Is Jurassic World the Indominus Rex of film scores?

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First and foremost: no spoilers in this post. I haven't even seen the movie yet, despite my enthusiasm, reckless abandon, and borderline embarrassing desperation. We decided to wait until this weekend when the movie theatres wouldn't be stuffed to the brim with dinosaur fans. As much as I've always loved the Jurassic franchise, even this superfan can't stomach sitting in front of a kid who kicks me seat the entire movie, or a few seats down from giggling teenagers who are constantly texting. Dinosaurs must be viewed with reverence, like the first cheeseburger after a 30 day vegan detox.

Despite the dinosaur sized hole in my movie viewing habits, I've already been listening to the soundtrack for over a week. I was stunned (STUNNED) when they announced that John Williams wouldn't be doing the score: where would the movie be without his trademark open fifth intervals? For the aurally uninitiated, an open 5th is the first 2 notes of the Star Wars theme (written by John Williams). It's also the first two notes in the Superman theme - written by John Williams. The open fifth is also very prominent in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme...written by John Williams. You get the picture. Still, I remained hopeful, and the score turned out to be a slam dunk.

*May or may not be official footage from Jurassic World. (Image source: freakingnews.com)

1. Anything that starts with a tritone is bound to be awesome.

Known in the middle ages as ''The Devil's Interval,'' this dissonant tone has been causing demonic possessions and bad decisions for centuries. Just kidding - those middle agers had some weird ideas about music and superstition. Tritones are totally rad - they start off some iconic pieces of music, including Jimmy Hendrix's ''Purple Haze,'' the ballad ''Maria'' from West Side Story, and yes, the Simpsons theme tune. The first two notes of this soundtrack creep forth, probably reminding us that building a dinosaur theme park is a terrible idea, as proved in the past THREE MOVIES.

Even Homer knows it's a bad idea.

2. The familiar theme still crops up in places - open 5ths to the rescue!

Although this score contains a ton of fantastic original content, it also pipes in with some memories from the original trilogy. The original theme was meant to be like ''Hey everyone, a dinosaur park is awesome!'' Then as the franchise evolved, it was more like ''We narrowly escaped death - AGAIN!''  Note: the original theme also contains open 5ths. Good old John Williams, he certainly has a favorite interval. (If you want to read more about John Williams and how he ripped off the Star Wars music from Gustav Holst, click here.)

''If you don't use an open 5th, I'm going to strangle you Jedi style, John.''

3. Michael Giacchino is a heavyweight film composer for a reason.

The dude wrote the score for Up, one of the most traumatic Disney films to be released since Bambi and The Lion King. If you weren't sobbing within the first 20 minutes, you might be dead inside. Go see a doctor. Giacchino has written music for almost every television and music genre, from Lost, to Ratatouille, to the dismal failure John Carter (no fault of the music, I MIGHT ADD), and Fringe, the sci-fi show that's too scary for chickens like me. 

If you squint, this could be a scene from Jurassic World. Carl looks pretty freaked out, like maybe a raptor is chasing him?

4. There are some sweet choral parts that aren't overdone!

You know how it is - you're hanging out, watching an epic movie or playing an EPIC video game, and the music bursts out into an over-dramatic climax that sounds like it's straight off the stage of Britain's Got Talent. Composers: use choral climaxes to your benefit, not to your demise. Anyway, Giacchino's choral parts are pretty sweet and blend into the score seamlessly. 

Maybe the composer of the next Dark Souls game should hire this choir - I hear they've got talent.

5. You'll love it if you're an oboist. No, really. 

The track ''Owen You Nothing'' has a sick oboe melody that is so tight an oboist will cry into their pillow - in a good way. The melody get passed around the orchestra, but I think we can all agree that the oboe has this melody down to a science. That, my friends, is using instruments to their advantages. 

''Finally, a solo that doesn't suck.''

You can get the Jurassic World soundtrack on Amazon if you check out the widget below: full disclosure, it's an affiliate link through Amazon - this is how I'm trying to keep the blog ad-free!

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