Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire NON-SPOILER THREAD

[miguelnuva]

Just to clear up Matt Frank wasn't the one attacking, I posted his quote because he disagreed in a reasonable light.

Adding on to the plot of Mothra Mothra vs Godzilla Mothra knowing she's going to die but knowing she has to protect her children from the invincible force that is Godzilla is another powerful moment.

My aunts and my mother became Mothra fans after seeing the 64 film.

[Dv-218]

I’ll just pretend he is talking about the Heisei one lol. But yeah given the nicheness of the Heisei series in the west chances are he is referring to the OG sadly. Eh, can’t please everyone.

[_JNavs_]

I’d rather not have someone with a negative view of the franchise he’s working on, work/compose on this next film.

Give it back to Bear.

[Dv-218]

He’s obviously just trying to tap into the Fukuda spirit of passive aggressive involvement

[CyberZilla]

Shifting slightly to a similar topic, what did everything think of Junkie’s score and how might you improve it? I thought it was alright, with some standout tracks here and there, like Kong’s theme and the final battle of Hong Kong’s tracks. It definitely was good background music for writing projects and homework, and had some fun elements to it, but most of it was erring on generic compared to what the previous composers did.

[Dv-218]

Shifting slightly to a similar topic, what did everything think of Junkie’s score and how might you improve it? I thought it was alright, with some standout tracks here and there, like Kong’s theme and the final battle of Hong Kong’s tracks. It definitely was good background music for writing projects and homework, and had some fun elements to it, but most of it was erring on generic compared to what the previous composers did.

It was…just ok honestly. I don’t really have strong opinions in favor or against it. There were a few standouts here and there, Kong’s theme in particular- I really liked the throne room rendition of it due to how majestic it was in tone. Other than that it was pretty standard Junkie XL fare, and I did feel like certain motives were too overused with little to no variation. Then again the score was made during the very height of the pandemic with a tight as hell timeframe so hopefully there’s a bit more room to work an experiment in the next film.

Personally I’d definitely change up Godzilla’s theme…it’s not terrible but it’s literally just the original theme with the last notes re-arranged, making it feel like a cheap bootleg almost. Doesn’t really have the power and energy of either Bear or Desplat. But with a few tweaks I can honestly see the general “tone” of it working.

[UltramanGoji]

Shifting slightly to a similar topic, what did everything think of Junkie’s score and how might you improve it?

I thought it was numbingly mediocre and creatively uninspiring. My ideas for improvement would be to follow JNavs' idea.

[JAGzilla]

Can someone post the relevant Junkie XL quote, please and thank you? I looked around a little bit, but I couldn't find anything. Of course, I proudly have no clue how to navigate social media, so.

EDIT: Okay, Spuro PM'd me. Woof. I generally hold that people are entitled to their opinions and that should be the end of it. In this case, however, it's someone involved in the production of current kaiju movies. He's approaching the new material with the mindset that nothing in the genre has ever been any good. That... well, that's how we end up with shoddy films like GvK, isn't it? That's dangerous and deserves pushback.

There needs to be a balance, because that's the core of the kaiju genre: balance. It's always (intentionally and not) walked a tightrope between weighty, stone-faced seriousness and silly, schlocky absurdity. Between loving, handcrafted excellence and lazy, financially motivated expedience. It exists in every movie. To really understand the genre, you have to see and appreciate both sides, as well as understanding how, why, when, and where the movies were made. None of these movies is an unimpeachable masterpiece, but none is truly without merit, either. Some do end up as bad movies, but they were never made to be bad movies. The filmmakers always had respect for their own work and intended to produce something enjoyable for their audiences.

Junkie is free to have whatever opinion he has. But being responsible for something as potentially essential as the score, he has a responsibility to understand the material he's working with, the legacy of what and who came before him, and why it continues to resonate with large numbers of fans decades later. If he can't or doesn't want to do that, he should not have this job.

[MogeGoji1994]

Adding onto what others have said, I found the GvK score to be perfectly...fine, in a vacuum. The Kong motif/theme (not sure how these terms are actually used, would really appreciate a correction on this!) was great, and I liked the music during the aircraft carrier fight. Oh! The title theme was actually really good, a shame it wasn't released on the official soundtrack.

