Godzilla 2 Composer Announced: Bear McCreary

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

In fairness, this isn't an entirely valid statement. For one, Rodan's theme is mentioned a lot. Secondly, so many themes are reworked or modified in the franchise's history, does this imply we can't appreciate those scores just because it was done before in Gojira or Mothra? I get what you're going for here, I'm just not sure it's entirely valid when you look at the entire franchise and it's various scores.

Nah, you can appreciate them all you want. I just don't care for soundtracks when music that wasn't even written by the film's composer completely outshines the original work.

[gottatalktothefake]

Bear actually remade and reworked the themes to the point where I get a different feeling from them than I do with the original compositions. For example, Godzilla's theme is less foreboding and more heroic sounding when the chanting kicks in. It's one of the few movies I can actually sit down and put on the OST of.

It had lot more effort put into it then just copy-pasting themes from one movie to another with zero modifications like Shin with it's Gojira and Eva pieces.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

Spoiler:

BUT SHIN GODZILLA

Evergreen post

[Stump Feet]

Bear McCreary's score is the best since Ifukube himself.

Woah…

That’s going a little far don’t you think?

[_JNavs_]

It's definitely better than plenty of the older films, or the ones that just plain retreaded the exact same themes.

[Stump Feet]

May I ask, are you guys fans of the older Toho films or do you prefer the MonsterVerse series of films?

[_JNavs_]

May I ask, are you guys fans of the older Toho films or do you prefer the MonsterVerse series of films?

Both. the older films are great, however the Monsterverse films are also great.

Feels like a modern Heisei/Showa blend.

[Dv-218]

I like both older Toho films and the Monsterverse films for different reasons, and I fail to see how does it have anything to do with the soundtrack. Personally i'd put McCreary at 2nd place when it comes to composers in the franchise, with Oshima and Ifukube being at second and first places for me respectfully. The KOTM ost legit blew me away, I was really not expecting it to be THIS memorable and good.

But hey, like I said, this is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

[_JNavs_]

I like both older Toho films and the Monsterverse films for different reasons, and I fail to see how does it have anything to do with the soundtrack. Personally i'd put McCreary at 2nd place when it comes to composers in the franchise, with Oshima and Ifukube being at second and first places for me respectfully. The KOTM ost legit blew me away, I was really not expecting it to be THIS memorable and good.

But hey, like I said, this is just my opinion. Feel free to disagree.

I also put Bear at #2. Second to Ifukube.

However Final Wars, GMK, most of the Showa films, and GvD are all up there with great scores.

[gottatalktothefake]

May I ask, are you guys fans of the older Toho films or do you prefer the MonsterVerse series of films?

There are a few Toho films I like more than the MonsterVerse films, but both MonsterVerse films are both in my top 5 G films.

I'm still a big fan of the older Toho films and watch them from time to time. I have a complete collection of every Godzilla movie on DVD/Blu Ray

[_JNavs_]

May I ask, are you guys fans of the older Toho films or do you prefer the MonsterVerse series of films?

There are a few Toho films I like more than the MonsterVerse films, but both MonsterVerse films are both in my top 5 G films.

I'm still a big fan of the older Toho films and watch them from time to time. I have a complete collection of every Godzilla movie on DVD/Blu Ray

Same here, top 5 films for sure.

Though all my Godzilla films are surprisingly either from that box set with the yellow covers or VHS's such as 80s Godzilla on the cover but GvMegalon being the film.

I really have to start a blu-ray collection of old Godzilla films, but they're so pricey!

[MegaEvilSaurus666]

Bear McCreary's score is the best since Ifukube himself.

Woah…

That’s going a little far don’t you think?

Definitely. I don't believe that it is. I really liked Michiru Oshima's and Takayuki Hattori's scores. Alexandre Desplat's score is good too. Bear McCreary's is good, but I like those three better. Desplat's score is more dramatic, and emphasizes the events on screen very well. It quiets down a lot to add more impact to certain scenes, differentiating it from a number of scores for the series so far. Some people dislike that, but I thought it was pretty good. His Godzilla theme and other leitmotifs fit well for Legendary's Godzilla, and I miss hearing them. The difference between the two is that Desplat focuses on building and releasing tension, while McCreary focuses on the thematics pretty strictly. I don't remember many major pauses in his score due to the pacing of the film. I wonder how the Bluray will work with his soundtrack. Are there unreleased tracks, or did some of them go unused? I'm not completely sure.

