Marvel Movies' Forgettable Music: A New Video Digs Into What's Gone Wrong

Ever feel like all Marvel movies look the same? You’re not alone. Now, a new video (watch it above) makes the related case for how those cookie-cutter aesthetics extend to the blockbuster films’ painfully forgettable music.

Related: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas Toast John Williams and His Music at AFI Tribute

A new 13-minute critical essay titled “The Marvel Symphonic Universe” from Every Frame a Painting, explores why most people — including the man-on-the-street interviewees featured at its outset — can easily recall the themes from Star Wars, James Bond, and Harry Potter, but draw a total blank when it comes to music used by any installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The reasons for this, according to the video, are numerous, from the prevalent use of temp music in the filmmaking process, to the studio’s efforts to make their works, from top to bottom, as safe and easily digestible as possible.

Related: Composer Alexandre Desplat and His 8 Oscar-Nominated Movie Scores

The result are scores that, as the video says, aren’t “bad music; just bland and inoffensive.” Using a variety of film clips and snippets from two Hollywood Reporter roundtable discussions between some of Hollywood’s most famous composers — all of whom lament the current make-it-sound-the-same cinematic sonic landscape — it’s an ear-opening dissection of the various negative forces compelling Marvel to make sure that no emotional beat isn’t obvious and predictable to every moviegoer. The clip’s astute analysis is sure to be more memorable than any of the ho-hum music it features.

Watch John Williams talk about composing ‘Star Wars’ music for Yoda: