Mission Impossible 2: Music From The Motion Picture Score (2000 Film)

Film scorer Hans Zimmer, who helped pioneer the seamless technological merging of electronic and acoustic instruments in film scoring, has long had an interest in musical fusion. But in scoring director John Woo's action-sopped Tom Cruise star vehicle, Zimmer has concocted a wildly uneven stew of electronica, flamenco, rock, medieval, and world music that's about as subtle as Cruise's career ambitions. There are moments of surprising tranquility (Zimmer's duet with Heitor Periera on the Spanish-guitar-driven "Nyah") amid the pulsing beats and blaring samples, and even a few passages reminiscent of his other summer 2000 blockbuster, Gladiator. But as a musical stew, this one could use another dollop of simple meat and potatoes; it's certainly a long way from The Lion King, The Thin Red Line, As Good As It Gets, or any of his other best scores. --Jerry McCulley