After the tremendous popularity of Gladiator I was ready for an even better action score for the widely anticipated M:I2. I mean after all, M:I2 was supposed to be the greatest action movie of the last few years. Unfortunately, the movie didn't live up to the hype. Don't get me wrong, the movie was one of the most successful in recent history, but the story was somewhat lacking. The same could be said of the music. While Zimmer does try some new things on this score, not all of his experimentations can be called a success.
Taking a cue from Danny Elfman, the composer of the previous film's score, Zimmer opens the score with a percussion solo that I thought was even better than the original by Elfman. From there though, the score quickly changes. While the score to the original film was more in the style of the television series, meaning serious, this one is more akin to a James Bond-esque action film. Indeed, the other members of the Impossible Mission team are virtually left in the background and Tom Cruise becomes America's answer to James Bond. But we're here to talk about the music so let's get on with it.
Although I was disappointed with some portions of the score that Elfman composed for the first film, there were portions that I really find captivating. The same can be said for this score as well. Zimmer is one composer that never fails to disappoint when it comes to unique cues. Among my favorites from the score are the tracks dealing with Nyah and Ethan. These tracks are backed by the awesome guitar playing of Heitor Pereira. Much as in his score to Broken Arrow, the use of the guitar only enhances Zimmers compositions and adds a new flavor to the score.
Now a film based on Mission: Impossible could never be considered complete if it didn't feature the title theme from the original series. Here again Zimmer delivers albeit in only three of the tracks. The first and probably most recognizable version of the theme is heard in Mission: Impossible Theme (naturally!). And in keeping with the harder rock version performed by Metallica and Limp Bizkit, this version is played out with heavy backing by electric guitars. While this does keep with the new style of the film, this changes the overall tone of what the original series embodied. I consider it to be a sort of subtle reminder that you can check your brain at the door and simply enjoy the action.
Oh, and the music heard during the opening mountain climbing sequence is contained on this CD. It's location on the CD allows you to listen to the song right where it appears in the course of the film so it doesn't distract too much. Incidentally, an older version of this song is heard in Rain Man also starring Tom Cruise and also scored by Hans Zimmer. Isn't this trivia astounding? Am I completely writing off this soundtrack? No. Not completely but I would not consider it to be among the best of Zimmer by any means. Another thing that keeps me from completely writing off this soundtrack is Zimmer's use of the vocals yet again. Not up to the same level as Lisa Gerrard in Gladiator but impressive nonetheless. Particularly on the track Injection which features some of the better composing of Zimmer from this album. Overall, if you're looking for a good action score, you'll do well to get this one. The music is loud and fast paced. If you're looking for Metallica, check out the other release.
Total time: 42:17