1 |
Out of Bullets |
2 |
Shootout |
3 |
Leaving
the Apartment |
4 |
Dead
Hackers |
5 |
Traffic
Jam |
6 |
It's a Fire Sale |
| 7 |
The Break-In |
8 |
Farrell
to D.C. |
9 |
Copter Chase |
10 |
Blackout
|
11 |
Illegal
Broadcast |
12 |
Hurry
Up! |
13 |
The Power Plant |
14 |
Landing |
15 |
Cold Cuts |
16 |
Yippee Ki Yay |
17 |
Break a Neck |
18 |
Farrell is In |
19 |
The F-35 |
20 |
Aftermath |
21 |
Live Free or Die Hard |
SOUNDTRACK REVIEW:
Like how action movies are perceived as the only genre no-brainer
audiences should watch, you’d expect a action movie
score to please the no-brainer listener. High adrenaline cues,
catchy bombastic themes and heart-thumping percussion beats
– these are the elements we thought would blow us away
in this 63-minute soundtrack album.
But
after repeated spins, the music by Italian composer Marco
Beltrami never did quite leave an impression in our minds.
There
are highly-energized tracks like “Leaving the Apartment”,
“Traffic Jam” and “Copter Chase” which
will make any weak-hearted listener regret pumping up the
speaker volume. There are screechy brasses, fast moving strings
and frantic melodies in tracks like “Cold Cuts”,
“Yippee Ki Yay” and “The F-35”. But
what this disc lacks is a theme that resonates with listeners.
The
overall tension of the album picks up somewhere in the second
half, where you can almost feel the scuttling and hustling
of the up-tempo pace. This much-sought atmosphere is complemented
by some grand woodwinds and strings in “Aftermath”,
where listeners can heave a sigh of relief to take a breather.
Beltrami’s
efforts in creating a thrilling mood for the album are evident
in his choice of pounding and hurried percussion beats accompanied
by long-holding strings. However, they do not create any thematic
character which relates the listener to the album.
While
the score may have worked well with Bruce Willis’ John
McClane jumping around recklessly without getting anywhere
near death, the effect does not work so well when played out
independently on your player.
ALBUM
RATING:
Recommended Track: (21) Live Free or Die Hard
Review
by John Li
|
