The Best John Williams Score of the 2010s

[crumbs 14,305]

The Cave is a superb piece of atmospheric writing, especially when placed into context with the preceding and following cues.

 

But I agree with the general sentiment that much of the underscore Williams writes these days is a little "stiff" or static. The greatest offender is easily KOTCS, which features cue after cue of completely disinterested scoring. Bizarrely, lots of it comprised that terrible OST assembly when so many highlights went begging.

[publicist 4,643]

Williams is not really right for these new blockbusters anymore and you can feel his lack of affinity peeping out everywhere at the fringes, though the empty theatrics still satisfy the fans of such stuff (the best things of the new Star Wars'es for me remain the precious few concert readings).

 

If Spielberg were a bit more adventurous today in his choice of material we probably would have a clearer winner. As it is, the heartfelt 'Lincoln' inspired Williams even within the well-traveled confines of elegiac americana, while the likewise old-fashioned movies that are 'Tintin' and 'War Horse' also feel alive and kicking, though a bit too expected (a cloak of silence over 'BFG').

[The Five Tones 302]

TLJ (incl. FYC). It had moments of unique flavour and structure; TFA though beautiful was too classic SW. I appreciate his sci-fi/adventure work the most - imprinted in my childhood during Jaws to ToD - and I thin out on dramas, period, romances, thrillers, comedies, children's per se (with exceptions like SYiT, EotS, SL and CMIYC... and The Cowboys restored). From what I've heard of this decade, nothing has compelled me like the sequel trilogy. The Post didn't stick, but I feel like there are some subtleties in his very recent composing style that may take us years to appreciate. I really wanted to like Lincoln more than I did.

[Mitth'raw'nuorodo 43]

Yeah, I don't understand how TFA is beating TLJ. Although it introduced many more new and memorable themes than TLJ, the scoring that's not themes is just so boring compared to how JW scored TLJ. And there's lots of fun one-off musical moments in TLJ, where you don't get anything like that in TFA. Obviously, I'm a huge Williams and SW fan, so I like the TFA score, but it's probably my least favorite SW score. And TLJ is one of my favorite.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

War Horse

[Jay 37,323]

War Horse for me, with Lincoln in second place

[Balahkay 627]

Definitely TFA simply because of Rey's Theme and MOTR.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

19 hours ago, Mitth'raw'nuorodo said:

Yeah, I don't understand how TFA is beating TLJ. Although it introduced many more new and memorable themes than TLJ, the scoring that's not themes is just so boring compared to how JW scored TLJ. And there's lots of fun one-off musical moments in TLJ, where you don't get anything like that in TFA. Obviously, I'm a huge Williams and SW fan, so I like the TFA score, but it's probably my least favorite SW score. And TLJ is one of my favorite.

 

TFA is way more interesting as a whole than TLJ.  Most of TLJ's highlights are 15 second snippets wedged inbetween straight rehashed material or random trumpet stabs (the majority of the action music sounds as if it were temped with "The Rathtars").  There's also a major "copy-and-paste" feeling to the application of the thematic material throughout the score (Binary Sunset-Resistance March-10 seconds of new stuff-Rose's theme).  This feeling permeates the entire score for me.

 

TFA's action music may not have any big sweeping melodies but it has a still has a clear flow to it and is almost all original.  I'd also say that the vast majority of it is very dramatically effective and thrilling, even if it's more in line with Jurassic Park or The Patriot than The Phantom Menace.  "I Can Fly Any Thing" and "Attack of the Jakku Village" are some of my favorite Williams action tracks period.

[Mitth'raw'nuorodo 43]

1 hour ago, Not Mr. Big said:

Most of TLJ's highlights are 15 second snippets wedged in between straight rehashed material or random trumpet stabs

 

I don't think that's quite fair. Something that I think is really cool about the TLJ score is that it's entirely motivated by motifs. And conversely, TFA isn't so much. During the entire TLJ score, Williams is hitting you with old and new themes and motifs to both mimic what's going on onscreen and add layers of meaning. On the other hand, TFA's score doesn't really callback much; the underscore is mostly bland strings moving around in an uncertain way. And I think that's actually a weakness in a Star Wars score where you have six previous movies-worth of themes to use. TLJ's strength was that he both used every theme to its max potential and also found time for those 15-30 second original bits as well. And the original stuff (like the tragic end of Main Title and Escape or the opening to The Fathiers) is, for the most part, loads better than the original stuff in TFA (with the exception of the TFA Falcon chase, which is incredible and is basically a new Asteroid Field). I agree that his use of the Force theme, Rose's theme, MotR, etc. can get a little monotonous, but it fits in the boundaries of what he's trying to do, and there's loads of new themes and one-off moments as well.