It wasn't McCreary's fault for not being quite as dramatic as Desplat's, however. The film moves too fast sometimes for the soundtrack to fully register, at least to me. The film doesn't completely let McCreary's best tracks, including his rendition of Godzilla's theme (Main Title track), resonate as they should. The chanting is a bit excessive at times, I'll admit. Finally, Serj Tankian and the Blue Oyster Cult cover didn't work for me or my family (they disliked it), and some people in the audience walked out when they heard it. That could've been that it was at the end of the film, but it's an interesting thing to note. Overall, Bear McCreary did exceptionally well, but isn't the very best.

Koichi Sugiyama is pretty much hated now for some of his remarks in the past and his political beliefs, but he puts together nice scores as well. Godzilla vs. Biollante's soundtrack was great. Bio Wars was a change of pace, as well as Godzilla's theme.

[attilagodzilla]

For all my problems with the movie the score wasn't one of them. I sorta think it's the best thing to come out of the movie. I love the new renditions of the Godzilla and Mothra theme. obviously goodbye old friend is amazing. Rodan's theme aswell, and I would say that I might prefer the new Ghidorah theme to the original theme.

[Spuro]

I'm not sure I'd call it the best since Ifukube, but it's pretty close for me! I'd need to chew on it a bit more.

The biggest contender for me is Kow Otani and his outstanding soundtrack for GMK and the Gamera Trilogy (not strictly Godzilla but it bears mentioning.) Michiru Oshima Is pretty good too but the complexities and attention to detail present in Bear's KotM's score allow it to edge out slightly ahead of her.

[attilagodzilla]

not since ifukube I may eben lile the kiryu tracks more.
Also since I saw a discussion about favorite themes earlier. I habe to say I am happy they used this particular theme It has been my favorite ever sonce I watched my first real Godzilla movie wich was vs kg. especially when he makes landfall for the first time how it has the beginning part that slowly builds up into the 54 theme, just amazing. It ikpressed me as a 4 year old and it still does.
Really happy to hear it on the big screen for the first time

[GuardianGhido]

Bear McCreary's score is the best since Ifukube himself.

Woah…

That’s going a little far don’t you think?

Definitely. I don't believe that it is. I really liked Michiru Oshima's and Takayuki Hattori's scores. Alexandre Desplat's score is good too. Bear McCreary's is good, but I like those three better. Desplat's score is more dramatic, and emphasizes the events on screen very well. It quiets down a lot to add more impact to certain scenes, differentiating it from a number of scores for the series so far. Some people dislike that, but I thought it was pretty good. His Godzilla theme and other leitmotifs fit well for Legendary's Godzilla, and I miss hearing them. The difference between the two is that Desplat focuses on building and releasing tension, while McCreary focuses on the thematics pretty strictly. I don't remember many major pauses in his score due to the pacing of the film. I wonder how the Bluray will work with his soundtrack. Are there unreleased tracks, or did some of them go unused? I'm not completely sure.

It wasn't McCreary's fault for not being quite as dramatic as Desplat's, however. The film moves too fast sometimes for the soundtrack to fully register, at least to me. The film doesn't completely let McCreary's best tracks, including his rendition of Godzilla's theme (Main Title track), resonate as they should. The chanting is a bit excessive at times, I'll admit. Finally, Serj Tankian and the Blue Oyster Cult cover didn't work for me or my family (they disliked it), and some people in the audience walked out when they heard it. That could've been that it was at the end of the film, but it's an interesting thing to note. Overall, Bear McCreary did exceptionally well, but isn't the very best.

Koichi Sugiyama is pretty much hated now for some of his remarks in the past and his political beliefs, but he puts together nice scores as well. Godzilla vs. Biollante's soundtrack was great. Bio Wars was a change of pace, as well as Godzilla's theme.

tbh I was just mirroring what Watch was saying to annoy him.

It's quite debatable how Bear's tracks compare to the other non-Ifukube tracks, but for me at least, his is the most memorable , iconic and bombastic after Ifukube's own works. GMK had a good track, but I feel that this one's even better.

