Zanobard Reviews

Michael Giacchino’s superbly energetic Fantastic Four theme leads a chanting charge through his full score for First Steps, with a wonderfully retro-infused orchestral style, utter standouts in the Galactus and Silver Surfer themes and some incredible action sequences overall cementing this as one of the very best scores of the year so far.

So first let’s talk about the theme. You’ve actually probably heard it a few times already, as it’s been used in pretty much every piece of video marketing for the movie itself (which in my opinion is exactly what a main theme should be used for, so it’s amazing to see Marvel continuing the trend here). It’s fitting too as the theme is pretty much a perfect musical representation of the titular team – it’s retro, 1960s-esque and has a solidly upbeat and catchy motif to boot. The theme track opens with gentle chanting vocals and tranquil strings, before twinkling percussion echoes four hopeful notes, sounding very much like “FAN-TAS-TIC-FOUR” in structure without actually speaking it. I love it when a superhero theme does this, like how the main part of John Williams’ iconic Superman theme is three notes long and seems to almost happily say “SU-PER-MAN!“, or how Theodore Shapiro’s awesomely silly theme for Captain Underpants does the same thing but with vocals as well – “Underpants, he’s Captain Un-der-pants!“. And we’ll get to that with the Fantastic Four too; after the percussive twinkle, noble brass takes the stage to play Giacchino’s new theme in full, with chanting vocals and foot-tapping percussion kicking off a spectacular pace. After a minute of triumphant build-up with heroic orchestra abound the whole thing then explodes with tremendous crescendo, concluding with a brilliant and now fully vocal “FAN-TAS-TIC-FOUR!”.

Wow. Now I’m a pretty big Michael Giacchino fan, but even I have to admit he’s outdone himself here. This theme is just perfect; it has the retro ’60s-inspired style of the new Fantastic Four absolutely nailed, and one cannot deny the sheer catchiness of the motif itself either (with its triumphant vocal conclusion being the absolute cherry on top of the cake). What an opening. And as if it couldn’t get any better, an extended version is also included at the start of the full score album, with triumphant brassy fanfare kicking the theme off in the first minute. So with expectations now firmly sky-high let’s see what else the composer has in store thematically; next up is “The Galactus/Silver Surfer Suite”. Moody strings and rising brass open the piece, with chanting vocals then building a sense of sheer malevolence with a grandly repeating and increasingly ominous three note motif for the mighty Galactus himself. After crescendoing dramatically though the music then shifts and becomes much more solemn and melancholic, with another brand new theme emerging; Silver Surfer’s. This rather forlorn and tragic motif plays at first on quietly foreboding brass, piano and strings before building to a deafening crescendo and then practically erupting into a frankly incredible-sounding action sequence; Surfer’s theme plays imposingly and thunderously throughout with chanting vocals and soaring brass, toeing the line between epic and villainous just as Mysterio’s theme did for Giacchino’s Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Gentle piano then closes out the Surfer’s theme just as melancholically as it began, and overall I have to say, It’s quite something when your villain theme is on par with your main theme – again cue Mysterio’s theme from Spider-Man: Far From Home – but Giacchino has genuinely done it here. Again… wow. The sheer orchestral majesty of Silver Surfer’s theme here, particularly in its frenetic action sequence, is truly something to behold. Galactus’ by comparison is perhaps a little less memorable, but the three note rising repetition does a good job of inducing dread which fits well with the titular villain. With themes established the score begins proper with “Pregnancy Testing 1, 2, 3”; gently twinkling percussion and hopeful strings occupy this track’s two minute runtime, with the Fantastic Four (F4) theme playing optimistically throughout. “Fantastic Four, First Cue” then dials up the hope considerably with a lengthy and happily upbeat playthrough of the theme on rousing brass until the three minute mark, at which point rather frantic action takes over. Swirling strings and pounding drums take the forefront here with tense excerpts of the F4 theme until triumphant chanting vocals and brass heroically close out the five minute cue. Again, the orchestral style here is just breathtaking. It’s so wonderfully retro and yet modern at the same time, perfectly fitting with the Fantastic Four, and the quality of the recording too is *chef’s kiss*.

