based on the character from DC Comics, and starred Ryan Reynolds as Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan / Green Lantern, alongside Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, and Tim Robbins. The album featured 18 tracks which was released through WaterTower Music on June 14, 2011.
Contents
Background
In January 2011, it was announced that James Newton Howard would compose the musical score for Green Lantern. Howard previously associated with Campbell on Vertical Limit (2000), and also composed the DC Comics superhero films Batman Begins (2005) and The Dark Knight (2008) with Hans Zimmer. For the film, Howard composed large orchestral themes and electronic, hard rock elements for the titular superhero and the antagonist respectively. The score was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios and AIR Studios in London, along with the Sony Scoring Stage in Sony Pictures Studios, and the Village studio in Los Angeles. The soundtrack was released through WaterTower Music on June 14, 2011, featuring 18 tracks and also included the "Green Lantern Oath" by Reynolds.
Reception
Thomas Glorieux of Maintitles wrote "During many years James Newton Howard was always one of my safety nets, a composer who had such a typical voice one could rely on. Even his less inspired efforts of late still had that tone, but that is mostly gone in Green Lantern. What's even more disappointing, Green Lantern is a box office movie. Not a very good one, but still heroic material that could have received a better heroic score." James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "It's all so tired-sounding, all so free of anything which might entice anybody back to listen again; it's not quite Iron Man-bad, but in some ways it's even more disappointing than that was, since we actually know what this composer's capable of doing."
Filmtracks wrote "Howard rarely sleepwalks through these major scores, but a sampling of his snoring could have been used to augment the sound design in Green Lantern and nobody would have noticed the difference." Daniel Schwieger of AssignmentX wrote "Green Lantern is all musical colors of the Hollywood blockbuster rainbow- at once aware of its hero's cosmic significance, the utter sci-fi strangeness of his shtick, and the rhythmic rock imperative of most superhero scoring nowadays. Like the movie that proudly wears his ring, there's nothing about Green Lantern that's escaped James Newton Howard's musical sight."
R. L. Shaffer of IGN wrote "James Newton Howard's overbearing score plays them out." Bill Graham of Collider wrote "even James Newton Howard's score is mostly uninspired". Melody MacCready of Screen Rant wrote "Howard composed a score that was equally as thrilling as it was fun. It matched the tone for a character as energetic as Green Lantern, but when it wanted to present the epicness of a scene, Howard did his job. His soundtrack could have easily been used for the likes of Superman or Spider-Man." The cue "We're Going to Fly Now" has been regarded as one of the best superhero score cues of the 21st century by Inverse.
Personnel credits
Credits adapted from liner notes:
