Transformers: Age of Extinction (score)

Composer: Steve Jablonsky

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     




Available on iTunes ($11.99 US/Can); Amazon.com ($8.99 USd)


Track Listing:
    
1. Decision
2. Best Thing That Ever Happened
3. I'm an Autobot
4. Optimus Is Alive
5. Cemetery Wind
6. His Name Is Shane and He Drives
7. Hacking the Drone
8. Transformium
9. Galvatron Is Online
10. Your Creators Want You Back
11. The Final Knight
12. Punch Hold Slide Repeat
13. The Presence of Megatron
14. Galvatron Is Active
15. Have Faith Prime
16. Hong Kong Chase
17. The Legend Exists
18. Dinobot Charge
19. That's a Big Magnet
20. Drive Backwards
21. Honor to the End
22. Leave Planet Earth Alone
23. The Knight Ship


Total Running Time:  1:17:40


I purchased the instrumental soundtrack to the recent Transformers movie, Age of Extinction, and decided to share my thoughts.

It appears that this time the soundtrack is only a digital release (last time it was digital first then also got a CD release later on). There also doesn’t appear to be a pop song soundtrack this time around (like the first three movies got). Although there is at least one Imagine Dragons single  (“Battle Cry”) floating around from the movie.

As with his previous efforts, Steve Jablonsky’s music is grand and orchestral. It befits an epic storyline full of action and excitement. Unlike the last times, this soundtrack sounds slightly more dynamic then the last. The opening cue, Decision, breaks with the epic fantasy themes he usually employs, sounding more aggressive and interesting then the previous trilogy got. Or to put it another way, it gets to the point rather then feeling like it’s killing time by doing the sprawling space fantasy epic themes in the previous films. Best Thing That Ever Happened has a wistfulness to it (there is some violin/strings to it) that seems appropriate as the scene opens focusing on Tessa Kincaid, the token teenaged character in the film. I'm an Autobot is also dramatic and full of percussion, highlighting a scene where a character is hunted down. Have Faith Prime opens with piano and then gets more aggressive about half way through.
    

This soundtrack also has more of an ethereal, electronic-like feel to it. No doubt it was scored by a full orchestra but there’s a bit more synthesizer snuck in there this time around which is a good thing.
    

Given the emphasis on this film being a soft reboot of the core concept, they could have just as easily gotten someone new to score it. Break with the old and try something truly new. What we get instead is more of the same, with strains of the new tossed in. I like it but they could have done so much more had they wanted to go all out.
    

All and all, a good effort. A solid release and worth checking out if you like instrumental soundtracks.