Edmilson 7,453 Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 The battle of the 21st century begins! Three of the most succesful composers of the century are competing. Who is the best among them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fabulin 3,512 Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 1999-2009 Giacchino 2010+ Powell Raiders of the SoundtrArk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie 1,059 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 I prefer Giacchino to both of them. Powell and Desplat are both hit and miss for me. JNHFan2000 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. A. Ron 1,742 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 It's always been Powell for me and it's not even close! Not Mr. Big and Evanus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 All three composers are in my top ten. Giacchino ranks highest for his early work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. A. Ron 1,742 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Gia peaked for me with Jupiter Ascending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muad'Dib 1,802 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Powell is king. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bored 309 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Giacchino's too dry and generic at times. I almost always recognize Powell and his style, at least since the 2010s. Desplat's good but not even close to those two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay 37,364 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Powell certainly has more innate ability to write compelling film music. In other words, he's more talented. But Giacchino puts out more scores I enjoy listening to repeatedly. KittBash and Nick1Ø66 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Holko 9,526 Posted July 26, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted July 26, 2021 Powell and Desplat both know their own strengths and weaknesses well and mostly compose accordingly. But Gia's been put into this big orchestral composer box (or put himself into it) that does not sound like himself and he doesn't sound as comfortable in as in earlier, smaller and more playful scores. Tom Guernsey, JB11sos and Chewy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WampaRat 1,105 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 I wish I enjoyed more Desplat scores (even Valerian didn’t connect with me 😬) But I did enjoy Girl with the Pearl Earring. That one score of his I do come back to every once and a while. After all these years and blockbuster franchises that Gia has scored, The Incredibles is still my favorite score of his. Powell: my absolute favorite of the three. For me that guy can do no wrong and I will listen to anything he writes:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor 7,504 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Powell, of course. I outright dislike the other two (with a couple of exceptions). Jurassic Shark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpy 4,145 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Strange to see the dislike of Desplat. All three are today's finest film composers and all three have hits and misses. I love Powell's lush orchestrations, Giacchino's themes and Desplat's attention to the small details and orchestral sensibilities. Chewy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeinAR 1,949 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Using the word best with the name Giacchino Is criminal. He is mediocrity personified. I believe AD is a better composer. Powell is ok. Remco 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,076 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 1 hour ago, Thor said: Powell, of course. I outright dislike the other two (with a couple of exceptions). And even Powell has done A LOT of mediocre/bad stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony 572 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Giacchino may work on the types of films I've love to see the other two on, but Powell is by far my favourite composer of the three. They are all very different and do their own things well. I wouldn't want Powell to try to write a Desplat style score or vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,478 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Powell is most accomplished. A score like How to train your dragon puts almost anything Gia has written to dust. But Gia has a good pick of projects, better than Powell. So I have listened to more of his score and enjoyed them. Remco 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 3 hours ago, Jurassic Shark said: And even Powell has done A LOT of mediocre/bad stuff. You gotta problem with Gigli? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remco 685 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Powell without a doubt. I have respect for Desplat though and he's written some things that I absolutely love. But he can be quite boring as well. (HP8 comes to mind, where he knocks it out of the park with Lily's Theme right away and then proceeds with the dullest score I could imagine for a film like that.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo 3,709 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Desplat > Powell > The other guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,076 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Giacchino puts autodidacts in a bad light. Remco 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Guernsey 2,284 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 15 hours ago, Holko said: Powell and Desplat both know their own strengths and weaknesses well and mostly compose accordingly. But Gia's been put into this big orchestral composer box (or put himself into it) that does not sound like himself and he doesn't sound as comfortable in as in earlier, smaller and more playful scores. That sums is up in a nutshell. Before the Star Trek, Jurassic World era of his career, his writing was considerably less bombastic and much more interesting. Whenever I think I'm cooling on his music, I only have to head back to Ratatouille, The Incredibles or Up to remind myself that he actually could do subtle and, as you say, playful, but also emotionally engaging. Inevitably, for the purpose of the poll, I went for Powell, but had you run this poll every 3 to 5 years for the last 20 years I think it could have bounced between all three depending on the stage of their careers, but Powell has hit one of the top half dozen spots as one of my favourite film composers. His only real weakness (if you can call it that) is that I'd enjoy hearing music for a wider range of movies. Sure, his animated scores are great, but there aren't that many beyond those from the last few years and it would be great to hear something from him with greater dramatic heft behind it. His Prussian Requiem demonstrated a depth and breadth to his compositional talent that just isn't exploited by the movies he scores. While I'd rather he wrote one or two great scores a year than a load of mediocre ones, it would be great if his output was just touch greater... Talking of which, I think Desplat probably suffers from doing too many films at times, but I still think he's a fine composer who has just ended up scoring too many dramas with not quite enough variation in style. Having said that, he produces at least one or two great scores per year and covers an impressive range of genres. His recent Airlines compilation is a superb compilation of his work. I hope a second volume with more concert works is on the way. Smeltington 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasey Kockroach 2,344 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 Scott Bradley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arpy 4,145 Posted July 26, 2021 Share Posted July 26, 2021 @Tom Guernsey The Incredibles, Ratatouille and Up are perhaps some of his least subtle work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittBash 282 Posted July 27, 2021 Share Posted July 27, 2021 21 hours ago, Jay said: Powell certainly has more innate ability to write compelling film music. In other words, he's more talented. But Giacchino puts out more scores I enjoy listening to repeatedly. This was really hard actually but this sums it up perfectly for me! Jay 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princeling1987 22 Posted August 2, 2021 Share Posted August 2, 2021 Powell for me. He is like a perfect mix of my other 2 faves composers: JW and Zimmer. Powell match the orchestral might of JW with the "modern' sound of Zimmer. Add excellent themes and you have in my opinion the best active film composer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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