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Well at least this reveals his supposed justification for not brining back Joe Kraemer to be utter bullshit. He wants every M:I film to be different and a different composer is part of that, hmm?? Right. Yavar
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I am so conflicted over Balfe. I really like some of his work and other things just make my earballs bleed. I mean, I really liked his take on the Terminator in Genisys. Pretty much everyone involved has done decent scores for the franchise. Gemini Man wasn't bad, just nothing special. So okay, Fallout: some of it is really great. I love "Freefall" and the unreleased "Helicopter Chase" (thanks to the score only track I can enjoy it sound effects free). Yet, at the same time, the - as noted above - repeated leaning on "The Plot" as well as the endless bongos gets very old over the course of the score. I don't hate his work. But like Tom Holkenborg and Henry Jackman, they either rise to the occasion or they fall into the same old "chords of doom" mold. I would like to think McQuarrie would at least ask Balfe to stretch and give two different styles to the remaining films. Unless 7 and 8 are one long story, then that's fine too. Joe Kreamer was one of those guys I never heard before and then blow me totally away with Rogue Nation. He got the sound exactly right. Michael Giacchino revived the series after the mess that came out of MI:II and both of his scores were excellent. Hans Zimmer often impresses me with the beauty of his work. Other times, I wonder why he's employed at all. This was one of those times. Danny Elfman was okay, but that's not really his strongest genre. Still, "Zoom A/Zoom B" are to die for.
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Posted: |
May 13, 2020 - 11:01 PM
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By: |
Mephariel
(Member)
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I am so conflicted over Balfe. I really like some of his work and other things just make my earballs bleed. I mean, I really liked his take on the Terminator in Genisys. Pretty much everyone involved has done decent scores for the franchise. Gemini Man wasn't bad, just nothing special. So okay, Fallout: some of it is really great. I love "Freefall" and the unreleased "Helicopter Chase" (thanks to the score only track I can enjoy it sound effects free). Yet, at the same time, the - as noted above - repeated leaning on "The Plot" as well as the endless bongos gets very old over the course of the score. I don't hate his work. But like Tom Holkenborg and Henry Jackman, they either rise to the occasion or they fall into the same old "chords of doom" mold. I would like to think McQuarrie would at least ask Balfe to stretch and give two different styles to the remaining films. Unless 7 and 8 are one long story, then that's fine too. Joe Kreamer was one of those guys I never heard before and then blow me totally away with Rogue Nation. He got the sound exactly right. Michael Giacchino revived the series after the mess that came out of MI:II and both of his scores were excellent. Hans Zimmer often impresses me with the beauty of his work. Other times, I wonder why he's employed at all. This was one of those times. Danny Elfman was okay, but that's not really his strongest genre. Still, "Zoom A/Zoom B" are to die for. I basically have the opposite opinion. Danny Elfman's score is still the best overall. He is the only one to capture that noir/spy feel. And "Zoom B" is still probably the best action cue of the series. Hans Zimmer's score is by far the most enjoyable and fits the movie like a glove. It totally captures the over the top/larger than life feel of the film. Giacchino's scores...boring and dry. Is there a single memorable thing that came out of his scores? Zero personality. Kreamer's score has a killer opening and ending. But I didn't find the middle to be anything special. Balfe's score is good, but not great. I think at times the composition is exciting, but by the middle of the film, his style got old in a hurry.
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I basically have the opposite opinion. This happens to me a lot. "Zoom B" is still probably the best action cue of the series. It is a damned amazing cue, but so much of the score is of the "creeping around" variety. Verly little of the "oddness" that I love about Elfman is in the score. But there is very much to enjoy. I did notice in "Zoom A" there is a VERY quick quote of his Darkman theme, which I appreciated. Hans Zimmer's score is by far the most enjoyable and fits the movie like a glove. It totally captures the over the top/larger than life feel of the film. I agree it does fit the film perfectly. I just hate the film. From the over the top BS to the truly godawful performance of the lead villain: "yoooo shoulla kill meeee!" Dougray Scott sounded like he had a mouth full of corned beef. Hunt and Nyah falling in love during a slo-mo spin out just sealed the deal. "This is Mission: Impossible, not Mission: Difficult." F'n seriously? The score was the M:I theme dumbed down to guitar licks. As a rock/marching band concept album, it's fine. Giacchino's scores...boring and dry. Is there a single memorable thing that came out of his scores? Zero personality. M:I III: Blistering and brilliant. "Helluvacopter Chase," "Bridge Battle" and "The Chutest" were killer. Ghost Protocol was even better, with a LOT of personality. "Out for a Run" is one of my favorite cues and "Mood India" just puts a damned smile on my face every time. Kreamer's score has a killer opening and ending. But I didn't find the middle to be anything special. His theme for Solomon Lane is wonderful. I liked "Atlas Motorcyle Chase" a whole lot too. Balfe's score is good, but not great. I think at times the composition is exciting, but by the middle of the film, his style got old in a hurry. Yeah, that I think we agree on. It's a long haul for his unchanging style. You can get a 10 minute suite out of this and pretty much have a perfect rerestation of the score.
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Posted: |
May 22, 2020 - 1:23 PM
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By: |
Mike Esssss
(Member)
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Another thought on Balfe, now having listened to the podcast. It's a small sample, sure, but he seems to be a genuinely good guy* and he and McQuarrie clearly have a good rapport. I think that suggests a lot about how Balfe gets work. Richard Marx has talked before about how he came up so young in the business and got the opportunities he did. He learned early on the value of being a good hang. Basically, don't be an asshole. You're in the foxhole with someone for weeks/months/years of intense work; be someone that's pleasant to be around. Word gets around and being a good person goes a long way towards getting more work. That much seems obvious when you hear Balfe speak. He's self-effacing and genuinely funny. * That's certainly not to say Joe Kraemer isn't a good guy or else McQuarrie wouldn't have hired him several times, but beyond rapport something else struck me while listening to McQuarrie talk about the process on his MISSION movies. With most films, not having a script at the outset portends a troubled production and usually begets a bad movie. With MISSION, that's how they approach these movies. McQuarrie likes to come up with a few sequence chunks then location scout first to figure out what he wants to do, then they spend a year changing the movie every day. He says he's always searching for impulse and that continues in post as they bevel down what they shot to find the final movie. On FALLOUT he said that Balfe basically moved his kit into the editing suite so that they and Eddie Hamilton, the editor, could all figure it out as they went along. I wonder if that process was much more difficult logistically with Kraemer, whose process I'm guessing is more analog than Balfe's. McQuarrie mentioned how astonished he was that Balfe could produce so much material so quickly. You might say oh, that's evident in the music harrrrrrrrrrrrr, but McQuarrie genuinely seemed to love it. But again, he makes these movies a very specific way and it sounds like Balfe is a perfect fit for his process. Just my two cents.
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McQuarrie LOVES to talk. Who else would do a 7 hour podcast about the making of a movie. That being said, Fallout was the best Mission movie and my favorite score of all of them, so I'm glad he's back. I also love Balfe's Crown scores, especially season 2. Bummed he didn't come back for season 3
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Posted: |
May 24, 2022 - 9:19 AM
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By: |
igger6
(Member)
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The trailer music was cool as trailer music, but with Balfe on the podium—er, at the...mousepad, I guess—I don't like the odds of our seeing any cues as much fun as "Mood India," "A Man, A Plan, A Code, Dubai," or "Flight at the Opera," or "A Foggy Night in London."
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