The first time I watched this I was keenly aware of the musical influences: there are parts of this soundtrack that pull from The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Man of Steel - sometimes more directly than others, sometimes a combination in one cue. For as much as it pulls from other scores, it has some incredibly original pieces as well, pieces that I wish had shown up more often in the film. My favorite is Brothers in Arms. It has an energy and forward momentum that I've never experienced before. At 0:50 it has this waterfall of doom sound that uses the orchestra in a way that feels fresh and classic at the same time and then at 2:36 it turns into the most heroic music I've ever heard. This piece is the defining characteristic of the film for me and the thing that made the greatest impression on me.
Whenever I like something new - that I've never experienced before - it feels deeply familiar. This is always the case when I find new music that I like. There were so many elements in this film that had that effect the first time I watched it. The reduced frame rate, the iconic image of Tom Hardy strapped to the front of the car, the center-framing, the war boys, and certainly Brothers in Arms; all these pieces felt so close, like I'd experienced them before but in a dream or something. In the way that I can so easily point to the soundtracks that influence other cues in this film, there's nothing to point to for these elements: no movie, song, piece of art, character, or anything that I can point to that would suggest I've experienced these things before and yet, upon first contact, they feel as close to me as my most listened to music.
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