Desplat's one really didn't resonate with me all that well, sure it was a fine soundtrack (the main theme and back to the ocean was pretty good) but it didn't really feel...Godzilla enough, whereas Bear McCreary's felt 100% Godzilla to me. Then again, that's just my opinion and from an objective standpoint there's really no way to tell who's the second best after Ifukube himself. It's all a matter of personal taste.

[Dv-218]

I love Desplat's tracks like the main title and parts during the SF climax due to their intense nature, but honestly I felt like most of McCreary's score was much more memorable and had more of a presence. And honestly, nothing quite compares to the feeling of listening to the OG theme blasting through the screen- just pure epicness. Godzilla's appearance in Antarctica, his rebirth and appearance in Boston were just chill inducing with the theme. But like I said, just my personal feeling.

[MegaEvilSaurus666]

Desplat's one really didn't resonate with me all that well, sure it was a fine soundtrack (the main theme and back to the ocean was pretty good) but it didn't really feel...Godzilla enough, whereas Bear McCreary's felt 100% Godzilla to me. Then again, that's just my opinion and from an objective standpoint there's really no way to tell who's the second best after Ifukube himself. It's all a matter of personal taste.

Well, it felt 100% Godzilla because it was a rendition of Akira Ifukube's work instead of something completely original. While McCreary did take artistic liberties, it's still a familiar sound, and it's the safe route to take when making Godzilla films.

[GojiDog]

I liked Desplat's score for the 2014 film quite a bit. I can recall several specific tracks like the main title, The Wave, Back to the Ocean, and most of the music that accompanies the monster action. Not having the classic theme in there though (when there were a handful of moments where it would have fit perfectly) made it feel like something was missing. Having the classic Godzilla theme in there makes the movie feel more authentic.

Its kind of like doing a Bond movie without the classic theme. The movie feels like it is missing something if it isn't there. Or even Star Wars not having any music from John Williams in there. Rogue One had a pretty good score, the first live action Star Wars film to not be composed by Williams, but still had a blending of the new music with classic cues to make it feel like it belonged.

Shin Godzilla had some of the best original tracks of the entire franchise (Persecution of the Masses and Who Will Know) but still relied heavily on the classic music (and some Evangelion tracks as well, lol).

Heck one of my favorite Godzilla scores is from Godzilla Vs. Gigan and that is almost entirely just recycled Ifukube tracks. He kind of gave Godzilla his soul, and it just sounds right whenever it is used.

And it isn't purely a nostalgic thing either. If Bear wanted to go for pure nostalgia, we would have had the old Ghidorah and Rodan themes as well, and probably the Monster Zero March thrown in for good measure. I felt like he created something that fit the spirit of Godzilla and the kaiju genre and only used a couple of classic tracks to clearly define it as a Godzilla score.

[Dv-218]

I liked Desplat's score for the 2014 film quite a bit. I can recall several specific tracks like the main title, The Wave, Back to the Ocean, and most of the music that accompanies the monster action. Not having the classic theme in there though (when there were a handful of moments where it would have fit perfectly) made it feel like something was missing. Having the classic Godzilla theme in there makes the movie feel more authentic.

Its kind of like doing a Bond movie without the classic theme. The movie feels like it is missing something if it isn't there. Or even Star Wars not having any music from John Williams in there. Rogue One had a pretty good score, the first live action Star Wars film to not be composed by Williams, but still had a blending of the new music with classic cues to make it feel like it belonged.

Shin Godzilla had some of the best original tracks of the entire franchise (Persecution of the Masses and Who Will Know) but still relied heavily on the classic music (and some Evangelion tracks as well, lol).

Heck one of my favorite Godzilla scores is from Godzilla Vs. Gigan and that is almost entirely just recycled Ifukube tracks. He kind of gave Godzilla his soul, and it just sounds right whenever it is used.

And it isn't purely a nostalgic thing either. If Bear wanted to go for pure nostalgia, we would have had the old Ghidorah and Rodan themes as well, and probably the Monster Zero March thrown in for good measure. I felt like he created something that fit the spirit of Godzilla and the kaiju genre and only used a couple of classic tracks to clearly define it as a Godzilla score.

According to the interview with him he actually fought to get the Godzilla and Mothra themes in. Not surprised that the Ghidorah/Rodan themes didn't make it, Toho can get overprotective over certain things like musical scores. Not a problem for me, I felt like the new themes made up for that. Distinct and new, but still encompass the overall characters of both kaiju. It definitely worked for the best, as you said.