Rogue One Michael Giacchino to score 'Rogue One'

[fancyarcher]

I think all of the SW scores to date are at least "great", so even if I did consider Rogue One to be the worse, I'd probably still think it was very good.

 

[Marvolo]

That sounds very unlikely. Desplat is one of the best film composers out there, especially for emotional themes. His score for Deathly Hallows Part II is so beautiful it's almost painful. I don't think any of Giacchino's scoring here resonated emotionally to me, the movie sure did, but the score was just a backdrop.

Howard Shore is also one of the best composers out there and Jackson still fired him from King Kong becauae the music he was writing wasnt what Jackson wanted for the film. It happens regardless of the skill of the composer.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Now I am curious, has John Williams ever been fired?

 

[Marvolo]

Now I am curious, has John Williams ever been fired?

Not that I know of. William's has a very distinct and constant style. Pretty much every director knows what he will deliver so I doubt anyone hires him unless theyve already decided that a John William's score is exactly what they want. Itd be like buying a Mac and then getting upset that it doesnt come with Windows 10.

 

[fancyarcher]

Now I am curious, has John Williams ever been fired?

No, but he has passed on some films in the past. He's not the only one though. JNH has never had a score rejected, and discounting parts of Spider-Man 2, neither has Elfman.

Williams has been picky about which films he works on, and unlike a lot of other composers, Williams is willing to work within the confines of the film, so his scores are not easily considered worthy of tossing-out.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Not that I know of. William's has a very distinct and constant style. Pretty much every director knows what he will deliver so I doubt anyone hires him unless theyve already decided that a John William's score is exactly what they want. Itd be like buying a Mac and then getting upset that it doesnt come with Windows 10.

That mac analogy is perfect really.

No, but he has passed on some films in the past. He's not the only one though. JNH has never had a score rejected, and discounting parts of Spider-Man 2, neither has Elfman.

Williams has been picky about which films he works on, and unlike a lot of other composers, Williams is willing to work within the confines of the film, so his scores are not easily considered worthy of tossing-out.

 

[MurkeNyou]

I have to admit, the music was pretty bland. They should have got the guy from Rebels if they couldn't get Williams.

 

[Warhammer]

The score was forgettable. The only thing that was notable was the actual Rogue One motif. But I can't remember how it sounded now that I'm back home. But to be honest, I thought The Force Awakens had a forgettable score as well.

 

[Elayis]

A forgettable score, as I feared. What surprised me, though, is how boring and unimaginative it is. Even though he wasn't my ideal choice, I still figured Giacchino would deliver a solid score. But not only is there no memorable new themes or cues, but the way he uses Williams' themes is puzzling and mildly irritating. He only uses brief hints, never allowing the cue to breathe and really take off. It's jarring and doesn't make for a pleasant listening experience.

 

[Loden Greatstorm]

The score was totally underwhelming.

 

[P Supreme]

very disappointed it was lifeless easily the worst of all the cinematic movies

 

[OutOfBoose]

Dunno, I liked the score. Especially darker stuff. Really built up tension.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

It was pretty ok.

 

[CaptainWagner]

I'll be honest, I don't really pay attention much to scores, but I thought this was fine. I don't really get the hate it's receiving from a lot of people online...

 

[danoyse]

It’s not as memorable as any of the John Williams’ scores...but the “Your Father Would Be Proud” track is heartbreaking.

 

[The Chris]

I completely disagree with these score opinions. Especially for such a last minute score. It bursts with massive energy and adventure, got me completely engaged with the film from the start and felt like pure Star Wars while also feeling pure Giacchino.

 

[Marvolo]

I loved the score. More than TFA's score. The Imperial Suite is my new favorite piece of music in the franchise. I'm pretty sure I like it even more than the Imperial March. The Guardians of the Whills Suite is great too. Star Dust and Your Father would be Proud really tug on the heartstrings.

I hope they bring Giacchino back for another star wars film.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

 

[A Necessary Evil]

This score was god awful

 

[Marvolo]

 

[Brother Jack]

The score was one of the weaker parts of the film for me. It had its moments (the Jedha stuff was really cool) but for the most part it was kind of uninspired and often felt incongruous with the tone of the film. The movie felt overscored at times. I'm a big fan of Giacchino but this was not one of his best efforts, which I can understand considering how little time he had to work on it. Now I really wish Desplat had stayed. I think that score would've worked better with this film. I actually would've preferred something more subdued, less "Williams-lite".

 

[BatLobster]

The score was one of the weaker parts of the film for me. It had its moments (the Jedha stuff was really cool) but for the most part it was kind of uninspired and often felt incongruous with the tone of the film. The movie felt overscored at times. I'm a big fan of Giacchino but this was not one of his best efforts, which I can understand considering how little time he had to work on it. Now I really wish Desplat had stayed. I think that score would've worked better with this film. I actually would've preferred something more subdued, less "Williams-lite".

Agreed. I'm actually not the biggest Giacchino fan (although I did think he did a good job with the Jurassic World score), and this movie just kind of reinforced that feeling for me. It really did feel like a poor man's Williams a lot of the time.

It didn't ruin the movie for me or anything, but it just felt like a constant reminder of how immeasurable Williams' contribution to the saga has been.

 

[Spider-Gnome]

It’s not as memorable as any of the John Williams’ scores...but the “Your Father Would Be Proud” track is heartbreaking.

That's Giacchino's trademark! Go back and rewatch LOST.

I think Giacchino did a good job, considering the compressed schedule he had to work with. He did some neat stuff, like using the original Vader/Imperial theme from the original film (1977) when we first meet Vader and using the Death Star flourish also from the original film.

 

[David H.]

Gonna be honest, I wish Alexandre Desplat stayed. I like Giacchino, for sure, but I feel we could have gotten something new with Desplat instead of sticking so close to Williams' cues.

Imagine something like this playing on the team's ride to Scarif:

[YT]https://youtu.be/4-2AM8FuI_w[/YT]

(https://youtu.be/4-2AM8FuI_w)

 

[Asteroid-Man]

I was a little bit disappointed with his original pieces in this. Your Father Would be Proud was great, but it sounds too generic to me, personally. Like "sad-song #2937"

His renditions and reworkings of the classics were great though! Especially Krennic's Aspirations and Hope. Holy ****, was Hope amazing.

Ripoffs of pre-existing pieces, like when a filmmaker wants a specific song but they can't afford it so they make the composer make something that's as legally different as it needs to be. In this case, I think it was just Giacchino being too much of a fanboy to Williams. To give an example, Guardians of the Whills sound ****ing amazing, but that's largely in part because it's a mix of Across the Stars and the Force Theme.

Overall, I did enjoy it, but it wasn't as refreshing and original as each time Williams tackles a new one.