dcoscina
Senior Member
First, I have to say I've been a lifelong fan of Godzilla going back to my childhood in the '70s. I love Akira Ifukube's portentous theme and ingenious way of relating the size of these leviathans in music terms. I've never loved North American interpretations of Godzilla however. They always seem to miss the boat as it were. The 2014 Godzilla was a snoozefest and I didn't care for Desplat's score, even though it was cleverly done. I was hopeful for Kong of the Monsters but that was even worse. McCreary's score also seemed to just be Ifukube on steroids. It didn't really bring anything new to the table.
Enter 2021- new director- new composer. Godzilla v Kong. Watched it this morning on iTunes. Suitably impressed. One, the pacing of the film is SOLID. Great combination of fast cuts but also deliberate dolly shots and static imagery. Two, the director GETS that these huge creatures don't move as fast as previous movies would suggest they can. From our perspective, they would be moving in slow motion and for the most part, GvK obeys the laws of physics. Thankfully. Three- JXL's score. I am not a rabid fan of Tom's music to be honest. I think it works in the films he's scored and for me, that's fine. But he really delivered a unique, exciting, and ORIGINAL score here. Yes, he has his own portentous Godzilla theme (which reminds me of a Zemlinsky song cycle, and ya know why? I'm bloody fine with that!). But he also has some wonderful synth textures and I even heard a moment with some clever low wind writing. I enjoyed it and found it really elevated the story, especially the dramatic moments between Kong and the little girl. One moment in particular actually floored me- not an action set piece, but a dramatic moment. You will know what I'm talking about if or when you see it. It takes place on the ship, in the rain at night. That's all I will say.
Any complaints? Well, some of the score sounds like it was done on samples, not real musicians, and I wished some of the orchestral moments were more organic sounding. But I do like his harmonic language and musicality, regardless of the vehicle with which it is delivered. I enjoy the use of synths and it provided a nice element that worked within the narrative. I will be listening to the score on Spotify shortly to re-visit these cues that I enjoyed.
On an unrelated note, Tom's dog recently passed. As a dog owner, my heart goes out to him. :(
Enter 2021- new director- new composer. Godzilla v Kong. Watched it this morning on iTunes. Suitably impressed. One, the pacing of the film is SOLID. Great combination of fast cuts but also deliberate dolly shots and static imagery. Two, the director GETS that these huge creatures don't move as fast as previous movies would suggest they can. From our perspective, they would be moving in slow motion and for the most part, GvK obeys the laws of physics. Thankfully. Three- JXL's score. I am not a rabid fan of Tom's music to be honest. I think it works in the films he's scored and for me, that's fine. But he really delivered a unique, exciting, and ORIGINAL score here. Yes, he has his own portentous Godzilla theme (which reminds me of a Zemlinsky song cycle, and ya know why? I'm bloody fine with that!). But he also has some wonderful synth textures and I even heard a moment with some clever low wind writing. I enjoyed it and found it really elevated the story, especially the dramatic moments between Kong and the little girl. One moment in particular actually floored me- not an action set piece, but a dramatic moment. You will know what I'm talking about if or when you see it. It takes place on the ship, in the rain at night. That's all I will say.
Any complaints? Well, some of the score sounds like it was done on samples, not real musicians, and I wished some of the orchestral moments were more organic sounding. But I do like his harmonic language and musicality, regardless of the vehicle with which it is delivered. I enjoy the use of synths and it provided a nice element that worked within the narrative. I will be listening to the score on Spotify shortly to re-visit these cues that I enjoyed.
On an unrelated note, Tom's dog recently passed. As a dog owner, my heart goes out to him. :(