[Holko 9,499]

Really? If I had to name one action highlight from TFA, it's be I Can Fly Anything, Scherzo or Ways of the Force, not the Falcon chase. It's too repetitive, and basically just the action/Finn/BB8 motif with a few fanfares thrown in and the TIE pilot cutaways ruining the flow with no substance. I do like it but to compare it with Asteroid Fiend, the epitome of the art of chase setpiece music, is something I feel is... not quite adequate.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

34 minutes ago, Mitth'raw'nuorodo said:

 

I don't think that's quite fair. Something that I think is really cool about the TLJ score is that it's entirely motivated by motifs. And conversely, TFA isn't so much. During the entire TLJ score, Williams is hitting you with old and new themes and motifs to both mimic what's going on onscreen and add layers of meaning. On the other hand, TFA's score doesn't really callback much; the underscore is mostly bland strings moving around in an uncertain way. And I think that's actually a weakness in a Star Wars score where you have six previous movies-worth of themes to use. TLJ's strength was that he both used every theme to its max potential and also found time for those 15-30 second original bits as well. And the original stuff (like the tragic end of Main Title and Escape or the opening to The Fathiers) is, for the most part, loads better than the original stuff in TFA (with the exception of the TFA Falcon chase, which is incredible and is basically a new Asteroid Field). I agree that his use of the Force theme, Rose's theme, MotR, etc. can get a little monotonous, but it fits in the boundaries of what he's trying to do, and there's loads of new themes and one-off moments as well.

 

That's a weird way to defend The Last Jedi's score.

 

For myself, one thing that gives the score the edge over Force Awakens is a sense of pathos and gravitas in its better moments. While, as you point out, @Not Mr. Big, "Starkiller" is a pretty pairing of visuals and music, I ultimately think of Zapp Branagan's words: "I've never heard of such a brutal and shocking injustice that I cared so little about!" 

 

The Last Jedi far more consistently has music, such as the material surrounding Snoke in his throne room, that lets me know things are getting real. It generally has more color and movement too, but like I said before, both scores can suffer from weirdly dry underscore, with little forward momentum (especially if you compare to the six prior Star Wars scores). Maybe it's Williams' way to try and slow the films down? 

[Mitth'raw'nuorodo 43]

23 minutes ago, Holko said:

Really? If I had to name one action highlight from TFA, it's be I Can Fly Anything, Scherzo or Ways of the Force, not the Falcon chase. It's too repetitive, and basically just the action/Finn/BB8 motif with a few fanfares thrown in and the TIE pilot cutaways ruining the flow with no substance. I do like it but to compare it with Asteroid Fiend, the epitome of the art of chase setpiece music, is something I feel is... not quite adequate.

 

Scherzo definitely comes close! The thing that makes the Falcon chase is the driving force of rhythm it has. The rhythm he uses is catchy, tense, memorable, yet complicated, and it drives the whole piece, much like the off-beat accents of the main part of the Asteroid Field. I haven't watched TFA in a while, so I'm not sure if the music gets badly mauled, but the OST versions anyway are great! I think it's just as catchy as Asteroid Field. I also don't really consider that rhythm to be tied to anyone in particular because it doesn't really appear enough to get associated with anybody. I think of it as a special rhythm just for that scene (which, admittedly, does make a brief appearance after the rathtar attack) that is just as memorable and catchy as Asteroid Field. In contrast, I Can Fly Anything and Ways Of The Force are a little too haphazard for me to like them as much. They don't really have a single driving force behind them, and they move around a lot. That's why I, at least, prefer The Falcon to any of the other actiony pieces in TFA.

1 minute ago, Nick Parker said:

 

That's a weird way to defend The Last Jedi's score.

