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HOUSE OF WAX – John Ottman
Original Review by Jonathan Broxton
I realize the statement I’m about to make is a very sweeping generalization, but I’m finding that I don’t “get” John Ottman. When he first burst onto the scene back in 1995 with his score for The Usual Suspects, I was one among many who considered him to be a truly fresh and original talent in film music. Subsequent scores such as Incognito, Snow White, Apt Pupil and Goodbye Lover maintained the high standards, but recently I have been finding myself growing more and more disinterested in his music, and I can’t quite out my finger on the reason why. X-Men 2 was OK, and Gothika and Hide and Seek were competent but little more, but his music of late has been developing a disturbing “samey” quality that continues from project to project. While it’s important to have a voice of your own, it’s also important to have the compositional ability to switch genres effectively, and I still find it amazing how Ottman continues get himself attached to massive franchises like X-Men, Fantastic Four and the upcoming Superman Returns without really (in my opinion) showing himself to have a great deal of range. Read more…
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