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Ho ho ho.
Always fun reading back over old predictions!
I'm concerned the same may apply to B25, where I'm currently suffering from similarly giddy expectations, after my disappointment with SP.
I think EON have felt the air leaving the room after SP. General movie fans are still discussing Mad Max Fury Road, Mission Impossible 5 and Jurassic World, all of which were released the same year, and yet SPECTRE has been completely forgotten. That's not to say people weren't generally entertained with the experience, but it simply had zero lasting impact when compared with Skyfall. They've been pushed onto the back foot again, and EON can probably feel the competition tightening around them with the revival of popular franchises into roaring form. They know they need to deliver next time, and resting on their laurels is not an option this time.
You're not tge only one. I read tonnes of excuses as to why SF's musical score was lacklustre and with news of SP having a bigger budget and Newman having a full orchestra to work with etc I for one felt positive we were going to get Newman knocking out of the park. I was wrong.
Lee Smith (Editor) on the music...
In the case of “Spectre” I got a music editor on very early on and we took apart the existing score from “Skyfall” and strung that out and rebuilt cues to suit the new film, just to give us the temp score. We needed it to be in Bond’s world. I saw no reason to pull temp score from other films. We did use other existing score in moments where we clearly couldn’t build it from Skyfall, but it was great because we were doing a really polished version of a score underneath the editor’s cut and it worked and whenever we played it for producers or Sam I think there was only once or twice where he said we missed the point with the music, but for 90% of the time we were on the money and I think when we started working with Thomas Newman and he was re-writing it, he knew mode and placement or the temp score was pushing all the right emotional buttons. I know that would have been hard for him, because it’s already his score and I know how tough that is, but I kept saying to him, “But it’s so good!” I can’t put other composers scores on this movie! (laughs) He was great and incredibly collaborative.
Newman reused his score once. You reuse your arguments 100 times.
And I'll keep reusing it because it's true. I demand better from Bond music. And until we get something better I'll keep harping on the guy as I please.
No. Just at Bond. I'll concede Skyfall had its moments (regardless of whether they reached the heights of Barry, Arnold, etc.), but Spectre was inexcusable.
Funny. Same here. Having been totally underwhelmed by SF, my expectations for SP were set low. Newman delivered.
Absolutely. The question is what?
Great attitude you got there. Did you read the interview with Lee Smith?
Mendes and the producers wanted the same feel SP as from SF. Hence they wanted to emulate the success in all departments, including the music. Newman did what he was told to do, nothing more. If he didn't he would've probably been sacked and someone else would've completed it to EONs wishes.
You guys are entitled to your opinions on the score, but Newman does not suck.
He's done a couple of okay scores, but generally speaking his work is weak.
He's a spoilt rich kid who inherited the family firm.
I personally thought he did a very good job with SF for a first timer. That film's score fitted the film like a glove and although not brassy, was a refreshing change from Arnold (Those who harp on in this forum about 'Arnold this' and 'Arnold that' need to have higher expectations from their Bond composers. We can and must do much better than him, despite his improvements during the Craig years. That man is no Barry. Not by a long shot. He hasn't got the same flair for melody or contextual mood scoring, and his action scoring pales in comparision. A blunt instrument without the compositional finesse of the late master).
I'm not surprised to read that 'the powers that be' had ideas to recreate the sound from SF for SP. Newman's score is hardly creative for this film, but that's par for the course for this tired effort. The ambient mood scoring that permeates the film appears deliberate however, and is there to create a sense of foreboding. It's perhaps not very 'Bond' in the traditional sense, but then again with Mendes at the helm they were probably going for something artsy.
I guess one thing I will concede is that Newman's scores aren't as bad as the GE score, but that would take a real effort and a chutzpah Newman lacks.
Newman's in a middling category for me. He's a 'safe' pair of hands who is never going to go overboard and create something really awful like GE, but equally doesn't have the talent to reach the heights of the better composers.
He's your man if you want bland background noise and dreary melodies nobody is ever going to remember. A perfect fit for Bond then...
That opening track from the film roped me right into the proceedings. Haunting, creepy, mysterious and loneliness all captured as the spaceship hurtles through darkness.
Spoiler for Passengers -
However, Arnold is an infinitely better fit for Bond than Newman ever will be. Arnold's scores for CR (where he also deserves credit for the title song) and QoS are very good, and wipe the floor with SF and SP.