Soundtrack Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)

Posted by Jorn Tillnes

January 2, 2009

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120808 1901 soundtrackr1 Soundtrack Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) This is a review of the motion picture score for Journey to the Center of the Earth by Andrew Lockington.

“Andrew Lockington has delivered a solid score with above average and great adventurous cues which leaves you craving for more”

This movie is based on the amazing story by Jules Verned, surprisingly also called “Journey To The Center of the Earth”. This time it was done in 3D starring Brendan Frasier. Previously Bernard Hermann, David Kurtz, Bruce Broughton and others have composed for these movies and this time the honor goes to Andrew Lockington. You might not recognize the name, but he is hot right now with the release of City of Ember which I will review soon and previously for Skinwalkers. He is getting his fair share of adventure movie scores which happens to be one of my favourite genres because of the freedom it allows the composer. Remember Ilan Eshkeri’s Stardust from 2007? A relatively unknown composer who made one of the greatest adventure film scores for many years which goes to show that name is nothing, music is everything. Let’s see how Andrew Lockington did for this year’s rendition of “Journey to the center of the earth”.

Track List

Journey Theme
Morning Routine
Max’s Things
Iceland
Hannah And The Institute
Climbing Sneffels
Trapped
Rope Descent
The Generator
Mine Car Adventure
Diamonds And Muscovite
Water Drop
The Center Of The Earth
Mushroom House And Artifacts
Goodbye Max
Building The Raft
Storm
The Search For Sean
Magnetic Rocks
Meet At The River
Dinosaur!
Skull Rescue
Volcano
The Return

Too Much Average

For those of you who has seen the movie, I’m sure you’ve noticed the music in there and it does sound very entertaining. Andrew Lockington is not one to use much electronic sound and therefore relies on old-fashioned orchestras without much added to them and we all know orchestras can sound great. Let me just say that the score for “Journey To The Center Of The Earth” is never boring, nor does it have any bad cues. Is it brilliant then? Not at all, it lands somewhere between ok and very good and it almost went very wrong if it hadn’t been for a few cues. Most cues on this score is slightly above average and the style is a little adventurous and a little heroic.

First off the main theme “Journey Theme” is light and takes flight so to speak. It’s great until about 50 seconds in where it transforms into a mindless action cue. “Climbing Sneffels” sounds like something Joel Goldsmith could have done for the Stargate series and movies, but it’s not a bad thing. It’s heroic and slightly whimsical in nature and sweeps between lows and highs, not a bad cue at all, but a very good one. Then you have “Water Drop” which has hints of an electronic bass in the background which almost ruins it, but the fast string section and the brassy horns makes it a good action cue. “The Center of the Earth” has a very John Williams-esque fantasy sound to it. I like the way it starts, like a bird singing, almost Disney-like at times and finally a cue that utilizes the excellent piano theme from the beginning. It is not consistent as it changes nature once or twice, but it works well. This is the best cue of this score. “Building The Raft” is a slow developing cue that creeps up on you just as you had given up on it. It’s a great buildup to a heroic action cue that has you making almost swashbuckling sword motions as it goes along, not that this is a pirate movie or anything. “Storm”, “Skull Rescue” and “Volcano” are also great cues that are all very adventurous and fun to listen to. Like I said before, the rest of the cues are slightly above average, but the cues I just mentioned makes it a good listen.

Conclusion

Andrew Lockington makes good out of a decent adventure movie with an adventurous and at times very fun-filled score who misses a few elements to take it to the top. I think that most people will enjoy this score as it has something for anyone, but will anyone love it? I doubt that, but Andrew Lockington has delivered a solid score with above average and great adventurous cues which leaves you craving for more.

120808 1901 soundtrackr2 Soundtrack Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)