A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Paul Verhoeven's amusing Starship Troopers seemed to pass most critics by without them really getting the joke (and, indeed, I suspect most of the actors weren't in on it either) but Basil Poledouris certainly did and wrote one of his most exciting scores, full of mildly subversive music doing as much as the picture at mocking various targets.  In contrast with the deliberately risible original, the sequel is just plain risible with not much in the way of redeeming features, though fortunately famed model effects man Phil Tippett (making his directorial debut) hired the popular duo of John Morgan and William Stromberg for one of their highest-profile assignments yet.

They are best known, at least among film music fans, for their reconstructions and rerecordings of many classic scores on the Marco Polo label, featuring works by Korngold, Waxman, Tiomkin and others.  Despite amusingly giving "special thanks" in the album credits to Bernard Herrmann and Max Steiner, the first track sounds like a particularly unexpected composer, Hans Zimmer, blatantly lifting and slightly altering his Backdraft theme for the year's worst temp-track hangover so far.  Fortunately, things look up considerably from there onwards.  Poledouris's theme from the original is quoted once or twice, but otherwise this is strong original material.

Continuing Poledouris's approach to the first, it is mostly action all the way, and there are some truly thrilling pieces, none finer than the initial "Battle at ZA", in which the composers give the Moscow Symphony Orchestra a real workout.  Of the golden age composers they idolise, I suppose the closest comparison would be with Bernard Herrmann, especially with the growling brass and little repeating ideas, but the resemblance is fairly surface-level.  The action music is incredibly intense and not really as thematic as Poledouris's, which means it can begin to get a little bracing.  Fortunately there are moments of calm to break things up, and some of these are lovely slices of Americana (such as "Reunion", perhaps the pick of the bunch) but unfortunately some of them are really just rather bland, adding little to proceedings.

The album's greatest problem is its vast length, in marked contrast to the score album from the first film.  After a few minutes, it's likely that the listener will be carried along on a wave, enjoying every second; after half an hour, there may be a nervous glance or two at the clock, but in general things have been going well and it would be lovely to have them wrapped up, leaving a sweet taste in the mouth... forty minutes later, it's still rattling on, without a great deal of change in tone, unfortunately outstaying its welcome.  It's a great pity because there is so much good music to be found, but to be enjoyed to the full it needed more than a little judicious pruning here and there.   Don't get me wrong, I certainly recommend the album because it features so much good music, but the nature of the score and the very harsh recording dynamic make it very difficult to sit through from start to end.

Buy this CD from amazon.com by clicking here!

Tracks

1. Fed Net (1:47)
2. Battle at ZA (3:54)
3. Retreat to Devil's Anvil (:53)
4. Storm (2:16)
5. The Fortress (1:26)
6. Red River Mercy (:43)
7. Fortress Search (2:57)
8. Attack! (3:53)
9. Dax Released / Perimeter Burn (2:41)
10. DMZ (1:20)
11. Bug Zapper (1:08)
12. Reunion (2:36)
13. Sniff Factor (1:31)
14. Psychic Shakedown (2:46)
15. Kitchen Scene (1:07)
16. Soda Wakes (1:21)
17. Door Jam (2:15)
18. Reappearing Cream (Flirtation) (1:20)
19. Soda's Tongue (1:38)
20. Joe's Smile (:45)
21. Sahara and Dax / Taps (2:12)
22. Finger Food (1:16)
23. Vision Dream (1:23)
24. Spying on the General (1:00)
25. Tail o'the Bug (1:27)
26. Transition (:51)
27. Meeting with Dill (1:52)
28. Lieutenant Dill's Death (2:19)
29. Dax Arrested (1:03)
30. The Rape of Rake (2:18)
31. Vengeance (4:43)
32. Rake's Sacrifice (1:26)
33. Soda Fizzles (1:16)
34. The General Explains (1:09)
35. Kill Them All! (1:33)
36. Dax's Last Stand (2:41)
37. Fed Net / Epilogue (1:46)
38. End Credits (4:44)