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War for the Planet of the Apes (soundtrack)

War for the Planet of the Apes (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album for the 2017 film of the same name directed by Matt Reeves. The film is the sequel to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) and the third installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot franchise. The film score is composed by Reeves' frequent collaborator Michael Giacchino, and was digitally released through iTunes and Amazon on July 14, 2017 by Sony Classical Records. It was later released in physical formats on July 28. The score received critical acclaim from critics and fetched numerous accolades.

Development

Giacchino wrote the full score after the first edit of the film being assembled, and developed new thematics for the film within couple of days. While composing for the film, Giacchino discussed on Reeves' idea on turning Caesar (Andy Serkis) into a "mythic and historical character" referring Exodus or Moses. Giacchino had a different tonal approach for Caesar, regarding his emotional journey and compared to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, this film was mentioned to be his "most emotional films he had worked on". The cue "Exodus Wounds" composed of piano and strings, swelled with brass in the conclusion. He said "Caesar’s been on a crazy journey, and I was inspired seeing him grow and struggle. It's heartbreak, and how close you skate to those lines that you try to avoid in your life."

"An Ode to Nova" is the theme played when Caesar adopts Nova, a human war orphan, consisting of a piano and harp re-occurring four times. Giacchino called that the theme is all about "capturing this suspended tone of someone who is lost, doesn’t have a family, or anywhere to go, and day after day is the same. At the end, there’s a change when she walks into the prison camp, where she finds her strength…helping other people." For the main antagonist, Colonel McCullough (Woody Harrelson), Giacchino wrote a theme begins with timpani drums which "conveys the coming of dread and anxiety", but keeps going underneath where everything is related to Colonel.

The score was recorded at Newman Scoring Stage, with Tim Simonec and Marshall Bowen conducting the 90-piece ensemble from the Hollywood Studio Symphony orchestra, and a 60-member vocal choir also performing the score. Percussionist Emil Richards also played the percussions for the score, in his last film before his death in December 2019. Prior to recording the film, the orchestra performed original music for the film's final trailer, but was not used in the end.

Track listing

Reception

Unlike Giacchino's score for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, the score received critical acclaim from critics. James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "Michael Giacchino has written some brilliant music so far in his career but War for the Planet of the Apes feels like a bit of a milestone: it’s not just the best film music he’s ever written, it’s the manner of the score, the construction of the dramatic narrative, the very deliberate emotional prods that make it stand out as a special achievement. I love that he was able to bring in such nice little homages to great film composers of the past at the same time as writing music that couldn’t be mistaken for anyone’s but his own: he’s a confident, mature composer at the very top of his game." Jonathan Broxton wrote "Doyle’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes is the best score of the new rebooted series, there is still much to admire in Giacchino’s efforts, and this one is by far the best of his two."

Filmtracks.com wrote "the variations on the four themes allow Giacchino another score with a solid narrative flow. The dichotomy between the opening two cues and the flowery initial ambience and chime-banging conclusion to "Paradise Found" is quite something to behold. On album, this score battles with Doyle's for the best in the history of the concept, and for its breadth of development, War for the Planet of the Apes prevails. A superior 30-minute album could be condensed from the long commercial product, one complete with the usual idiotic track titles and hidden cue at the end. Despite its flaws, the score remains among 2017's most impressive surprises." Tony Black of Flickering Myth gave a 10/10 to the score saying "Michael Giacchino really hits it out the park here with a score that builds on everything he did well in the previous picture and takes it to another level entirely (in that way it mirrors Matt Reeves’ movie as it happens). In a career already littered with gems, War For the Planet of the Apes is further proof Giacchino might well now be the finest composer working in Hollywood today. Gorgeous, moving work you need to get in your ears."

Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times called it as "piercingly beautiful score", while Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal called it as "majestic", Rolling Stone's Peter Travers hailed Giacchino's score as one of the film's best aspects. Calling it as "another excellent score", ScreenRant writer Sandy Schafer "one that, like his score for Dawn, is a throwback to the music from the very first Planet of the Apes movie - further amplifies its ominous temperament and dramatic storytelling approach". Jimmy Champane of Bloody Disgusting said "If I was held at gunpoint and forced to pick one aspect of War that stood out the most to me, it would be Michael Giacchino’s score. Even though some of the film’s best moments don’t feature any music at all, when the soundtrack kicks in, it’s impossible not to feel exactly what the characters on screen are feeling. It calls back to the films that came before this franchise almost flawlessly all while feeling fresh and new with its string-heavy beats. Much like I did after seeing Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, I’ll be listening to War’s score on the way to work for weeks or even months to come." Gizmodo wrote "Lots of Reeves’ success comes from liberal use of a dynamic score by Michael Giacchino. It’s a wide-ranging composition that brings a true cohesion to the film. The movie moves very quickly, but the music helps everything feels cohesive, propulsive and poignant."

IndieWire noted the possibilities of Giacchino's score to be a potential Academy Award-nominee with Giacchino's score receiving critical praise. Writing for the same publication, chief critic Eric Kohn had opined that "Giacchino’s vibrant score is one of the reasons the Apes series 'distinguishes itself from so many cacophonous Hollywood spectacles.'"