This is part of a series.
- Here’s the last post ranking Ramin Djawadi’s scores - https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=123042
- If you want the full set of links covering the Too Big To Fail era or earlier, click on my profile.

-----------------------

The Lorne rankings cover all scores that I’ve heard where he’s credited as the primary composer or co-composer, as well as a few where he’s credited as an additional composer or producer but probably wrote the lion’s share of the music.

*
48. 12 Strong


*½
47. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
46. Pacific Rim: Uprising
45. 6 Underground


**
44. Geostorm
43. Gemini Man
42. The Bible


**½
41. Man vs. Bee
40. Skylanders: SuperChargers
39. Assassin's Creed III
38. Skylanders: Trap Team
37. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
36. Crysis 2 (Zimmer / Balfe portion)
35. Ambulance


***
34. Silent Night
33. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
32. Skylanders: Giants
31. Genius: Einstein

30. Rebuilding Paradise
29. Dopesick
28. Ironclad
27. Terminator Genisys
26. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Balfe portion)
25. The Crown Season 2
24. The Tomorrow War
23. Bad Boys for Life
22. Skylanders: SWAP Force


***½
21. Beyond: Two Souls
20. Genius: Picasso
19. Penguins of Madagascar
18. Ticket to Paradise
17. Secret Headquarters


****
16. Jungleland
15. Kung Fu Panda 3
14. The Wheel of Time Season 1
13. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
12. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
11. His Dark Materials Series 1

10. His Dark Materials Series 2
9. His Dark Materials Series 3
8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
7. The Lego Batman Movie


****½ (round down to 4)
6. Megamind
5. Top Gun: Maverick
4. Black Widow
3. Black Adam


****½ (round up to 5)
2. Rumble
1. Home

-----------------------

Next time: The HGW rankings across all eras.

> *
> 48. 12 Strong
>
>
> *½
> 47. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
> 46. Pacific Rim: Uprising
> 45. 6 Underground
>
>
> **
> 44. Geostorm
> 43. Gemini Man
> 42. The Bible
>
>
> **½
> 41. Man vs. Bee
> 40. Skylanders: SuperChargers
> 39. Assassin's Creed III
> 38. Skylanders: Trap Team
> 37. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
> 36. Crysis 2 (Zimmer / Balfe portion)
> 35. Ambulance
>
>
> ***
> 34. Silent Night
> 33. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
> 32. Skylanders: Giants
> 31. Genius: Einstein

> 30. Rebuilding Paradise
> 29. Dopesick
> 28. Ironclad
> 27. Terminator Genisys
> 26. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Balfe portion)
> 25. The Crown Season 2
> 24. The Tomorrow War
> 23. Bad Boys for Life
> 22. Skylanders: SWAP Force
>
>
> ***½
> 21. Beyond: Two Souls
> 20. Genius: Picasso
> 19. Penguins of Madagascar
> 18. Ticket to Paradise
> 17. Secret Headquarters
>
>
> ****
> 16. Jungleland
> 15. Kung Fu Panda 3
> 14. The Wheel of Time Season 1
> 13. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
> 12. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
> 11. His Dark Materials Series 1

> 10. His Dark Materials Series 2
> 9. His Dark Materials Series 3
> 8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
> 7. The Lego Batman Movie
>
>
> ****½ (round down to 4)
> 6. Megamind
> 5. Top Gun: Maverick
> 4. Black Widow
> 3. Black Adam
>
>
> ****½ (round up to 5)
> 2. Rumble
> 1. Home

We're making progress! Still a dearth of scores I LOVE, but a couple of real winners (Jungleland and His Dark Materials in particular) and lots of scores with great bits. Jungleland might sneakily be his best score. I see you also didn't cover Above and Beyond, which I haven't heard recently but I have noted as one of his most enjoyable scores start to finish.

> I see you also didn't cover Above and Beyond, which I haven't heard recently but I have noted as one of his most enjoyable scores start to finish.

I hadn't heard of this one. Samples on Lorne's webpage sound nice.

Gotta wonder why they went with THIS TITLE though, given that there's an earlier war plane movie of the same name from the 1950s (different war and different story though). For what it's worth, it features one of Hugo Friedhofer's better scores.

> Gotta wonder why they went with THIS TITLE though, given that there's an
> earlier war plane movie of the same name from the 1950s (different war and
> different story though). For what it's worth, it features one of Hugo
> Friedhofer's better scores.

Lazy copywriting! Easy to go with the first relevant double-meaning phrase that comes to mind.

I don't get the love for Home. But Rumble is awesome.

