War for the Planet of the Apes, a soundtrack review

BLUF: Great for a road trip or drive, not so much the “I gotta get my office work done" realm.

Rating: 4 out 5… it’s in the mix.

Jumping right in, War for the Planet of the Apes by Michael Giacchino (the third movie of the great reboot series) is not the type of album you listen to while trying to get work done. That is, the up and down tempo- not unlike listening to the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack- is far too dramatic for a 0600 (6 am) start to the morning. The second song in, “Assault of the Earth” will indeed get your heart pumping if you have headphones on.

Don’t get me wrong, this is indeed a fantastic album for those who thoroughly enjoy large sound (epic) style soundtracks. It is a very large sounding soundtrack that I would love to listen to at a large hall music stadium, but alas, I only have my headphone or my car… far from the ideal stadium setting of a proper movie theater.

With “A Tide in the Affairs of Apes” playing you once again get the sound induced emotional rise and fall of a roller-coaster ride. It’s such a fantastic journey of sound that when it does end you’re left with silence, you’re thoughts, and a “what is my life even mean” thought as it (the mixture of sounds) goes from excitement, to anger, to relief (the next song, “Planet of the Escapes” really seems a continuation… a part two almost to “A Tide in the Affairs of Apes” with the same emotional impact but with a sudden end to the thought process… it’s really over).

I will admit that I’m not a big fan of the last song in the album, aptly titled “End Credits.” Well, to be honest, I do like it, but only the first half or so (my enjoyment of this song ends around the 7:20 minute mark). I really wish they would have split the song in two as it seems once the choir begins their voiceover a whole new song has started- it almost seems as if there was some extra takes that had to be used by contract. In the end, it’s another fantasist soundtrack by Michael Giacchino (I’m currently listening to his Medal of Honor: Airborne soundtrack… it has undertones of his Spider-Man: Far from Home sounds, hmm…)

BLUF? It stands for Bottom Line Up Front.