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With the primary character of the prior film, Snow White, now absent, so too is the main thematic glue of that production, Howard tending to The Huntsman: Winter's War with an overarching love theme for the huntsmen in the sequel instead. This romantic idea, representing not only Thor/Eric and his fellow huntswoman love interest but all huntsmen in their struggle to deal with both evil bitch #1 and #2. This identity is a definite winner in the pantheon of Howard fantasy themes, expressed in a range from militaristic stature (3:45 in "The Children Arrive," reminding of The Last Airbender in its underlying percussion; listen for a nicely layered electric guitar in this performance) to heartbreaking tenderness (1:33 in "You Shouldn't Walk in Shadows" and 1:00 in "We Are Worthy of Each Other," both utilizing John Barry-like flute). The idea is first introduced (abbreviated) with solemn ensemble at 1:20 into "The Huntsman" and extends out of choral agony at 3:39 in "Freya's Spell." It neatly wraps up the score at 2:14 in "Ravenna's Embrace," followed by Howard's Maleficent-like celebratory children's choir bounciness. There does exist a more restrained, noble identity for the huntsmen as well, perhaps for Eric himself, and you hear that theme replace the prior work's Snow White theme as the solitary horn opening the entire score. Freya's antics are treated to a theme that contains similar instrumental brutality to the Queen Ravenna material from the prior score when necessary (totally understandable, of course). At 1:50 into "Freya's Spell," you hear the same halting, rhythmically oppressive, low brass and percussion movement under her identity that represented Ravenna in the other film when her temper flared. Howard tones this motif back to boy soprano and children's choir eeriness in the subsequent "Freya Prepares for War," another moment that will recall Maleficent's addressing of an evil bitch. Despite some claims that Sara, the huntswoman love interest, receives a theme, it's difficult to identify exactly where it is on album. The same applies to the stunningly beautiful "Sancuary" motif from the prior score; while that location returns in this story, you don't receive the same three-note phrases with any clarity in "The Goblin Forest" or anywhere else (perhaps this material was tracked in to the film). You do, however, receive a reprise of Howard's chopping chase motif from "Escape from the Tower" in the previous score in "The Goblin Fight" here. The action music in The Huntsman: Winter's War tends to be a little easier to appreciate in its flow, leaving behind some of the composer's more obnoxious dissonance techniques.

For true enthusiasts of the Snow White and the Huntsman score, one of the pleasures of The Huntsman: Winter's War will be the treatment of Queen Ravenna's theme. Since evil bitch #1 only really exists in this film in spirit form (or maybe not... who the hell knows?), Howard translates her threateningly elegant theme from the brutish low brass of the prior score to bass strings and woodwinds in the sequel, suggesting her dastardly influence very clearly without giving her as much of a "larger than life" presence. You're hit with her theme right away at 2:40 into "The Huntsman," her unmistakable rising and falling rhythmic formation as hypnotic as ever. One of the highlights of the score comes in "Ravenna Returns," an absolute delight of a cue for low woodwind enthusiasts. By the third minute, deep choral tones and a tolling chime join the theme to denote that evil bitch #1 is truly the quintessential evil bitch. Musically, her material overshadows that of evil bitch #2 in the latter portions of the score, though the rhythmic Freya war motif does return in "Stand or Fall Together," conveniently merged with the underlying Ravenna rhythm as they briefly face off against the huntsmen together. The pair of "This is My Kingdom" and "Stand or Fall Together" contains some strong conversational moments of tonal gravitational force, the main love theme interjecting occasionally in fragments. Expect more of the practice of Howard suddenly cutting off a fluid line of thought with an abrupt thump and a burst of dissonance, however. Such is typical to his writing, unfortunately. The only truly optimistic cue in the score is "Ravenna's Embrace," its light choral ambience sending off the score without as much fanfare as equivalent Howard fantasy works. The "Castle" song performed by young American songwriter Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, otherwise known as Halsey, continues Howard's trend of collaborating with harsh, abrasive female vocalists for these projects' songs, though he only arranged the symphonic backing of this somewhat mediocre song and had nothing to do with its melodic composition. Overall, The Huntsman: Winter's War is a weak four-star score, slightly stronger than Snow White and the Huntsman, which was a strong three-star effort. There are dull moments of the sequel score that need trimmed from the album (the "Lacrimosa" religious choral cue also stands apart stylistically), but the new love theme and the incorporation of Ravenna's material make this entry more consistently enjoyable. More importantly, film music fans can take the pretty highlights of the first score and combine them with the love theme and a few action portions of this one to yield a very solid four-star experience overall between the two.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For James Newton Howard reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.4 (in 70 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.36 (in 86,486 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 74:15