The Sum Of All Fears

Unlike most film series where the prestige of composer invariably descends as the films become progressively less successful, the reverse has happened with the Jack Ryan films based on the Tom Clancy books. Starting with Basil Poledouris' curiously overrated Hunt for Red October followed by James Horner for Clear and Present Danger and Patriot Games and now to Jerry Goldsmith for The Sum of All Fears as a sort of prequel with the conspicuously young Ben Affleck as Ryan. Post September 11, the stolen nuke plot seems a little bit close to home and the title is certainly apt, but it has still done good business and I suspect Affleck might become a semi-regular fixture should they decide to make any more.
Jerry Goldsmith is not renowned for his power ballad of the month, unlike James Horner who will earn is pension on them, indeed Goldsmith's song writing can range a bit towards the mawkish and often just a bit cheesy. However, If We Could Remember is really rather good. Yolanda Adams' performance is good, proving than quality and fame are often mutually exclusive indeed, I haven't heard of her previously. It gets a bit power ballad like at times, but the gentle guitar backing that recurs throughout offsets the melody with a more dour mood. Although The Mission suggests another version of the song, this couldn't be more different from the pop arrangement. Indeed, I wasn't entirely sure it was the same music and lyric, but it certainly is. What sets it apart is the operatic performance of Shana Blake Hill, along with some tense orchestral bursts and finally a grand, vaguely Russian sounding choir. It doesn't quite match some of the recent soprano cues to hit film music (Williams' AI, any number of Ennio Morricone scores and so forth), but is still a stirring opening.

The opening does rather prove to be the high point. The Sum of All Fears isn't really an action film, but a thriller so it sticks on the side of terse snare drum, high end strings and harsh brass. What is perhaps most frustrating is that it's somewhat more original than many of Goldsmith's recent efforts, at least in the sense that the base ideas are varied more considerably, plus the inclusion of the choir from time to time makes it more interesting. Indeed, some of the very broad, but oppressive horn and brass chords coupled with the choir are quite stirring, although one wonders if that's simply because that mixture is so potent, no matter how interesting the melodic material.

Now, I'm often defending Jerry Goldsmith from the whingers who repeatedly bemoan his lack of inspiration. As we all know, Goldsmith is getting on a bit and has written dozens and dozens of scores. I suspect that inspiration doesn't strike that often any more. However, the popularity of The Sum of All Fears is quite surprising since it's not a huge lot more exciting than US Marshals and only the vocal arrangements, both pop and operatic, stand it apart. True, there are some great moments elsewhere - Clear the Stadium is an exciting, but brief action cue - but there isn't much to get too excited over. Of course, it's likely better than anyone else would have written and compared with scores such as Powell's dire Bourne Identity released around the same time, it's almost classic. Goldsmith has done better, but that doesn't mean it's not worth picking up.