Possibly my least favorite part of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the soundtrack. That's not to say I don't like it, because I liked pretty much everything about that film. Basically it just means that while everything else was outstanding, the music was basically just serviceable. Michael Giaccino did enough, but nothing more.
The fact that you're getting a whole separate review for Solo: A Star Wars Story's soundtrack might be a bit of an indication as to how I feel about it this time around.
Now, I'll preface by saying I had high expectations going in to this soundtrack because I know sorta what to expect out of John Powell. One of the best thematic soundtracks of my lifetime was written by him for X3: The Last Stand. Which was a film that abysmally failed its soundtrack. But the music was amazing, with well-written and reasoned themes woven into the score in varied and excellent ways, always elevating whatever dumpster fire was happening visually at the moment.
The X3 soundtrack did not sound like John Williams, aside, I suppose, from the general neo-classical instrumental orchestrations Williams brought back into popularity in the 70's. But going into a film that carries the Star Wars brand, you really do expect something amazing, aurally. You expect John Williams' amazing touch. Rogue One did not deliver on that expectation. Solo absolutely does. There's a chance that John actually shares some credit in this soundtrack with John (Williams and Powell, respectively). The first track on the album, called The Adventures of Han, was written by John Williams and serves primarily to establish a theme for Han Solo that you will hear throughout the movie. It's a good track.
But here's the rub. The best instance of that theme is not in that track, because John Powell wrote an excellent score that leans on John Williams' style enough for this to feel like a Star Wars movie. He weaves orchestral themes into every scrap of music possible, letting those themes work to bolster the narrative being told by the visuals and dialogue. He takes Han's theme and lets the frantic action of this movie elevate it into something spectacular. Sometimes in a movie like this, which adopts a positively breathtaking pace that is something of a signature for Steven Spielberg, the music will lag behind, actually making the movie feel slower while the music is playing. Frequently that's why action scenes won't feature much score, if any at all.
But there's a reason Spielberg gets John Williams for as many of his projects as he can; Williams knows how to write music that is fully scored, thematic, and still doesn't make the film drag. As it happens, Powell does too. The score for Solo is frenetic when it needs to be without falling into much repetition the way some (*cough*Danny Elfman*cough*) composers do. It's a signature of Williams' style, and it turns out that John Powell can in fact play ball in that court.
Han's theme isn't the only Williams theme we hear stated in Solo. Powell also uses the force theme (you'd probably recognize it from the sunset scene in the original Star Wars) tastefully, as well as the main Star Wars theme where appropriate. He also did something pretty fantastic, during one of the climactic moments when Han (spoilers?) finally pilots the Millennium Falcon, that actually gave me chills and made me giggle out loud. In the theater. You remember the asteroid field scene from the Empire Strikes Back? Here, check it out, and listen to the music while you do.
Did anything in that music stick out to you? Let me give you a hint.
For years and years that has been one of my favorite single moments of music in a film. It takes a chase scene that might otherwise feel a little cheesy or even slow, given the technical limitations of the day, and turns it into one of the greatest single moments of a film that is stuffed to bulging with great moments. It's flawless compositional skill at work there, the kind of genius I associate pretty much only with John Williams.
And well, maybe it was just fan service after all, but John Powell drops that exact section of score into a Millennium Falcon chase scene in Solo, where it absolutely fits like a glove. I heard it, and I giggled. Even if it is just fan service and not exactly indicative of any particular genius on Powell's part, I'm not going to complain about fan service in the music.
And that really is the crux of the whole thing. Without copying anything directly other than a few themes, John Powell wrote a score that makes Solo feel exactly like a Star Wars movie. It isn't technically a John Williams score, but Powell knew that was what his audience would be expecting, and so he gave us exactly that. To pull that off and make it sound full and real without copying so much as thirty seconds of actual score from anything else John Williams has written does in fact smack of genius to me. Honestly, if you love Star Wars music, this movie is worth it just for the soundtrack.