However, when you compare it to the preceding soundtrack of KOTM, or even 2014, it's an extremely lacking score. Personally I think it's ridiculous that no classic music was used, given that the barrier for that was already crossed with KOTM. JunkieXL could have used a more menacing theme Godzilla has had in the past, such as the aforementioned MvG theme. I didn't really care for the electronic/dubstep feel of the overall soundtrack, although I suppose one could argue that it fits the theme of the more sci-fi heavy film.

Frankly, nothing against JunkieXL personally, I'm very disappointed he's returning to score the film. Bear McCreary should have returned to score, as he seemed to grasp the characters of these monsters better, and I think his more spiritual and orchestral music would better fit the tone of these movies (ancient history) than JunkieXL

[Dv-218]

Adding onto what others have said, I found the GvK score to be perfectly...fine, in a vacuum. The Kong motif/theme (not sure how these terms are actually used, would really appreciate a correction on this!) was great, and I liked the music during the aircraft carrier fight. Oh! The title theme was actually really good, a shame it wasn't released on the official soundtrack.

However, when you compare it to the preceding soundtrack of KOTM, or even 2014, it's an extremely lacking score. Personally I think it's ridiculous that no classic music was used, given that the barrier for that was already crossed with KOTM. JunkieXL could have used a more menacing theme Godzilla has had in the past, such as the aforementioned MvG theme. I didn't really care for the electronic/dubstep feel of the overall soundtrack, although I suppose one could argue that it fits the theme of the more sci-fi heavy film.

Frankly, nothing against JunkieXL personally, I'm very disappointed he's returning to score the film. Bear McCreary should have returned to score, as he seemed to grasp the characters of these monsters better, and I think his more spiritual and orchestral music would better fit the tone of these movies (ancient history) than JunkieXL

The Tasman Sea fight is probably my favorite track in the whole film, that escalating vibe and drumming as Godzilla approaches the ship is just adrenaline rushing. Not to mention it makes very good incorporations of the film’s respective Kong and Godzilla themes.

But overall yeah, ideally I’d like to see Bear return. He was someone who genuinely understood the passion and history of the franchise’s creative background and managed to incorporate that beautifully. After his work it’s understandable why Junkie’s score feels like a lackluster effort. For me it’s less even the fact that he doesn’t use classic themes, I don’t really think that this is a necessity by itself- Ghidorah and Rodan for example had ones and despite being new they managed to capture the base essence of the characters and the surrounding vibe of the film masterfully. it’s that the majority of the original themes are so bland and uninspired they don’t warrant to be original. When the Godzilla theme is just the original with slight note changes it just brings the question of why not to use the actual theme to begin with.

I’m still holding out hope that with no time restrictions and a better production schedule he at least manages to pull something better for GAK but I won’t lie that I miss McCreary.

[DynomikeGojira]

I personally loved his MechaGodzilla score.

[Dv-218]

I liked the general intent and tempo but I will say that it’s pretty funny how in a score mostly composed of techno elements the MG theme is the one using the most chorus out of all things lol.

[Handsome Shrek]

The GvK score is generally forgettable. The only tracks that I find memorable are the opening credits theme and the MG theme, especially the first scene where MechaGodzilla is booted-up for the first time with Ren Serizawa as the pilot.

The entire aesthetic of the movie is too techno/neon in general. The more dark/realistic aesthetic of G14 and the regal KotM aesthetic works so much better for Godzilla

On that note, KSI also has a weak-ass score. The worst of the entire Monsterverse

[SonOfGorgo]

Posting this to let everyone know.

Gfans on Twitter are in an uproar and might start attacking JunkieXl because he insulted Mothra vs Godzilla today with a very poor take.

What did he say exactly?

https://twitter.com/KDM_Monsters/status ... KRiv4sAAAA

Nothing major or noteworthy, just a seeming confirmation that the landfall scene shot in Rio involves the big G. Should have been obvious in hindsight but eh, nice to have a semi-affirmation I guess. Wonder what’s the context gonna be.

Being in Rio, I kinda hope it involves Behemoth.

https://twitter.com/spankzilla85/status ... Dlj9Q&s=19

I guess he was supposed to be sarcastic. Otherwise, I'm much less angry and more confused if anything else.

