Soundtrack Review: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
| Reviewer: JØrn Tillnes |
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack Review: This is a review of the motion picture score The Twilight Saga: Eclipse by Howard Shore.
"The Twilight Saga has definitely become a darker story and Howard Shore recognizes that"
The third installment in The Twilight Saga is here. This time it's about choice. Bella has to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob. Destined for success due to the popularity of the books the most interesting thing I find with these movies is the music. Each of the three movies has had different composers which make it hard to really pin down what the music of Twilight is. In the first movie, Twilight, Carter Burwell wrote the score. In the second movie New Moon the assignment went to Alexandre Desplat and in Eclipse Howard Shore is the composer.
Track List
| 1. Riley | ***** |
| 2. Compromise/Bella's Theme | ***** |
| 3. Bella's Truck/Florida | ***** |
| 4. Victoria | **** |
| 5. Imprinting | **** |
| 6. The Cullens Plan | *** |
| 7. First Kiss | **** |
| 8. Rosalie | **** |
| 9. Decisions, Decisions... | **** |
| 10. They're Coming Here | ***** |
| 11. Jacob Black | ***** |
| 12. Jasper | ***** |
| 13. Wolf Scent | **** |
| 14. Mountain Tank | *** |
| 15. The Kiss | **** |
| 16. The Battle/Victoria vs. Edward | ***** |
| 17. Jane | **** |
| 18. As Easy As Breathing | **** |
| 19. Wedding Plans | **** |
I am happy to see Howard Shore composing a fantasy movie again. He should definitely do more of those instead of the thrillers he almost always end up doing.
A few weeks ago, the soundtrack to Eclipse was released and we got to listen to one track by Howard Shore called 'Jacob's Theme'. It was a teaser and the first thing that struck me was how similar it felt to Desplat's New Moon theme, yet there was something different. It is slightly more sad and slightly darker which was a preview of things to come.
Darker
The Twilight Saga has definitely become a darker story and Howard Shore recognizes that adding a darker feel to it and also more action. If I were to compare the scores to Twilight I would put this closer to Desplat's New Moon, than Burwell's Twilight.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has more prominent themes than the previous movies, and he even wrote a brand new theme for Bella. I have to admit I am not a big fan of Burwell's Twilight score, but one theme stood out for me and that was 'Bella's Lullaby'. I really enjoyed that theme, but Howard Shore's version heard in 'Compromise/Bella's Theme' and 'Bella's Truck/Florida' is even better. It's simpler and more elegant than Burwell's theme and is easier to like (for me).
LOTR
Here's a good reason Howard Shore should do more fantasy. In some cues like 'Jasper' you can clearly hear references to Lord Of The Rings which is always a delight. On a desperate note, I really hope the make The Hobbit now if only for the music.
'Wedding Plans' start out great, but then turns into a Miley Cyrus-like pop song with vocals from 2:37 and onwards. Took me a bit by surprise, and that's where the "score" ends for me as far as I am concerned.
Conclusion
I'm not sure Eclipse is better than New Moon. New Moon had more energy, this is darker, has more action and themes. It's certainly a welcome addition to the series and certainly make you wonder about the next movie. I really like Shore's two main themes and the darker action stuff that reminds me of Lord of the Rings. It could always be better of course, but I was never worried that Howard Shore wouldn't make it really good.
CUE RATING: 85.2
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Listen to the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack by Howard Shore below:
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