Batman Forever

Composed by Elliot Goldenthal

Orchestrated by Robert Elhai and Elliot Goldenthal

Conducted by Jonathan Sheffer

Produced by Matthias Gohl

Released by Atlantic Records on July 11th, 1995

Total Running Time: 44:23

     Composers invariably get linked to a particular genre or character when they produce scores that successfully blend the action onscreen with a theme or musical style. Just consider the pairings of John Barry with James Bond, Jerry Goldsmith with Star Trek, and especially John Williams with Star Wars and Superman. Such is the case with the Batman franchise. Danny Elfman’s score to the original film set the tone that would serve through a sequel and the subsequent animation run under the capable hands of Shirley Walker (which I consider to be the best animated superhero series ever put on screen). After the second film, Batman Returns, Tim Burton would remain on as producer, but directing abilities would fall to Joel Schumacher. Thus the franchise began its “fall from grace,” terminating in the absolutely dreadful Batman & Robin.

     With Elfman’s departure (which was sorely missed), Elliot Goldenthal was hired to provide the score. Goldenthal is a composer who I really didn’t care for at first, but now he’s starting to grow on me. While Titus may have been a truly odd score, Final Fantasy proved to be something that I found quite enjoyable and the same holds true for Batman Forever. It will never replace Elfman’s work on the series, but it works in its own right.

     Very little of the dark gothic style that Elfman brought to his Batman survives the transition to Goldenthal, but then again it wouldn’t have set well with the tone of the film. Instead, Goldenthal’s score is much lighter, and even approaches whimsical qualities at certain points. Instead of a theme there is an overture, which functions sort of like a theme but it’s not composed in a nature that allows itself to be morphed around easily in the score. Goldenthal’s action set pieces are fun to listen to, but may grate on some listeners who don’t care for the collection of noise that he assembles into these cues.

     His work on percussion elements is the most interesting, and the quirky orchestrations also lend to the uniqueness of this score. The style undergoes little variations here and there, most of which are an entertaining break from the rest of the music ("Nygma Variations" comes to mind, but while it starts off strong, it descends into complete weirdness for about the last third of the track). Some of these, like "Mr. E’s Dance Card", can get annoying though it does have some great violin work going on.

     I like this score, but for those who aren’t big on Goldenthal’s style, or who simply hated this film completely, it would probably be wise to pass on. For those willing to take a chance with this one, there are plenty of rewarding moments, though nothing will ever surpass Elfman’s classic work on the first two films.

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