[CyberZilla]

On that note, KSI also has a weak-ass score. The worst of the entire Monsterverse

Man vs Beast is a killer standout, though. I always come back to that one.

[Dv-218]

On that note, KSI also has a weak-ass score. The worst of the entire Monsterverse

Man vs Beast is a killer standout, though. I always come back to that one.

Same. The OST was overall so-so imo but Man vs Beast really captured me as far back as my first watch. Henry Jackman killed it with the drumming there.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I said I liked Godzilla Vs. Kong's score, but I just realized it's exclusively the Tasman Sea fight music I like. I'd agree with everyone that it might be one of the weakest scores in the MV and overall franchise. It might seem nitpicky to care so much about music, but like music has always been a major and important part of the franchise throughout the eras and it's usually one of the most discussed things outside of the monsters and action.

[CyberZilla]

I said I liked Godzilla Vs. Kong's score, but I just realized it's exclusively the Tasman Sea fight music I like. I'd agree with everyone that it might be one of the weakest scores in the MV and overall franchise. It might seem nitpicky to care so much about music, but like music has always been a major and important part of the franchise throughout the eras and it's usually one of the most discussed things outside of the monsters and action.

Agreed. It does its job well enough, but it hardly stands out. I think the best moments for me were the HK fights music, the throne room and Kong's theme, and the Tasman Sea fight. I didn't necessarily hate the rest, but they did not stand out. I hope Junkie XL steps it up for the sequel, because he has some great OSTs for other films he's worked on (Deadpool and some of the Snyderverse DC comes to mind... I don't even like the Snyder films that much, but the music is usually great).

[StreamOfKaijuness]

Shifting slightly to a similar topic, what did everything think of Junkie’s score and how might you improve it?

The score for Godzilla vs. Kong is serviceable but wholly unremarkable, easily the weakest of the four MonsterVerse scores. When comparing Legendary's Godzilla vs. Kong to Toho's original King Kong vs. Godzilla, I find it's not a contest of which movie is better but an example of two complementary films from two different cultures made nearly 60 years apart with completely different styles, techniques and aesthetics that offer two wildly different takes on the same core premise. However, the music is the one area in which the modern film is just so drastically less effective than the original that it's a shame. I know it's an inevitably lopsided comparison when the original movie had one of Akira Ifukube's most iconic scores but Tom Holkenborg really invited the comparison with his Godzilla theme. The original King Kong vs. Godzilla brought the debut of Ifukube's classic Godzilla theme, and Bear McCreary just recently adapted that theme in Legendary's previous flick, only for Godzilla vs. Kong to offer a Godzilla theme that harks back to the classic theme for the first few notes before dissipating into generic and unmemorable background music, which unfortunately describes most of the score.

[Janjira-York]

the score isnt bad its just mediocre a solid 6, the great theme thats actually good on your ears to listening over time is the Kong theme, (I may or may not have it running on asecond window as I type) but despite having all of that score time godzilla's one is really a nothing burger part of it is I dont remember a theme or letimof for him in the whole movie besides the few notes that kinda sounds like the opening of the classic godzilla theme that started in '62 you know not the march but the other shorter start.


KOTM score is also not that memorable once you remove the re use of the classic themes for godzilla to a lesser degree mothra, ghidorah has an meh chanitng theme, and rodan has the frantic horns and fast pace is the only one I can think off on the to of my head when thinking about the score.


as a whole if we ignore reused themes for fan approval and focus on the New Scores used for the MV films, I do think desplat nailed the feeling of godzilla while re inventing it, much like junkie's its an original score but the difference is night and day, without mentioning you know that movie actually using the recurring theme for Godzilla (main tittles, the wave, seagulls ahead, last shot, two against one, the credits) so it becomes its own unique identity compared to GvK, the use of the same leitmotiv through the movie and variations is just great (also im a sucker for the piano chords being used here and there very bassy and heavy and the hopefull bits in back to the ocean)





on K:SI I have not heard individually enough to make a judgement but I dont remember it being as mediocre like GvK, Pacard's blues tho its an absolute banger and againa theme that recurs through the movie




bottom line is we shouldnt just be like wow a fan made this score or this person isnt a fan BOOOOO HE SHOULDNT BE COMPOSING FOR IT, and more judge the work by what it is and how it stands on its own