Zanobard Reviews

The score for Captain America: Brave New World takes on the tone of The Winter Soldier as a darker, colder orchestral soundscape sets in here, with composer Laura Karpman introducing her own dramatic new theme for the titular superhero that then goes head-to-head with the sinister Conspiracy motif for what is a decidedly tense MCU soundtrack entry overall.

Laura Karpman returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe once again for Captain America: Brave New World, following in the compositional footsteps of Alan Silvestri and Henry Jackman in scoring the fourth filmic outing of the titular superhero. But with a sequel as usual comes the baggage (in this case a significant amount) of prior thematic material to sift through, and here it ranges from Silvestri’s traditionally noble theme for Steve Rogers in The First Avenger to Jackman’s more subdued, darker but still epic motif for The Winter Soldier, and later the dramatic though more upbeat theme for Civil War. So there’s a lot to consider here thematically, and resultingly Karpman has navigated it rather expectedly here for Brave New World in utilising… precisely none of it. It’s probably for the best honestly, though it does hurt my desire for thematic continuity somewhat to say so. Instead, the composer introduces two brand new main themes of her own to lead this new film; the Conspiracy theme, and the new Captain America theme. The former opens the album’s first track “Captain America: Brave New World Main Title”, and it’s just as dark, eerie and foreboding as you might expect. It reminds me of the opening cue of Raiders Of The Lost Ark in its initial instrumentation, before moving up into tense strings, brass and moodiness that’s much akin tonally to that of Jackman’s Winter Soldier score.

After the Conspiracy theme builds to a particularly dark and dramatic crescendo in the prior track, the subsequent “Brave New World” introduces the score’s secondary main theme in two parts. The first is rapidly introduced as a frantic seven-note repeating action motif – again, not unlike the motif for Captain America in The Winter Soldier – with an additional, underlying solemn yet noble five-note motif sounding through on brass while the action motif pulses along, to signify the heroic nature of Sam Wilson perhaps as he struggles against the villains of the film. Together the two motifs form a propulsive, grandiose yet also rather dark and wary overarching theme, a signature of nobility to thematically fight against the Conspiracy piece. This new theme for Captain America then builds emphatically to an orchestral crescendo much like its adversary did before the track then similarly dramatically bursts out. All-in then, it’s an intriguing start to Karpman’s score; I admittedly was expecting (given her much more upbeat score for The Marvels) perhaps something with a bit more flair and vibrance, but what we have here instead is essentially Karpman’s take on The Winter Soldier; a much darker and more withdrawn score with scattering wary and tense motifs for tone and character rather than a full, unapologetically heroic superhero theme.

It’s an intriguing stylistic and thematic shift for sure, and one that likely fits well with the film itself. I can’t say myself that I’m in love with the themes here – certainly not as much as I loved the theme for The Marvels – but perhaps they’ll grow on me. Continuing on, “President Ross” then calms things down with a much quieter, more thoughtful and gentle motif for the titular character, played by Harrison Ford in the film. The forty two second “Courtyard” then dramatically reprises the Captain America action motif on blasting brass and roaring percussion and vocals, before “Hostages Saved” then orchestrally crashes the tense Conspiracy theme back into centre stage for the first thirty seconds or so until worrisome thudding action overtakes. This doesn’t last for long though as the nobler five-note side of the Captain America theme then triumphantly saves the day. The Conspiracy theme then echoes eerily along in the more subdued “Aftermath” and through most of its stylistically similar sequel “Discovery Of The Millenium” until hope starts to overtake and it finishes in a much grander manner. Tense orchestral/electronic chaos then ensues through “White House Confusion” with electric distortions, thundering brass and crashing drums occupying much of its three minute runtime.

