Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Do you remember the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film? It is so cheesy I'm not sure how it became so popular. I would say the same about Godzilla.

Brian Tyler scored the 2014 film remake with his usual sounds and incredible levels of intensity. Although another great score from one of my favorite composers, this all sounds very familiar. If you pay close attention and with the familiarity with scores for Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3, then you will see (or hear) that the sounds and themes from this aren't completely original.



One of the largest incidences of theme recycling such as this is from Hans Zimmer. The Battle from Gladiator has a noticeable theme in a few parts that are impossible to miss. They are nearly identical to 2013's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl main theme which was in fact composed by Hans Zimmer despite the credit going largely to Klaus Badelt.

Brian Tyler did in fact compose the music for Thor: The Dark World and Iron Man 3, so it is not terrible, just slightly disappointing. The music is very similar.

On-the-other-hand, the rest of the music that is original is very good. Brian Tyler used some techniques heard in his score from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and some similar sounds from the the Terra Nova theme in Brotherhood. He may borrow from himself often, but his work is excellent and irreplaceable. I couldn't think of another composer who could have pulled off Brian Tyler's work on the Marvel films better than him (maybe Steve Jablonsky, since he shares a similar sound).

Brian Tyler has a very noticeable sound to his scores. Much of his recent work shares the same sound, not necessarily the same theme. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles seems so sum up his works in one package. We will not see him return for this year's sequel, as Steve Jablonsky will be picking it up. Listen to the score below and send me your thoughts.