Spider-Man: No Way Home

Composed by Michael Giacchino

Spider-Man: No Way Home is the only Hollywood blockbuster this year to have actually made a solid profit. There are many factors, ranging from a Christmas-time release to the noticeable lack of unnecessary and sanctimonious political and social statements in cast and crew interviews. The largest factor, however, is the premise in which a tear in the multiverse allows Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men, as well as many of their villains, to come in for a crossover extravaganza. This all comes about when Peter Parker (the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Tom Holland one), having been outed as Spider-Man by Mysterio, tries to convince Dr. Strange to cast a spell that will re-conceal his identity. This will help his friends and family, who are also struggling with the fallout of his identity reveal. Of course something goes wrong and various villains enter the universe. Now Spidey and pals need to gather the villains so they can be sent back to their proper universes. Things get even more complicated as events unfold. In the midst of a creatively floundering Marvel Cinematic Universe, this movie was a shining star. The film is full of logical head scratchers and some inconsistencies in how certain villains from the Garfield and Maguire movies are portrayed. But the end result corrects some of the issues with the latest Spider-Man iteration. No Way Home remembers that Spider-Man works best when Peter Parker’s non-superhero life suffers from his heroics.

The crossover nature of the film sparked much interest in Giacchino’s score. Many were hoping for references to Danny Elfman, James Horner, and perhaps Hans Zimmer’s contributions to the Spider-Man films. There are references to all three composers, but they are surprisingly sparse and several don’t make it onto album. Fortunately Giacchino is a master in his own right and brings several retuning and new themes to the table. This is perhaps the most consistent of the MCU scores in terms of linking to other films. First onto the old themes, which people were more excited to hear. “Shield of Pain” is the one that will generate the most nostalgia buzz. James Horner’s Spider-Man theme appears at the 1:12 mark while Danny Elfman’s Responsibility theme comes in right afterwards. Giacchino does not reference Elfman’s actual main Spider-Man theme, opting to use his Responsibility theme in the aforementioned moment and in one unreleased cue. It should be noted that many of Elfman’s mannerisms are carried over to Giacchino’s own Spider-Man theme. These include urban percussion and more gloriously the ascending choir that graced the final swinging scenes of the first two Sam Raimi films.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

Composed by Harry-Gregson Williams

In the wake of Lord of the Rings’ smashing transition to the big screen, Disney and Walden Media sought to capitalize with its own adapted fantasy series. They naturally chose that other famous British fantasy series Chronicles of Narnia, written by Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien’s contemporary and friend C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia are really children’s books, but that didn’t stop the producers and director Adam Adamson from trying to replicate the scale of Lord of the Rings. They even got the same special effects group. The series fizzled out with only three of seven books adapted, but its opener, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, is a fine and quite faithful film. The plot is that four British children are evacuated to the countryside during the London Blitz of 1940. In their temporary home they find a magical wardrobe that takes them to the realm of Narnia, a place full of mythological races and talking animals. It’s under eternal winter thanks to the rule of the White Witch (wonderfully played by Tilda Swinton), and Christmas isn’t allowed! It turns out that they have been chosen by allegorical Jesus figure and lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) to liberate the realm.

With Howard Shore having delivered a suitably epic and heavily thematic masterpiece for Lord of the Rings, film music fans wondered how Narnia would fare in the soundtrack department. Director Adam Adamson chose Harry Gregson-Williams (they previously collaborated on the Shrek franchise). The end result was underwhelming for many. Criticisms have ranged from inappropriate electronic and synthetic elements to less defined themes to sub-par sound mixing. Praise was directed towards the score’s last act where Aslan’s theme starts to take a prominent spot. The earlier tracks tend to get more criticism, especially the involvement of Lisbeth Scott. A vocalist, she has featured in numerous films and written many songs. In addition to lending her voice to “Evacuating London” and “From Western Woods to Beaversdam,” she also worked with Gregson-Williams on the song “Where,” which incorporates pieces of the score. Many criticized her involvement as it made pieces of the score sound like New Age dance music. In Gregson-Williams’ defense, the Narnia books don’t have the epic scale and depth of Lord of the Rings, so even though he could have imbued a bit more magic in places, it’s unfair to criticize him for not delivering a massive fantasy score. Still the criticisms have some merit, particularly in the definition of the themes.

Home Alone (1990)

Composed by John Williams

Acclaimed comedy writer John Hughes cooked up, with director Chris Columbus, the Christmas classic Home Alone. The premise is that child Kevin McAllister (Macaulay Culkin) wishes his family, which to be honest is full of jerks, would disappear. As it happens he and his extended family are supposed to fly to France for a Christmas vacation, but a series of mix-ups and coincidences sees them accidentally leave him behind. Kevin at first enjoys being free to do whatever he wants, but in time comes to miss his family. Worse, a pair of burglars, (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), have their eyes set on his house and frightening Old Many Marley is also around. The movie is pretty good, but achieves its high status thanks to a hilarious final sequence where Kevin defends his home with a set of traps. Home Alone’s plot would be impossible today with the advance of cellphones and other forms of communication so the movie is a bit of a time capsule as well. It also sports one of the best holiday scores from none other than John Williams.

It was actually supposed to be Bruce Broughton, who has written music for many children’s and family films, but it didn’t work out thanks to scheduling issues. Columbus approached John Williams on a whim, as the composer had never really stepped into working on family or comedy fare. To his surprise Williams jumped at the chance. The end result is a fantastic holiday score, in fact the only full-fledged Christmas soundtrack I can listen to repeatedly. The music has a magical, whimsical quality and presages Williams’ tenure on Harry Potter. He makes extensive use of celeste, chimes, xylophone, synthetic versions of the aforementioned instruments, and mischievous woodwinds. Home Alone is a great film elevated even further by an unexpected Williams score. Some cues would be right at home in a fantasy adventure or historical drama.