Michael Giacchino's original score for War for the Planet of the Apes is released through Sony Classical. The film is the third chapter to the 2011 & 2014 movies Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It features Caesar and his apes being forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet...

Michael Giacchino turns in an impressive and incredibly atmospheric score for War for the Planet of the Apes. Now, a word of warning. This is not going to be to everyone's taste. It's mainly made up of background, atmospheric tracks. Normally I'm not a fan of these... but nothing says "Holy crap! I'm trapped on the scary Planet of the Apes" more effectively than this score right here.

His work on 2014's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was okay, but nothing overly impressive. And there are a few nods here and there to some of the more memorable themes from that film on display here. Giacchino manages to convey so much with so little that you can't help buy applaud him (especially when he managed to squeeze this in as well as the score for Spider-Man: Homecoming which was released on the same day.

In places I'm reminded of the early work of John Barry on tracks like 'Don't Luca Now' (oh, yes. The tongue in cheek track titles are also back).

There are 17 tracks (1 hr, 15 min, 11 sec) and while it's very much a soundtrack that you'll love or hate, I found it rather refreshingly atmospheric. There are sweet moments, but the majority of the tracks are basically packed with adrenaline fuelled horror-esque suspense building music.

'Migration' is one of this score's finer points, allowing Giacchino to delivery a beautiful and subtle piece of music. Likewise, 'Paradise Found' is another reflective piece that washes over the listener. The album closes with 'End Credits' which pretty much houses the more interesting elements of the score.

While not an essential purchase, I found it to be a little different, and certainly one atmospheric score that's worthy of your time.

8

Darren Rea