The Concordian

A good film score adds an extra layer to the movie, providing tension, humor, or whatever the film may need at the time.

But, a great film score, when seperated from the movie, still plays like a work of an actual album. While the score for Inglorious Basterds fit the movie perfectly, the resulting soundtrack album from the film was uneven, and apart from the tracks composed by Ennio Morricone, was very weak when taken away from its visual element.

This is where Sherlock Holmes succeeds with the ever efficient Hans Zimmer behind the music. His quirky mix of industrial and classical with a steampunk overtone not only added to the spirit of the film, but here the soundtrack could certainly have been composed on its own.

It plays as one long piece with many motifs and refrains, and is a captivating listen throughout. Not all is perfect however, as the piece “Data, Data, Data” tries to be subtle and tense, but is a bore, even with a running time less than three minutes.

There’s also many

a moment where the music tends to drag on, and surprisingly enough its usually the shorter tracks that are the least interesting. The massive “Psychological Recovery... 6 Months” encompasses everything that’s great about Zimmer’s work, with mammoth brass, skittering strings, and pounding percussion rivals his best work from

The Thin Red Line and Gladiator, as well as his trademark incorporation of electronic and classical. The Sherlock Holmes score is just another testament to why Zimmer is one of the best film scorers of all time.

Standouts: Discombobulate, Marital Sabotage, Psychological Recovery...6 Months

Rating: B

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