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Review of War for the Planet of the Apes (Michael Giacchino)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you're open to being surprised by the evolution of
this franchise's music from its challenging, dissonant roots to the
full-blown symphonic fantasy realm.
Avoid it... if those challenging roots were the reason you've always loved the music for this franchise, Michael Giacchino confining this disturbing, suspenseful ambience to mostly the beginning of this second entry for him.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
War for the Planet of the Apes: (Michael Giacchino)
The prequel trilogy of Planet of the Apes films concludes its
Caesar-inspired storyline with 2017's War for the Planet of the
Apes, though it's unlikely Hollywood is finished with the famed
Pierre Boulle concept. The Simian Flu virus that has evolved the apes to
their newfound intelligence is now reverting humans to their destiny as
mute simpletons, and factions of humans are now fighting the apes and
each other as the fallout of the societal shift continues. The ape
leader, Caesar, continues his quest to find a new paradise for his clan,
but a group of renegade human soldiers tests his resolve for peace to
the very end. The critically and financially successful films are of
particular note for the visual rendering of the apes, and actor Andy
Serkis as Caesar in particular, and among the more interesting
mainstream reactions towards War for the Planet of the Apes has
been sustained applause for Michael Giacchino's score. The composer
accompanied director Matt Reeves to the franchise with Dawn of the
Planet of the Apes, taking the musical reigns from Patrick Doyle,
who had to this point composed the best music of the series in Rise
of the Planet of the Apes. Unfortunately, Giacchino's music for the
second film did not reprise any more than hints of Doyle's identities,
and in its adherence to some of the weaker portions of the Giacchino
scores for Land of the Lost and the television series, "Lost,"
the music for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was underachieving
at best. The composer returns in better form for the third prequel
installment, taking the opportunity to build upon his childhood passion
for the concept's classic film series by merging hints of the original
1968 Jerry Goldsmith score's challenges with more conventionally
leitmotific, orchestral bravado. Giacchino offers some writing credit to
his 12-year-old son in his opening cue, akin to Basil Poledouris' owing
of some elements of Conan the Barbarian to his young daughter at
the time. Coincidentally, parts of War for the Planet of the
Apes, especially the end of "Planet of the Escapes," exhibit
parallels to Poledouris musical structures and tone, though most film
music fans may not notice such references over the more blatant nods to
Ennio Morricone in the composer and director's plight to make this film
into a Western homage.
Instrumentally, War for the Planet of the Apes begins with its most experimental personality at the forefront, the first 16 minutes dedicated to establishing the primal otherworldly ambience of the franchise's trademark suspense and disillusionment portions through unpleasant dissonant textures. In fact, a listener might feel compelled to toss aside the score based on the first two lengthy cues, but Giacchino minimalizes such material in the remainder of the score. From a technical standpoint, it's important to recognize that the suspense sequences of the recording are offered a different mix, the dissonant effects (especially the woodwinds and percussion) applied with a far wetter sound than the usual Giacchino product. Some intentional tip of the hat to Goldsmith's echo effects is probably made here, but it needs emphasized that hearing anything other than an overly dry ambience in a Giacchino score is extremely rare. Sadly, the more conventional orchestral portions of War for the Planet of the Apes, including the numerous piano solos, resort back to a very confined and dry sound. The composer continues to do his fantasy and adventure-related music (and the associated films) a tremendous disservice with such two-dimensionality. The combination of quirkiness and awe in "Planet of the Escapes" requires much more depth, for instance. That said, Giacchino handles the rest of this score's execution extremely well, the exotic instrumentation and vocal contributions usually supplied in outstanding balance with the standard orchestral performers. He also expands upon his thematic narrative with expert precision, too. The marquee returning theme from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is the optimistic, conquering identity for Caesar and his aspirations for peace and a homeland. Conveyed in concert-like form in one large crescendo during "The Ecstasy of the Bold," this Caesar theme doesn't experience its resolution until the pair of "Migration" and "Paradise Found," in which the theme finds harmonic resonance of a broad nature not entirely expected for this franchise. The latter cue sends the film off on a satisfyingly magnificent, if not slightly overwrought note. The most important aspect of this theme is that it carries over Doyle's notion that Caesar's theme is one of ascendance, therefore featuring a progression that continuously builds its momentum through phrases of rising notes, a critical difference between this and the other themes in the film. The three secondary themes in War for the Planet of the Apes are all highly attractive in their own ways, but their most impactful characteristic is the shared use of three descending phrases, likely a mechanism by Giacchino to remind of the primordial similarity between all the characters and species in the film. The first of these themes is the most simple; three four-note, descending repetitions denote Caesar's family and the sadness of his fate, heard elegantly in "Exodus Wounds." Building from a solo piano (as per usual for Giacchino; this technique is reprised from the previous score as well) to a full ensemble and choral statement, the composer keenly suggests the theme over Caesar's main ascendance theme. The idea returns at the end of "Don't Luca Now" (piano), in the middle of "Planet of the Escapes" (cello), and "More Red Than Alive" (piano and in full). Also on piano is the secondary theme for the mute human, Nova, introduced in "The Posse Polonaise" and following the same underlying progressions as the Caesar family theme. This idea shuffles softly through "Don't Luca Now," "Apes Together Strong," and "A Tide in the Affairs of Apes" before becoming the basis for a surprisingly robust exploration for full ensemble in "End Credits." Finally, Giacchino addresses the wild west-like portion of the narrative with the blatant Morricone rip in his journeying theme. Introduced at the end of "Exodus Wounds" and reprised in "The Posse Polonaise," "The Bad Ape Bagatelle," "Don't Luca Now," and "End Credits," this idea sounds somewhat out of place in its personality, especially with the catchy vocals thrown into the equation. The rendering of the theme would not have sounded out of place in The Hateful Eight. While this idea could be considered distracting by some, especially by the time of its rather crooked rendition in "End Credits," notice that its descending melodic line is something partway between the two prior themes. On the whole, the variations on the four themes allow Giacchino another score with a solid narrative flow. The dichotomy between the opening two cues and the flowery initial ambience and chime-banging conclusion to "Paradise Found" is quite something to behold. On album, this score battles with Doyle's for the best in the history of the concept, and for its breadth of development, War for the Planet of the Apes prevails. A superior 30-minute album could be condensed from the long commercial product, one complete with the usual idiotic track titles and hidden cue at the end. (That humor, though, did entice Giacchino to wear an ape mask once at the sessions just as Goldsmith had in the 1960's.) Despite its flaws, the score remains among 2017's most impressive surprises. ****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 75:35
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes a list of performers and notes from the composer and director.
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The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from War for the Planet of the Apes are Copyright © 2017, Sony Classical and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 12/18/17 (and not updated significantly since). |
