Post
by Vernadyn » January 13th, 2010, 2:55 pm
I guess I'm not so much against the heavy-metal approach itself, but very few people have used it intelligently and in a way that enhances the film instead of merely saying, "Oh, look at how cool this music is, and how gnarly this slow motion shot is." Armstrong has enough of a unique voice that I believe he can rise beyond the monotonous blasting that every epic seems to have these days, from Iron Man to 300 to Race to Witch Mountain to Transformers...
But I will gladly concede that I would prefer from Armstrong a heavy-metal approach that is creative over something like The Incredible Hulk, which was a mainly orchestral score that nevertheless sounded anonymous, though competent.
To clarify, though I think Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings scores are masterpieces, and I dig the swashbuckling of Alan Silvestri's action and Harry Gregson-Williams's Sinbad, they are not the only kind of music I enjoy. S.W.A.T., though not a fantasy film, had an Elliot Goldenthal score that used rock elements in a highly creative way, though the film may not have deserved it. I loved how Harry Gregson-Williams scored the Narnia films and Kingdom of Heaven, not afraid to blend orchestra, choir, electronics, and specialty instruments. (I look forward to David Arnold's approach to the Narnia sequel.) James Newton Howard complemented his usual rich, exciting adventure music with fresh electronics in the "Flying" cue from Peter Pan. Zimmer surprised me with his rich score for the third Pirates film. John Powell's eclectic score to Hancock is one of the best he's done.
But I have to admit that my favorite fantasy score from the last few years hasn't been for a film, but for a video game (and apparently, not a very good video game at that.) John Debney's music for Lair is just so rich and exciting, with a plethora of great themes, a cousin to his Cutthroat Island score. Bring on Iron Man 2!
Sorry for rambling so much, but I can't help it. This is something I happen to be very passionate about. Don't hold it against me...