The ever-emphatic Captain America action motif practically crashes into centre stage across the opening minute of “Junkyard” on deafening brassy bursts, with the music then simmering warily on quiet strings for the remainder of the two minute cue. The aforementioned theme then builds to a fully grandiose rendition towards the end of “No Phones” before tension and darkness starts to seep back in with “Samuel Sterns”, a properly villainous piece with eerie strings, murky electronics and moody brass echoing malevolently throughout. Frantic strings and brass then thunder tensely across the minute long “Camp Echo One Fight” at incredible speed, with the Conspiracy theme coming face-to-face with the Captain America theme in “The Island” for their first proper orchestral punch-up, with tense brassy bursts and crashing percussion galore. A rather determined Captain America theme then blasts through the similarly frenetic “Birds In The Air” with stylistic stress building throughout its two minute runtime until a final crashing crescendo is reached. “Fire” and “One Down” then tensely pick up where it leaves off, with the pace somehow even faster for a powerful further action segment with Captain America once again at the thematic forefront. These then lead into the rather spectacular “Still Chasing” with the aforementioned theme reaching a tensely thunderous action peak at the midpoint, before then standing resolute as the track builds to a worrisome end.

The Captain America theme holds stern and steadfast through the minute-long “Fleet Saved” until then simmering back down on solemn, withdrawn strings in “Aspire”. Worrisome orchestral atmosphere then occupies the subsequent “All Is Not Well” before the gentler President Ross material from earlier reprises in “Betty And Ross”. Wary tension however then starts to build again in “Confrontation” before an action explosion practically erupts through “Transformation” and “Lure” with distorted electronics, horror-like vocals and pounding drums leaping and thundering alongside a repeating two-note brassy blast, cementing a feeling of utter orchestral terror throughout together with brief, anxious interspersions of the Captain America theme. With the album overall now starting to draw to a close, “Prove It” briefly heads back into action territory at first with chanting vocals before then simmering quietly with moody strings reprising the President Ross motif. “Another Visitor” then reprises the Captain America theme in much slower, nobler form on resolute brass alongside a more withdrawn, sorrowful President Ross motif, with “Sam And Joaquin” continuing in a gentler strings-based vein. To close the score “Conspiracy Theme” then reprises the titular motif in much a similar tensely orchestral manner as the opening title track, bringing the album full conspiratorial circle before fading dramatically away.

Overall, Laura Karpman’s tense, action heavy score for Captain America: Brave New World isn’t perhaps the fist-pumpingly epic superhero soundtrack you might have expected given her work for The Marvels, but that doesn’t make it bad. Indeed, this much more grounded album leans more in the darker, espionage-y musical direction of Henry Jackman’s The Winter Soldier than say the spirited, traditionally grandiose style of Alan Silvestri’s The First Avenger. It utilises darker, moodier strings and brass to propel Karpman’s own theme for Sam Wilson’s freshly crowned Captain America as it warily weaves its way across this anxiously atmospheric soundscape, doing orchestral battle with both the sinister Conspiracy theme and the two-note horror of the Red Hulk along the way. Tracks like “Conspiracy Theme” and “Brave New World” do an excellent job of showcasing the two aforementioned main themes, with crashing bursts of dramatic brass and swathes of ominous strings not only highlighting their memorability but also Karpman’s excellent skills in orchestration too which are ever-present here – see action setpieces “Still Chasing”, “Hostages Saved” and “Lure” for great examples of this.

That all being said though, I can’t help but want a bit… more here. The main themes while interesting do pale slightly in comparison to Karpman’s much more standout theme for The Marvels, and the tone here is so akin to that of The Winter Soldier that you can’t help but wonder why they didn’t just re-hire Henry Jackman, despite how genuinely fantastic a composer Karpman is. The lack of thematic continuity also isn’t great either, though it’s difficult to blame Karpman for that given the sheer amount of prior material there is to sift through for the titular superhero, so I’m willing to let that one slide.

All-in then, it’s not perhaps quite the superheroic orchestral powerhouse you’d like it to be, but it does have its merits. Karpman’s determined new Captain America theme for example – check it out below.

Score: 7/10

Standout Cues: Brave New World/Conspiracy Theme

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