In a recent article, I said that I “adore” the work of composer Henry Jackman. Most of the time, that statement rings true. When it comes to his score for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I’m not so kind. While the score definitely works better during the film than it does on the soundtrack album, it is merely perfunctory. While I do feel let down that Alan Silvestri’s theme only appears briefly, wasn’t really the source of my disappointment. You see, I really do adore his work on Wreck-It Ralph, Kick-Ass, Kick-Ass 2, and X-Men: First Class. Those scores had a lot of fun and provided a more defined sense of character, even during the action cues. While The Winter Soldier is a much more serious, pointed film that might not lend itself to strong thematic cues, I still felt the musical palette of the film was forgettable and generic. By the time Age of Ultron rolls around, there will be no memorable motifs to quote from Cap’s latest outing.
In better news, it looks like Jackman has let slip a bit of news on a Wreck-It Ralph sequel. The first one was something I genuinely enjoyed, even if it felt like a guilty pleasure for a millennial doofus like me. The jokes and the emotional beats both worked, the animation style dealt with pixellation and framerates in clever ways, and John C. Reilly really nailed that vocal performance.
In a recent interview with Collider, Jackman let the following bit of info slip:
“I can’t tell you more, not because I’m being coy, but I believe that (a sequel) is officially on the cards. I don’t know any more other than a story is indeed being written.”
That’s not a lot to go on, but it is more than enough to get me excited. I’m not normally one to get excited about Disney’s non-Pixar CG outings, but after the success of Frozen my confidence in their CG Animation team is a bit higher.