A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Daredevil never seemed like a film too likely to spawn a spinoff but its (relative) box office success was such that it did, with the film's secondary character Elektra now getting her own movie.  I commented at the time how odd it was that so many adaptations of comic books the vast majority of people have never even heard of are now being made - and now they're even spawning spinoffs!  Still, Jennifer Garner reprised her role, though virtually none of the rest of the original cast or crew did so, including composer Graeme Revell, whose Daredevil score was pretty decent.  This time round, former X-Files director Rob Bowman turned to Christophe Beck, for whom it is surely the most high-profile assignment since he left Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Previously (apart from Buffy of course) Beck's most popular work was probably his light, delightful European-style music for Under the Tuscan Sun - unsurprisingly, Elektra could barely be more different, showing off an entirely different side of the composer's range.  In truth it's a slightly strange score, with Beck having recorded an orchestra, manipulated the sounds (sometimes considerably) with computers, then recorded another orchestra and combining the two.  Sometimes this works well, other times less so, with the most extreme examples ("Gnarly Gongs", perhaps) proving really quite difficult to listen to.

Indeed, the first half or so of the album is not at all promising, with the action track "Ninjas" the notable exception, but all of a sudden things spring to life in the middle.  After the nice, if slight, "The Kiss", "Escape from McCabe's" ushers in a run of action music in quick succession which is really quite impressive.  OK so it's not the least generic music you'll ever hear, but it's thoughtfully constructed and exciting enough.  "Homecoming" is a lovely piece, bringing more emotion to the film than might seem probable (if not possible); and the album concludes with "Hedge Maze Brawl", a frantic action highlight, and "Elektra's Second Life", the predictably piano-based sentimental conclusion.  This is not exactly high art, but it's good fun, and will perhaps provide Beck with a platform from which he can move onto bigger and better projects in future.

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Tracks

1. Main Title (1:21)
2. DeMarco's End (2:07)
3. Ferry Crossing (3:19)
4. Insomnia (2:11)
5. Ninjas (4:04)
6. The Hand (1:23)
7. Gnarly Gongs (1:15)
8. Stick (2:04)
9. Just Sit Quietly (1:04)
10. The Kiss (1:39)
11. Escape from McCabe's (2:18)
12. Tattoo (:47)
13. The Forest (1:54)
14. Wolf Run (1:58)
15. Typhoid (2:17)
16. Just a Girl (1:49)
17. Homecoming (1:54)
18. Candle Trick (1:41)
19. Kirigi (2:29)
20. Hedge Maze Brawl (2:36)
21. Elektra's Second Life (4:55)