Or you could just buy the soundtrack, also. But trust me, the movie is good too.
The fact that you're getting a whole separate review for Solo: A Star Wars Story's soundtrack might be a bit of an indication as to how I feel about it this time around.
 |
| This is not the album artwork, but I had to share the image because look at Lando. That is so Lando. |
Now, I'll preface by saying I had high expectations going in to this soundtrack because I know sorta what to expect out of John Powell. One of the best thematic soundtracks of my lifetime was written by him for X3: The Last Stand. Which was a film that abysmally failed its soundtrack. But the music was amazing, with well-written and reasoned themes woven into the score in varied and excellent ways, always elevating whatever dumpster fire was happening visually at the moment.
The X3 soundtrack did not sound like John Williams, aside, I suppose, from the general neo-classical instrumental orchestrations Williams brought back into popularity in the 70's. But going into a film that carries the Star Wars brand, you really do expect something amazing, aurally. You expect John Williams' amazing touch. Rogue One did not deliver on that expectation. Solo absolutely does. There's a chance that John actually shares some credit in this soundtrack with John (Williams and Powell, respectively). The first track on the album, called The Adventures of Han, was written by John Williams and serves primarily to establish a theme for Han Solo that you will hear throughout the movie. It's a good track.
But here's the rub. The best instance of that theme is not in that track, because John Powell wrote an excellent score that leans on John Williams' style enough for this to feel like a Star Wars movie. He weaves orchestral themes into every scrap of music possible, letting those themes work to bolster the narrative being told by the visuals and dialogue. He takes Han's theme and lets the frantic action of this movie elevate it into something spectacular. Sometimes in a movie like this, which adopts a positively breathtaking pace that is something of a signature for Steven Spielberg, the music will lag behind, actually making the movie feel slower while the music is playing. Frequently that's why action scenes won't feature much score, if any at all.
But there's a reason Spielberg gets John Williams for as many of his projects as he can; Williams knows how to write music that is fully scored, thematic, and still doesn't make the film drag. As it happens, Powell does too. The score for Solo is frenetic when it needs to be without falling into much repetition the way some (*cough*Danny Elfman*cough*) composers do. It's a signature of Williams' style, and it turns out that John Powell can in fact play ball in that court.
Han's theme isn't the only Williams theme we hear stated in Solo. Powell also uses the force theme (you'd probably recognize it from the sunset scene in the original Star Wars) tastefully, as well as the main Star Wars theme where appropriate. He also did something pretty fantastic, during one of the climactic moments when Han (spoilers?) finally pilots the Millennium Falcon, that actually gave me chills and made me giggle out loud. In the theater. You remember the asteroid field scene from the Empire Strikes Back? Here, check it out, and listen to the music while you do.
Did anything in that music stick out to you? Let me give you a hint.
For years and years that has been one of my favorite single moments of music in a film. It takes a chase scene that might otherwise feel a little cheesy or even slow, given the technical limitations of the day, and turns it into one of the greatest single moments of a film that is stuffed to bulging with great moments. It's flawless compositional skill at work there, the kind of genius I associate pretty much only with John Williams.
And well, maybe it was just fan service after all, but John Powell drops that exact section of score into a Millennium Falcon chase scene in Solo, where it absolutely fits like a glove. I heard it, and I giggled. Even if it is just fan service and not exactly indicative of any particular genius on Powell's part, I'm not going to complain about fan service in the music.
And that really is the crux of the whole thing. Without copying anything directly other than a few themes, John Powell wrote a score that makes Solo feel exactly like a Star Wars movie. It isn't technically a John Williams score, but Powell knew that was what his audience would be expecting, and so he gave us exactly that. To pull that off and make it sound full and real without copying so much as thirty seconds of actual score from anything else John Williams has written does in fact smack of genius to me. Honestly, if you love Star Wars music, this movie is worth it just for the soundtrack.
Or you could just buy the soundtrack, also. But trust me, the movie is good too.
Comments
Post a Comment