> Heck, during that moment in Journey to the Cave, with Dumbledore and Harry
> in the middle of the stormy waters and the waves splashing by, I actually
> heard a few people in the theater comment "This music is so epic
> right now". The same for the scene with dumbledore manipulating fire
> against the inferi. And the Malfoy's Mission reflects everything going on
> in the tormented Malfoy's mind and his secret practice perfectly.

First of all, LOL to those people's comment. Could they be any more obvious? Secondly, it's not very hard to be "epic" with music, if that term even applies here. It's just loud strings in this case.

And I don't know if this part is really appropriate. It's too adventurous, and Harry and Dumbledore aren't exactly going on an adventure, are they? This is a dangerous mission. I think Hooper should have played up the "Dumbledore's doom" aspect of the story at this point (as the cave scene does ultimately lead to the headmaster's fate) with a sorrowful but epic theme - a sort of withering grandeur. His choice of melody here just sort of meanders back and forth with no sense of direction, which I suppose you could argue represents the waves at sea, but the sea itself shouldn't be the focus. Just when you think a part of the melody should end, he adds a note or two. And of course, playing up the doom aspect would require that the scene before this set the tone, which it does not. So my theory wouldn't really work in the film, but I thought I'd say it anyway.

> Hooper and Doyle's work is probably better to listen to on its own, but it
> just doesn't fit the cinematography and emotions on screen as well.

Why not? It's not like every moment, or even most moments, of the music were epic.

I think that soundtracks driven more by underscore than by melody or themes (like HBP) tend to give the illusion that they better fit their visuals. This is simply because they so easily blend into the background due to their lack of focus on melody and to their simple constructs. That's not to say that a simple score like this never works wonders; often they do, but I just happen to dislike this particular one.