John Wick: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

History

Having been friends for some time, as well as having and sharing common interests and taste in music, both Bates and Richard have wanted to work together musically for some period of time. Director Chad Stahelski and producer Dave Leitch approached Bates to write the score for John Wick after filming had completed, and it was then that Bates had the thought of working with Richard, explaining, "Joel came to the table with great ideas and a sensibility that was exactly as I felt we should approach the music."

On July 11, 2014, it was officially announced that Bates and Richard had composed the score for the film.

Development

Both Stahelski and Leitch had expressed to both Bates and Richard they wished for the compositions of the film to be in line with John Wick's alter ego and former life, with Richard describing the two as wanting a "fun, raw, aggressive, unorthodox score", as well as the emphasis on the music of the piece being able to create an atmosphere to differentiate between the set pieces and fight sequences of John Wick. For the score of John Wick, Bates explained that the first words of musical direction that came from Stahelski and Leitch was that they wished for a score to "kick ass in the same aesthetic paradigm that IS John Wick's world", the combination of film and musical tonality.

To conceptualise the score both Bates and Richard were of the mind that the suitable approach to tackle such a score would be to "get into the headspace of John Wick" as well as understanding the tone and essence of Wick's story too, as opposed to jumping right into composition straight away without any emotional attachment. Of the opening sequence, Richard stated, "[It] was the first scene tackled. It was originally much longer and contained elements from the end of the film." Le Castle Vania, who are long-time collaborators of Bates and Richard, made their film scoring début by contributing several pieces of original music which was written specifically for various high energy scenes in the film.

Critical reception

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club praised the score and Kaleida's "Think", stating, "one of the most effective and eccentric sound track choices in a recent action movie—underscores the sense that what the viewer is watching is essentially a very loud and bloody dance piece."

Erik Avellaneda of Entertainment Voice highly praised the musical score, for which he stated, "The music is a nod to classic rock and modern techno. This heightens the film’s mystical, playful nature and only strengthens the action of the film." Joe Robberson of Zimbo hails the piece as "further [pushing] the wicked mood of the film" as well as being "electric and makes the film crackle with energy". He too praised the score for its diversity and lack of Hans Zimmer-esque pulses. Steve Persall of Tampa Bay Times described the piece as a "neo-Giorgio Moroder synth-rock musical score".

Peter Debruge of Variety acknowledged the importance of cinematography and its "relying on a mix of heavy metal and electronic music from the likes of Marilyn Manson, Tyler Bates and Kaleida to generate propulsive forward energy." Paloma Sharma of Rediff wrote of Bates' and Richard's score, "[Bates] and [Richards'] soundtrack makes sure that you understand two things throughout the film: [Wick] is armed, angry and dangerous and [Wick] is the coolest hitman you've seen in a while."

Robert Abele of The Los Angeles Times described the score as a "growling rock soundtrack".

Chris Sawin of Examiner.com highlights the music in the piece as a "bass-heavy soundtrack", as well as adding to it further by stating, "The dance-fueled soundtrack is an excellent companion to the film and is the ideal sidekick to the film's outstanding action." Neil Miller of Film School Rejects described the score as, "[a] pulsing score from Tyler Bates." Jeff Bulmer of The Phoenix News professed of the score, "Tyler Bates’ music complements every scene the way a soundtrack should, even becoming a character of its own at points."

Sutton Bradbury-Koster of The Daily Collegian spoke most highly of the score stating, "The music does all the talking – blending soothing strings with ambient synths to generate a raw, emotional atmosphere that seems nearly misplaced given the movie it resides in. While this atmospheric and emotional presence does not remain throughout much else of the film, it is still worth mentioning." and further expands by expressing, "The rest of the film’s score features a pulsating, intense low-drive bass drumbeat that establishes a tense yet epic feeling."

Editors of MSN heralded the soundtrack by stating, "it's the crunching original score by Marilyn Manson guitarist Tyler Bates and the co-directors' refusal to embrace the post-Bourne Identity shaky-cam action trend that makes John Wick feel like a film from an alternate cinematic universe."

Track listing

All music composed by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, except where noted.

Personnel credits

Credits for John Wick adapted from CD reverse notes.