 

I think we have to measure what makes a good Star Wars score separately from what makes a good conventional score because it has that tradition and backlog that most other movies don't. It should rely on themes and even action pieces from previous films; in George Lucas's words, "It rhymes." That's not to say it shouldn't be original; far from it! But using all previous themes to their max potential is a key part of a good Star Wars score. Which is why I loved, for instance, how Michael Giacchino used both the ANH Vader theme and the Imperial March in his score. He used Vader to his max potential.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

4 minutes ago, Mitth'raw'nuorodo said:

I think we have to measure what makes a good Star Wars score separately from what makes a good conventional score because it has that tradition and backlog that most other movies don't. It should rely on themes and even action pieces from previous films; in George Lucas's words, "It rhymes." That's not to say it shouldn't be original; far from it! But using all previous themes to their max potential is a key part of a good Star Wars score. Which is why I loved, for instance, how Michael Giacchino used both the ANH Vader theme and the Imperial March in his score. He used Vader to his max potential.

 

I think we disagree on what "max potential" means. I don't consider  plastering a scene with "Luke's Theme" because--hey, Luke Skywalker is on screen!--would be a praiseworthy thing (to give a generic example).  It sounds like Williams was warmed into the idea of using motifs more liberally than he has in the past after Force Awakens, with younger fanboys such as Abrams and Johnson clearly in awe of the man's musical legacy. 

 

That said, considering The Last Jedi is a culmination and manipulation of many existing parts, rather than establishing that many new ones, Williams' approach makes a lot of sense. 

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

The Last Jedi is the clip show of Star Wars scores

[Mitth'raw'nuorodo 43]

Sure. I just find his scoring when he uses themes to be much superior to pieces like The Starkiller or Torn Apart, where it's mostly sad-sounding strings kinda hanging around. I appreciate the Barber influence, but it just has no emotional weight without the added force of themes that echo throughout the saga.

[Nick Parker 3,040]

2 minutes ago, Mitth'raw'nuorodo said:

Sure. I just find his scoring when he uses themes to be much superior to pieces like The Starkiller or Torn Apart, where it's mostly sad-sounding strings kinda hanging around. I appreciate the Barber influence, but it just has no emotional weight without the added force of themes that echo throughout the saga.

 

For as much as he's touted as a master of leitmotif, John Williams is a master of _not_ relying on the past weight of echoed themes to create a strong, dramatic impact, in practically every film series he's worked on.

 

Although I think @Not Mr. Big's criticism is exaggerated, I imagine people are disappointed with what they consider an unoriginal or dare I say uninspired take on these past themes,  rather than the inherent application of them.

[SteveMc 2,674]

When I heard TLJ for the first time I was underwhelmed.  I was expecting Williams to break ground, give a thrilling extension of the soundworld of TFA, and The Jedi Steps in particular.  TLJ sounded like a collection of old themes strung together with faceless underscore.

But, then, I heard TLJ again.  This time, I was trying to listen to the score for what it was, for what Williams was actually saying.  And this time, I heard a rich and intricate score where texture, structure, and technique took center stage, not unlike some of his concert works.  In short, I was impressed.  

There is much to be found in both of the sequel scores, so far. 

[Brundlefly 2,385]

1 hour ago, Mitth'raw'nuorodo said:

sad-sounding strings kinda hanging around

This term is kinda applicable for some portions if TFA.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

The sequel scores just sound tired and disengaged, as has a lot of his work in general post-Lost World. But after everything he's given to the film music world, I'd say he's earned the 'right' (for lack of a better word) to phone it in. Force Awakens didn't need a score on par with Temple of Doom, so it didn't get one.

[mstrox 6,647]

WAR HORSE

[Brundlefly 2,385]

31 minutes ago, kaseykockroach said:

The sequel scores just sound tired and disengaged, as has a lot of his work in general post-Lost World. But after everything he's given to the film music world, I'd say he's earned the 'right' (for lack of a better word) to phone it in. Force Awakens didn't need a score on par with Temple of Doom, so it didn't get one.

Maybe post-Munich, but definitely not post-Lost World.

[Kasey Kockroach 2,344]

There's always at least one good cue in every album since then (Rey's theme being one obvious example), it's just that Lost World is the last score of his I can listen to all the way through. 

That said, if I was forced at gunpoint to listen to a 2010's John Williams album, I'd say The BFG would be the easiest to revisit. It's a nice, likable thing. Tain't nothing special, nor does it need to be.

[Thor 7,478]

WAR HORSE is heads and shoulders above anything else in the 2010s. THE POST comes in at second. After those two, it's all a bit lacklustre, IMO. I guess if I were to rank them, it would be as follows:

 

1. WAR HORSE

2. The Post

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3. Tintin

4. Lincoln

5. The Force Awakens

6. The BFG

7. The Last Jedi

8. The Book Thief

[JoeinAR 1,949]

This poll was so much better thought out than others