Customer Reviews

Pathfinder: Legend of the Ghost Warrior

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The music on this CD is haunting and beautiful, and it is a shame that the film for which it was made does not do it justice. The film, in addition to being a disappointment, does not even include some of the best music on this CD

... not just from the soundtrack but from the film.

Jonathan Elias has provided beautiful themes in the past with "The Prayer Cycle", but for an action film like this he may not have been the best choice. When scoring the more quiet portions of the film he excels at creating a soundscape worthy of the visuals on screen, but his action pieces fall flat, often bordering on the repetitive. Standout tracks on this very limited soundtrack include:

"The Discovery", which is a lovely piece opening the movie,

"Starfire", which is filled with strings, a favorite of mine,

"First Kill", which is in my opinion the best of the action cues on this CD,

and "Prophecy Fulfilled", which inspires in a new-agey way that hopefully fans of the genre will appreciate.

Between "First Kill" and "Prophecy Fulfilled" there's a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of it is more of the same. This whole soundtrack feels like an almost-but-not-quite attempt, and if the composer's intent was to be "minimal" with his action and simply provide a throbbing tempo underneath, with no cohesion, he succeded.

For as long as I waited to get this CD, I'm not sure it was worth it...

While the movie for Pathfinder: Legend of the Ghost Warrior was just okay (about 2 1/2 stars), the soundtrack was better and it's what I remembered the most. The score is good background music for when reading but it's nothing noteworthy or worth remembering when compared to some of the great soundtracks (Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Dark Knight). There is a bit of an American Indian influence to the score but again, mostly just subtle enjoyable music to listen to when doing something else.

But we're not talking about the movie. This soundtrack stands so well on it's own as a separate album. Definitely not a soundtrack to a movie where you need to see the movie before you can own the album. A previous review said that the action pieces "fall flat" and "border on the repetitive." I suppose that is an opinion to which he is entitled, but let me say it is a fact that they do not! Between "Vikings Attack," "Ghosts Fight Begins," "Quick Kills," and "Gunnars Fury," there are a lot of unique and exciting action pieces to be had, each with different themes and backgrounds, just like the battle scenes of a movie change their themes and backgrounds.

Step outside the box of the usual sour-lemon critique, and I think you will find that all twenty-three tracks on the album are classically inspired gems, each one standing tall and delivering it's title successfully through music.

So you pretty much have no Native American music or anything remotely resembling Viking heroic music...it's kinda bland...as was the movie. That will teach me to buy a soundtrack before seeing the film.