Varèse Sarabande release the soundtrack to Eddie the Eagle, with a score by Matthew Margeson. Inspired by true events, the movie is a feel-good story about Michael “Eddie” Edwards, an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself – even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach, Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics...

Matthew Margeson takes a retro approach with his score for Eddie the Eagle. As the movie is set in the '80s, it was decided to musically recreate a score that was indicative of that time period. Margeson even picked up several digital synthesizers from the time period from online marketplaces.

Some listeners may enjoy this attention to detail, while others might feel that it prematurely dates the movie. Personally, I rather enjoyed this score. The album contains 21 tracks (54 min, 54 sec) and there is a rather impressive main theme that is woven throughout the tracks. 'Peary's Return' is also a rather sweet track.

If electronic '80s scores are not your thing, then you probably won't enjoy this. While the themes are impressive, the synth sound will probably be enough to turn you off. For me, this was part of the score's charm - even bringing to mind soundtracks like St Elmo's Fire and any one of the '80s teenage based John Hughes films. There's even a cheesy '80s-style song. 'A Sporting Chance'.

While by no means an essential purchase, there are enough interesting moments to make this at least worth checking out.

7

Darren Rea