Sony Classical, out now on digital, on CD December 8

Danny Elfman returns to the DC movie universe 25 years after Batman Returns, and brings his Caped Crusader theme along with him.

When it was first announced that Junkie XL was scoring Zack Snyder’s Justice League movies, this felt like a positive natural progression from Batman Vs Superman’s score, which he composed with Hans Zimmer. And then it became one movie and Zack Snyder had to pull out for personal reasons, with Joss Whedon parachuting in. And then, out of the blue, in June it was announced that Danny Elfman was scoring the project.

Composers are replaced all the time – recent examples are Rogue One and Blade Runner 2049 – typically because the music isn’t working for the producers. But whereas some replacements are seen as poor substitutes, Danny Elfman scoring Batman again? Where do I sign up? And will he be using his classic 1989 Tim Burton’s Batman five-note motif? Spoiler: Yes!

The two-disc one-hour-and-42 minutes release from Sony Classical ensures that we get a good run at the score. Three songs aside  (the Bond-like Everybody Knows by Sigrid and two trailer tracks Icky Thump by The White Stripes, as well as Gary Clark Jr and Junkie XL’s cover of Come Together by The Beatles) it’s classic Elfman all the way.

The composer certainly hasn’t been a stranger to superhero movies since Batman Returns, having scored Spider-Man, Hulk, Hellboy II and Avengers: Age of Ultron along the way, but this is Dark Elfman, and crucially it sounds like the score to the third Tim Burton Batman that was never made.

As a soundtrack aficionado I frequently get annoyed by the lack of thematic continuity across movie franchises, but begrudgingly accept that the average moviegoer just needs the score to perform a specific role within the movie. As such, I wonder what discussions happened at Warner Bros when they agreed that Batman would have his 1989 theme (and not the subsequent Dark Knight or B Vs S version), that Superman would be referenced by the John Williams theme and the Hans Zimmer Man of Steel one, and that Wonder Woman would keep the Zimmer theme. By rights it should be a musical, messy melange, but it isn’t.

Historic influences aside, Elfman has created a rousing new Justice League theme showcased in Hero’s Theme. A brassy fanfare, it shares 90% of its DNA with Batman’s theme, but that’s no criticism of the catchy motif which plays out in bursts of rising four notes. New characters Cyborg, Aquaman and The Flash also get new themes, respectively heard in Cyborg Meets Diana, Aquaman in Atlantis and Spark of The Flash. While each having their own identity, they aren’t as developed as the other themes (perhaps they will evolve in their standalone movies?), a wise move considering the already note-packed soundscape. There’s even room for the movie’s dull villain to get an accompaniment in The Story of Steppenwolf.

I particularly enjoyed the lengthy bonus tracks The Tunnel Fight (11 minutes) and The Final Battle (13 minutes), not least because they can be appreciated without the noisy sound effects and dialogue. Soundtrack cues are often numerous and choppy, stopping where the music takes a temporary pause, so it’s always a thrill to here a movement-length suite.

Verdict: Elfman Returns! A very welcome return to the fold to the original DC superhero movie maestro. It’s a shame that the movie itself is such a wreck, but this is a proper, full-blooded orchestral, 100 minutes of joy. 10/10

Nick Joy