Tyler Bates has done musically for "Watchmen" what Zack Snyder has done for it in film.
What sets this score apart most from what one might expect for a "superhero" film is that it is nothing remotely like any "superhero" score, or traditional score in general. It is very non-score sounding, more like musical characterizations. It separates the film from the genre almost as much as the original comic did for it's genre way back when. In this way, it is similar to 2008's wonderfully eclectic score for "The Dark Knight" and even hearkens back to "Blade Runner" for Vangelis which was very 80's sounding then without feeling unscore-like.
Bates does an incredible job of sounding nostalgic, melancholy bittersweet and hopelessly desperate as we travel with the Watchmen through generations of heroes and happenings, conflicts and commentaries. All this without distracting or detaching ourselves from the film's immediate present day events taking place. It feels appropriately 80's while at the same time new, fresh and exciting. Breaking new ground, yet familiar. The instruments vary as well, going anywhere from lush orchestral strings to near industrial techno and rock without skipping a beat or feeling out of place. It weaves wonderfully with the artist songs Zack Snyder chose for moments throughout the movie.
1."Rescue Mission"
2."Don't Get Too Misty Eyed"
3."Tonight the Comedian Died"
4."Silk Spectre"
5."We'll Live Longer"
6."You Quit!"
7."Only Two Names Remain"
8."The American Dream"
9."Edward Blake – The Comedian"
10."The Last Laugh"
11."Prison Fight"
12."Just Look Around You"
13."Dan's Apocalyptic Dream"
14."Who Murdered Hollis Mason?"
15."What About Janey Slater?"
16."I'll Tell You About Rorschach"
17."Countdown"
18."It Was Me"
19."All That Is Good"
20."Requiem" (Excerpted from Mozart's "Requiem")
21."I Love You"
