The Bourne Supremacy: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Novelist Robert Ludlum's amnesia-plagued, tough-as-nails spy/assassin Jason Bourne again proves that success begats sequels, be they literary or cinematic. As he did for the saga'sinitial big screen installment, composer John Powell concocts an electro-orchestral fusion score that seasons its tense, bristling rhythms with dollops of melodicism, synth-atmospherics and staccato string figures. Those welcome touches hearken back to composer's similar work on the '03 action-thrillerThe Italian Job, with Powell initially evoking the film's exotic locales by employing a savory synth pop-meets-Eastern European palate. The tension-building rhythms and percussion flourishes familiar from Powell's other action-centric scores are the score's musical pulse -- even if they eventually upset the finely honed balancing act by boiling over into the familiar explosive cliches of all too many thriller scores.--Jerry McCulley