Hans Zimmer Live review – From James Bond to Pirates, relentlessly spectacular

Aside from John Williams, no other film composer has had quite the blockbuster impact that Hans Zimmer has.

When not working on his next movie score, the German legend tours with his band and orchestra performing a dazzling rock show.

Last night at London’s O2, the 65-year-old led the audience through his amazing back catalogue accompanied by his fellow musicians, singers, dancers, lighting and graphics.

The eccentric and jovial composer couldn’t hold back his joy, often becoming emotional as he thanked his collaborators in turn in between earth-shaking performances.

Highlights early on included the Wonder Woman theme, led by a group of female musicians as the defiant wonder women of the Ukrainian army were displayed in pictures behind them.

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Electric cellist Tina Guo stole the show, effortlessly playing like a rock goddess through powerful renditions of Gladiator and a metal-inspired, soaring take on Pirates of the Caribbean to conclude Act One.

Familiar sci-fi tunes like Dune and Interstellar joined in the second half, including the X-Men Dark Phoenix suite after Zimmer – always with a good sense of humour – self-deprecatingly asked the crowd if anyone actually bothered to see what became one of the biggest box office flops of all time.

After a brightly coloured journey through The Lion King suite accompanied by beautiful visual art behind, the composer said good night but we knew he wasn’t done quite yet.

Aside from a surprise proposal to his girlfriend, the composer also treated us to his take on James Bond from the latest outing No Time To Die, with the brass section – made up of Ukrainian refugees – blasting out that iconic theme.

And where else could he end the encore but with a stunning performance of Inception’s Time on the piano? Incredible, no one puts on a show like Hans Zimmer.

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