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A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

The rather silly Executive Decision is not a film that many people involved with can feel too proud about (though personally I think that any movie in which Steven Seagal's character is killed after a few minutes has to merit a reasonably high degree of praise).  Notable while watching it, however, is just how much better it seems as a sole result of the music, written of course by Jerry Goldsmith (which other major composer would busy himself writing for trash like this?)  It was the first of three collaborations between Goldsmith and director Stuart Baird, a first-rate film editor who probably hasn't been attached to the right project yet as director (though as an action thriller, US Marshals is vastly superior, and Star Trek Nemesis really isn't nearly as bad as everyone seems to think).  What is ridiculous and nonsensical actually seems really rather sensible with the noble and mature music underneath it, though sadly it doesn't fare nearly so well away from the film. 

Things start promisingly enough with the ballsy, macho "The Map", though aside from a reprise of the same material later on in "The Ramora" (the standout cue), Executive Decision never quite manages to pick up the pace enough on album.  In the film it is so effective but is made up of literally dozens of very short cues, so essentially what we have on the album are just all the longest ones, really all that Goldsmith and Robert Townson could have done with this score to make it work on an album.  "All Aboard" is a lengthy but rather disjointed piece of action music that only really gets going at the end, and "Drill Team" doesn't even do that, despite being five-and-a-half minutes long.  The synthesised Arab motif for the bad guys is never really developed enough to be particularly satisfying.  Then you have to wait a long time for anything much to happen.  In the last three cues, the score finally bursts into life, with "The Sleeper" being easily the best action track on the cue, and after that the last two tracks, the previously-mentioned "The Ramora" and typically impressive romantic finale "Hold It", are both good, but it has to be said that it is rare that only three tracks (eight minutes between them) on a Goldsmith album leave much of a lasting impression.

Goldsmith could score a film like this in his sleep, he's done it so many times, and much though it works wonders in the film, Executive Decision is one of his most somnambulant albums.  There are a couple of moments of real class but mostly - it's just really, really boring.

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Tracks

1. The Map (1:30)
2. All Aboard (5:40)
3. Drill Team (5:38)
4. Do It (2:33)
5. Pick It Up (3:31)
6. Starting Over (2:55)
7. The Sleeper (3:28)
8. The Ramora (2:19)
9. Hold It (1:58)