> *
> 48. 12 Strong
>
>
> *½
> 47. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
> 46. Pacific Rim: Uprising
> 45. 6 Underground
>
>
> **
> 44. Geostorm
> 43. Gemini Man
> 42. The Bible
>
>
> **½
> 41. Man vs. Bee
> 40. Skylanders: SuperChargers
> 39. Assassin's Creed III
> 38. Skylanders: Trap Team
> 37. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
> 36. Crysis 2 (Zimmer / Balfe portion)
> 35. Ambulance
>
>
> ***
> 34. Silent Night
> 33. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
> 32. Skylanders: Giants
> 31. Genius: Einstein

> 30. Rebuilding Paradise
> 29. Dopesick
> 28. Ironclad
> 27. Terminator Genisys
> 26. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Balfe portion)
> 25. The Crown Season 2
> 24. The Tomorrow War
> 23. Bad Boys for Life
> 22. Skylanders: SWAP Force
>
>
> ***½
> 21. Beyond: Two Souls
> 20. Genius: Picasso
> 19. Penguins of Madagascar
> 18. Ticket to Paradise
> 17. Secret Headquarters
>
>
> ****
> 16. Jungleland
> 15. Kung Fu Panda 3
> 14. The Wheel of Time Season 1
> 13. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
> 12. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
> 11. His Dark Materials Series 1

> 10. His Dark Materials Series 2
> 9. His Dark Materials Series 3
> 8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
> 7. The Lego Batman Movie
>
>
> ****½ (round down to 4)
> 6. Megamind
> 5. Top Gun: Maverick
> 4. Black Widow
> 3. Black Adam
>
>
> ****½ (round up to 5)
> 2. Rumble
> 1. Home

> -----------------------

Yeeeah.... our tastes definitely diverge hard when it comes to Balfe. Still can't get through "Rumble" or "Black Adam" though I admit they have their charms, just can't stand the hyperactivity of the former or the suffocating album mix of the latter. Funnily enough, just picked up "Were-Rabbit" on DVD and had completely forgotten Balfe did the music.

> Still can't get through 'Rumble' or 'Black Adam' though I admit they have their charms, just can't stand the hyperactivity of the former or the suffocating album mix of the latter.

Yeah, they're not for everyone. But This Is Monster Wrestling!, even with its Kung Fu Panda allusions, is sheer giddy perfection for me.

> This is part of a series.
> - Here’s the last post ranking Ramin Djawadi’s scores -
> https://www.filmtracks.com/scoreboard/forum.cgi?read=123042
> - If you want the full set of links covering the Too Big To Fail era or
> earlier, click on my profile.

> -----------------------

> The Lorne rankings cover all scores that I’ve heard where he’s credited as
> the primary composer or co-composer, as well as a few where he’s credited
> as an additional composer or producer but probably wrote the lion’s share
> of the music.

> *
> 48. 12 Strong
>
>
> *½
> 47. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
> 46. Pacific Rim: Uprising
> 45. 6 Underground
>
>
> **
> 44. Geostorm
> 43. Gemini Man
> 42. The Bible
>
>
> **½
> 41. Man vs. Bee
> 40. Skylanders: SuperChargers
> 39. Assassin's Creed III
> 38. Skylanders: Trap Team
> 37. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
> 36. Crysis 2 (Zimmer / Balfe portion)
> 35. Ambulance
>
>
> ***
> 34. Silent Night
> 33. Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
> 32. Skylanders: Giants
> 31. Genius: Einstein

> 30. Rebuilding Paradise
> 29. Dopesick
> 28. Ironclad
> 27. Terminator Genisys
> 26. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Balfe portion)
> 25. The Crown Season 2
> 24. The Tomorrow War
> 23. Bad Boys for Life
> 22. Skylanders: SWAP Force
>
>
> ***½
> 21. Beyond: Two Souls
> 20. Genius: Picasso
> 19. Penguins of Madagascar
> 18. Ticket to Paradise
> 17. Secret Headquarters
>
>
> ****
> 16. Jungleland
> 15. Kung Fu Panda 3
> 14. The Wheel of Time Season 1
> 13. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
> 12. Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
> 11. His Dark Materials Series 1

> 10. His Dark Materials Series 2
> 9. His Dark Materials Series 3
> 8. Mission: Impossible - Fallout
> 7. The Lego Batman Movie
>
>
> ****½ (round down to 4)
> 6. Megamind
> 5. Top Gun: Maverick
> 4. Black Widow
> 3. Black Adam
>
>
> ****½ (round up to 5)
> 2. Rumble
> 1. Home

Good timing, since I'm actually giving my first listen to the Lego Batman score today. I like it.

When it comes to Balfe, I think he's shown with some of his more recent assignments that he's capable of a really good score, but also has a lot of mediocrity in that list above. Even with some of my favorite scores of his, I don't think any quite reach the heights of some of the his more popular MV/RC peers.

Was surprised to see His Dark Materials so high. I watched the first season and never got around to the other seasons, but I remember thinking the music was just ok.

> Was surprised to see His Dark Materials so high. I watched the first season and never got around to the other seasons, but I remember thinking the music was just ok.

I found the music fairly impactful in context, and there are a handful of knockout tracks in each season.

The show got better and worse in Season 2, but ultimately got bogged down in DURR prophecy DURR DURR. The last two episodes of that Season lost all sense of narrative momentum and pacing - in part because of a hilarious amount of frequent cutting between locations.

So far I've caught the first two episodes of the third season and it doesn't fix any of those aforementioned issues.

It also doesn't really solve a central challenge of the trilogy: Pullman hints at certain things in the first two books before letting it all run wild in the third book. The sheer uptick of weirdness is a bit jolting on screen as well, especially with the show having been off the air for a while.