What has happened to HGW?? :((
Back then in 1998, along with John Powell, we saw them both as promising talents, destined to be one of the best in term of crafting ABOVE-STANDARD-TO-MASTERPIECE music and melody.
And in early 2000, we saw a separation. Powell for the most part wisely chose the animation realm, while HGW chose live-action instead.
Both of them succeeded in delivering the job. Powell is at his strongest and i'm not forgeting HGW with his Kingdom of Heaven and Narnia!
Entering 2010, we saw a decline for both. A little one for Powell, as he would prepare himself for his first sabbatical. But before that, Powell has delivered a masterpiece in film score history with his HTTYD in 2010. In the same year, i would also like to not disregard HGW's Prince of Persia.
Going past 2010, but before 2014/2015, we saw them quite at the bottom. Powell was really pissed about film scoring, while HGW was not neccessarily at the bottom, but his spark started to fade.
Entering 2015, they both rose again. Powell was getting more and more advanced, but i think the same couldnt be said with HGW, as he just rose a bit ( i like his monkey kingdom score though).
Before we enter 2020, we see Powell's force really shone. He is more creative than ever, trying many things that he suits, getting gig that no one here would even dare to expect ( Star Wars ehem )
Powell, until now, still CONSISTENTLY crafts REALLY-GOOD TO-MASTERPIECE music and melody.
Now HGW,...
He still gets movies to write,small ones though, not so much blockbuster-adventury.
And that what makes him declining in the first place.
Powell's decision to tackle more on animations, gives him many great sandboxes to play, everytime, thus really mastering his skill. Smart!
While HGW's false decision to chose blockbuster live-action movies instead, makes him vulnerable to "decaying". And it looks like he is not that kind of person who would push harder to keep his spark, thus he has became one of the "generics". Sparkless.
But still, Andrew Lockington has managed to take that title faster than HGW
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Now The MEG:
For every track i played, i always wished for that unique 90s MV power anthem to really pop, but unfortunately i couldnt find one. And dont get me started on the action music.( But yes, i hear some decent themes buried here and there. And a rather generic genre music in "A New World".)
And i skimmed through last tracks, prepared to end this as another disappointment for HGW, i found a nice power anthem being displayed in "To Our Friends" (itself can also be regarded as variation of his Prometheus theme), but only the first half, sadly. :(
Another disappointment for HGW.
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Even when he was given a good sandbox such as this, he couldnt really turn his spark on again. He couldnt find the word "fun" in his job anymore. (And Early Man could also be another good example for this issue)
Sad for HGW.
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| MrZimmerFan | 2018-08-04 17:58:45 | | I think you mistake The Meg with The Equalizer 2
IMO |
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| Ro | 2018-08-04 21:47:35 | | | I agree that HGW doesn't seem to pour much enthusiasm into his works lately but quite frankly I don't think the projects themselves were calling for something special either. To me, Martian was proof enough that HGW's still got it cracking. He just needs the right gig. I see the live action adaption of Mulan is being helmed by the director of Zookeeper's Wife which he previously scored. That's about the right sort of stuff to get his engines lit. |
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| Olive | 2018-08-05 01:10:45 | | | Probably family. HGW has had three children in the last decade. |
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| Meta | 2018-08-05 04:26:20 | | Yep. I stopped listening to Powell after Bourne Ultimatum/Hancock years, then picked him up again for Star Wars. Big difference, cuz i found his other works to be lackluster for me.
HGW? Oh Lordy....Man On Fire/Domino for me was his final era to shine. Then he just went downhill...Equalizer seemed to bring back that HGW I loved since Man on Fire, but Equalizer 2 sounds like he phoned it in. Meg? It sounds like he was more interested in doing this score than EQ2, and that's not even sayinfg much because this score is vanilla. |
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| Edmund Meinerts | 2018-08-05 12:19:15 | | | You're missing a lot of really great music in those intervening 10 years of Powell's career, Meta...HTTYD is anything but lackluster! |
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