Royal Albert Hall, October 18, 2019

Star Wars sea shanties, an on-stage proposal, a visit from the US President, and a man in a dinosaur suit – just some of the highlights from the Baton Royale of the composers that was Arnold vs Giacchino.

The Royal Albert Hall has seen its fair share of bouts over its 150-year history – David Arnold’s father himself previously boxed within its hallowed walls – but it was a different sort of pugilism that greeted the audience for Settling the Score, a good-natured score-off, pitting the work of two soundtrack composers – Michael Giacchino and David Arnold – against one another.

Of course, this was no heavyweight contest at the Albert (and neither was it a prom), the two contenders entering the stage in boxing gloves and robes, trying to keep a straight face while throwing out trash talk and then taking away the cardboard life-size standees that featured their faces mapped onto the bronzed images of bodybuilders!

The latest in the venue’s Films in Concert season featured the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra under the baton of Hans Zimmer’s go-to conductor Gavin Greenaway, who also conducted previous Arnold ‘live to film’ scores at the Hall for Casino Royale and Independence Day. Giacchino was also here two years ago for his 50th birthday concert, his Star Trek and Ratatouille scores having also having been performed on site.

Seconds out, it was Round One, with Come in 007, Your Time is Up, Arnold’s pre-credits track for The World is Not Enough, followed by Giacchino’s The Incredibles 2 Theme, a jazzy and percussive delight, enhanced by a red and yellow lighting scheme to match the hero’s costume, and owing more than a nod to Bond. And this was the format for the evening, each composer alternating, and each round comprising a duo of thematically matched compositions – so we got monster themes in Godzilla Vs. Cloverfield, a battle of the Benedicts (Cumberbatch) in Sherlock vs. Dr Strange and Star vs. Star in Stargate and Star Wars: Rogue One.

The rounds were punctuated by on-stage antics, with the composers dressing up (Arnold as Godzilla, Princess Leia and Sherlock, while Giacchino was Dr Strange, Captain Kirk and a sea captain). Celebrity guests also introduced the scores – Matt Reeves for Cloverfield, Colin Trevorrow hilariously for Jurassic World (it wasn’t played!) and Neil Gaiman for Good Omens (world premiere performance).

The London 2012 Olympics Medal Theme was introduced by British PM Boris Johnson and Giacchino’s NASA anthem by US President Donald Trump, though these hilarious ‘fake news’ performances were later exposed to be by Lewis Macleod (he played Sebulba in The Phantom Menace).Over two-and-a-half hours later and there was no clear winner, not that we ever wanted there to be. Gavin Greenaway kept everything together amongst the madness, his orchestra delivering a fine selection of tunes from the jingoistic Independence Day to the heartbreaking Up.

At one point Giacchino gave a shout out to his sister Maria for producing the show and ensuring that they weren’t still in the pub at curtain up. Arnold sang and played We Nearly Had it All from his Made in Dagenham musical, Giacchino led a Star Wars shanty – ‘What do you do with a drunken Jawa?’ – and Matt Reeves went down on one knee and proposed that his Planet of the Apes composer scores his upcoming The Batman. He said yes!

Verdict: A worthy successor to Giacchino’s 50th birthday bash and Arnold’s Royal Festival Hall concert, this ‘two for the price of one’ double header was a fun journey through the popular, genre scores of two great composers who can not only deliver dynamic scores but know how to take life not too seriously. Bond, Trek, Holmes, superheroes and alien invasions – just your average night in South Kensington. 9/10

Nick Joy