The hopeful tone suddenly vanishes for “Herald Today, Gone Tomorrow” as moody brass and strings instead take centre stage; coldly worrisome vocals reintroduce Silver Surfer’s melancholic motif here too, with some particularly eerie strings evoking an almost horror-like tone through the rest of the track. The orchestral optimism then starts to return at the beginning of “Out To Launch”, with electronic echoes toward the F4 theme playing alongside gentle strings before noble brass and quietly chanting vocals slowly rise from the two minute mark to a powerfully heroic crescendo. Tense brass opens “A Galactus Case Of The Munchies” (never change, Mr. Giacchino) with increasingly imposing vocals chanting their way into the forefront alongside bursts of frantic strings and brass. From two minutes the music then dies down and Galactus’ ominous three note theme plays moodily, with “Bowel Before Me” continuing this eerie ambience on creepy high-pitched strings initially before Galactus rises once again with increasingly in-your-face vocals. Frantic action then kicks off at the ninety second mark with crashes of worrisome brass, tense strings and dramatic vocals practically shouting Silver Surfer’s theme, which then leads straight into spectacular action setpiece “The Light Speed Of Your Life”. Tense excerpts of the F4 theme play hopelessly against the sheer thunderous majesty of the Silver Surfer and the grand malevolence of Galactus all across this four minute cue, and the result is absolutely orchestrally incredible.

Rapid action continues through “Nothing Neutron Under The Sun”, with imposing vocal villainy in centre stage alongside tense brassy excerpts from the F4 theme. The mood however then slow to a worrisome crawl at the start of “Starship Birth”, with wary strings and rumbles of brass building in wary volume and intensity across the first few minutes. From here though the music quietens, with a gently peaceful rendition of the F4 theme then playing on piano and light strings. A more upbeat tone arrives for the subsequent “Span-tastic Voyage”, with strings and brass toying with the F4 theme as it builds emphatically towards heroism again all across the track. A sudden crash of percussion then opens “The Bridges Of Silver Surfer County” with the titular character’s theme thundering into focus once again, firstly on gigantic orchestra and then on practically deafening chanting vocals. Apprehensive strings then echo the Galactus motif in “A Mole In Your Plan” with a particularly worrisome vocal and brassy crescendo being reached alongside a tense F4 theme. The horror-like strings from earlier then reprise in “A Walk On The City” with chanting vocals and grandly imposing brass featuring Galactus’ ever-malevolent theme before frenetic action once again kicks off at the two minute mark, and the remainder of the six minute track interchanges tensely between that, an anxious F4 theme and the increasingly in-your-face motif for Galactus.

As the score nears its end, pounding drums open “The Other Sue Drops” alongside bursts of shrill brass and vocals with action continuing in much a similar frenetic vein to that of prior cues until the three minute mark, at which point a sheer sense of orchestral sorrow suddenly takes over with a massive vocal and orchestral crescendo ensuing and Silver Surfer’s theme in tow. Mournful strings then occupy much of “Don’t Sue The Baby!”, with sombre vocals cementing the downtrodden new tone with a regretful rendition of the F4 theme, though for the final minute some hope does start to emerge with the chanting vocals of the main theme reprising alongside gentle electronic hints. Serene strings echo this newly solemn yet slightly hopeful mood at the start of “Without Further Adieu” before chanting vocals and increasingly upbeat brass reprise the F4 theme. The energetic “Carseat Drivers” continues this building hope in an enjoyably funky manner before “Fantastic Four To Be Reckoned With” happily returns to the F4 theme for a full Main On Ends style playthrough, with orchestra and “FAN-TAS-TIC FOUR!” chants entertainingly abound. To close out this wonderful album, “Tripping The Lights Fantastic” then gives the title theme one last hurrah, this time in a gently romantic and lightly jazzy string and brass style.

Overall, Michael Giacchino’s dazzling score for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is everything you’d hope it would be. The main theme, played enthusiastically through Standout Cue “Fantastic Four To Be Reckoned With”, perfectly encapsulates the unending hope and optimism of the Four through a wonderfully retro ’60s-inspired style – complete with triumphant brass fanfare and breathtaking vocals – and happily it features extensively across the album through heroic highs (“Fantastic Four, First Cue”, “Out To Launch”) and mournful lows (Don’t Sue The Baby!”) proving its considerable versatility as it does so too, so you certainly don’t feel it’s underutilised. And counterpointing it are the equally intriguing sorrowful Silver Surfer and malevolent Galactus themes, with both leading some impeccable action setpieces (“The Light Speed Of Your Life”, “A Walk On The City”) as well as their own entertainingly dramatic and indeed Standout suite at the end of the album. I will say, the Silver Surfer theme truly is amazing; it’s up there with Mysterio’s for me in not only absolutely rocking the score but also nearly outperforming the main theme in how thunderously enjoyable it is. The orchestral style of the album also deserves a massive shoutout; the quality of the recording is off the charts, sounding absolutely sublime throughout from the swirling strings to the roaring brass, and the chanting vocal work in particular is incredible – not only for the ever-enthusiastic F4 theme but also the dramatic Silver Surfer and imposing Galactus ones too.

All-in, Michael Giacchino has done it again. This is how you score a superhero movie.

Score: 9/10

Standout Cues: Main Theme (Extended Version)/The Light Speed Of Your Life/Fantastic Four To Be Reckoned With/The Galactus/Silver Surfer Suite

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