Be that as it may, the score for the film is certainly worth a listen, and might even be better. Your call. Not that this is a lame offering from the man responsible for the scores gracing such flicks as Shrek, the Bourne series, United 93, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Happy Feet. There are some interesting moments here, but all in all this isn't as much of a standout as I'd hoped it would be after hearing that first cue.

It starts strong, with a butt-kicking intro—that would be Cue 1, "My Day So Far." But you know, even though the score rumbles and rattles and purrs its way along for another 45 minutes or so, it never quite reaches that level of interest until the very last cue, "A Jump Off," which is essentially a restatement of the first one.

There aren't really any character themes, and only the one main theme for Powell to mess with. He's using a lot of electric instruments here, and a small string section every once in a while. Although the guitar work is to be noted, as well as some nice stereo effects for those listening on headphones, the emphasis is on percussion and beat.

Groaning strings and distorted guitars

There's not much vocal work in evidence, but what there is is interesting. Listen for a sweet Pat Metheny-esque male vocal "shout" at 2:15 in Cue 4, "Bridges, Rules, Banking." Then the main theme flickers into life once more, followed by what sounds like (but can't be, could it?) a passage on a hammered dulcimer right at the end of the cue. That's cool. A little more nice vocal work by a solo, wordless female on Cue 5, "Surf's Up," but too brief. It may be a mark of how tasty these little vocal colorings are for me to say that I wish there were more of them. They're very nice.

It's a worthy attempt, but despite the inclusion of a few really nice moments, such as the strummed acoustic guitar around 0:30 of "Coliseum Tour," a bunch of good color from percussion, and the intriguing piano/string/harp setting in "A Head Start," toward the end of the CD, many of these cues end up sounding somewhat the same. They alternate between shuddering, percussive action cues and more austere "character" moments.

Cue 12, "Airport Departure," is one such calm piece, with harp and strings over a tremolo of percussion. The main theme gets a different setting in Cue 13. "In Hospital," which does a nice tempo shift at the end, ends unresolved, as several of these cues do. The disc picks up very nicely at the end with "A Jump Off," the last cue, as mentioned above. It's all here: drums, guitar, bluesy piano, swirling strings, call-and-response horns, and all the scope one could want. So we have a strong end and a strong start—and some serviceable stuff in between. It could be lots worse.