Avatar: Music from the Motion Picture

There is really nothing special about this music and only if you have been suckered again by Cameron's visions of grandeur will you like it.

It was not a giant leap of faith on the part of James Cameron to choose the American composer James Horner as the man for his long-awaited Avatar's score. The two collaborated on Aliens and Titanic, with (if you're going on the number of award nominations) a relative degree of success. It was, however, something of a punt for Horner, since the Aliens experience was, reportedly, far from harmonious, thanks to Cameron's famously dictatorial approach. It took Horner's score for Braveheart (1995) to convince Cameron that he was needed on the Titanic project. Titanic went on to sweep the board at the 1998 Oscars, with Horner winning for best original score. Critics have long labelled Horner as repetitive and derivative - relying heavily on simple, four-chord motifs to terrifically bland effect. Sadly, this rings true for Avatar. At its best, the lush jungle landscape of the planet Pandora are evoked using a clever interplay of dramatic African rhythms and evocative chanting. At its worst, there is an insipid central theme, overlaid, at times, with electric and vocal trickery, but never soaring or memorable. Nowhere is there the grand vision of Braveheart, Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean, all of which you can at least hum afterwards. On a high note, though, there is also no Celine Dion. And for that we should be extremely grateful.