AMG Review of Avatar [Music from the Motion Picture]

James Christopher Monger
All Music Guide

The score for director James Cameron’s epic 3-D sci-fi adventure #Avatar was composed by longtime collaborator James Horner, who won an Oscar for his work on the director’s 1997 blockbuster, #Titanic. Never one to shy away from familiar motifs, the vaguely wistful, mostly magical main theme that weaves its way throughout the film relies unapologetically on the composer’s #Titanic love theme (try humming the first three notes of the chorus to the Horner-penned Celine Dion smash "My Heart Will Go On"), but the overall feel of the score owes more to Ennio Morricone's iconic work on #The Mission, utilizing an atmospheric blend of native drums and choirs with lush, traditional adventure orchestration. The album is rounded out with Leona Lewis' torch ballad "I See You."