About the Soundtrack: The score for "Hancock" is by John Powell, who continues to keep himself busy no matter the  movie season. The soundtrack was released by Varese Sarabande and is available in retail stores and on iTunes.  On the soundtrack, there are 20 tracks, all of which are from Powell's score, but the running times for many of the tracks are slight, so there is not an extensive length to this album.  Presumably, there are non-score song tracks that appear in the movie, so that could explain the brevity of some of Powell's cues.

 

What You Need to Know: Much like the malaise of the title character, John Powell's work begins with some laid back material that gives clear indication that this isn't your prototypical super hero.  The score starts off slow in this regard, presenting brief tracks that offer a touch of funk, jazz and relaxation to represent Hancock's less than enthusiastic charge about being a reliable super hero.  The music from the first 10 tracks of the album are rather typical to Powell's style with regards to modern scores, so there really isn't anything new or groundbreaking to discuss there.  By the halfway mark of this soundtrack, there isn't much but underscore material to engage in.

 

As the score began to progress to the second half, I realized that the template of the film was matching up with the flow of the music.  You see, what I took away from the previews from "Hancock" was that this is a film that will start off small in scale but will continue to grow in scope the deeper into the film you get.  To that concept, Powell's score runs a similar pattern alongside it.  The further along I progressed in the score, the more heroic and substantial the music became.  By the time it was over, I simply wanted the music to keep playing on.

 

"Hancock" is an album split into two halves.  The first, one has to venture past the incidental music that sets the tone of the film.  While original in moments, there really isn't much to make it memorable.  In the second portion, the music begins to peak and delivers the tremendous impact that I was hoping for all along.   These tracks really do save the album from a mediocre fate.  While many of the highlights from the latter half of the album are strong, the final two tracks are the most outstanding and serve as the summit for this musical ascent that Powell embarks on. A superb and memorable theme emerges in full by the final track. The only thing I kept thinking after the score concluded was why couldn't the entire score have been this dynamic? Selfish, I know, but you may find that you'll be asking for more of the same by the time this one concludes for you as well.

 

Final Score: "Hancock" did not begin as a soundtrack that warranted a recommendation from me, but it went on to earn its stripes.   The question is, are you the type of listener who will accept the full face of this soundtrack and take the journey, lumps and all?  If the answer is yes, you will find a score that will ultimately win you over.