A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

The late Robert Ludlum's thriller novels were so, well, thrilling that it's a wonder there haven't been far more of them made into movies.  At it is, I believe that only The Bourne Identity and now its sequel, The Bourne Supremacy, have been made; his works feature a rich, James Bondian scope and are - for what they are - genuinely gripping and so inherently filmic that I would imagine there will be plenty more to come.  Doug Liman's movie of The Bourne Identity was a superior action thriller and the sequel, helmed this time by Paul Greengrass, offers more of the same.  On board both films has been composer John Powell.  If his music for the first one wasn't particularly interesting (particularly compared with his other recent action thriller scores like The Italian Job and Paycheck) then this one begins to make up for it.

One thing kept is the dominance of a persistent electronic beat, which accompanies the score almost from start to end.  This actually works very well as a dramatic device, serving not only as a tension-builder when necessary but also a propulsive accompaniment to the orchestral action music when it arrives, particularly when used in tandem with live percussion.  That action music is particularly smart: "To the Roof" combines all the aforementioned elements with some stylish string writing occasionally bearing passing resemblance to Ennio Morricone's more highly-stylised writing of the 1970s and is a super track.  "Berlin Foot Chase" is arguably even better, a wonderfully fast-paced piece of music that shows just how good Powell is at this sort of thing.  So many composers try to write action music for a mixture of orchestra and electronics but fail miserably, but he seems to have a certain knack.

Away from the action, there is some surprisingly emotive writing for bassoon, with a lovely theme featuring in two or three tracks, notably in "New Memories", where it's given pleasant string accompaniment.  All in all this is a nicely well-rounded, if slightly repetitive, score and Powell continues to impress.  He has rapidly become one of the most assured composers of this sort of thing and let's hope he continues to grow and continues to impress.  The Bourne Supremacy is a stylish and impressive modern score.

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Tracks

1. Goa (2:59)
2. The Drop (3:42)
3. Funeral Pyre (2:21)
4. Gathering Data (1:54)
5. Nach Deutschland (2:40)
6. To the Roof (5:32)
7. New Memories (2:48)
8. Berlin Foot Chase (5:16)
9. Alexanderplatz / Abbotts Confesses (3:35)
10. Moscow Wind Up (6:55)
11. Bim Bam Smash (5:09)
12. Atonement (1:32)
13. Extreme Ways Moby (3:56)