Timeline

Well by now almost everyone is aware of the problems that plagued the Timeline film production from problematic re-shoots to actors who gave semi convincing performances to the discarding of a highly revered composer's score. The film itself comes as a slightly entertaining popcorn flick that is marred by poor editing and deviations from the novel by Michael Crichton. One positive aspect the film has is the excellent score by Brian Tyler had written for the it. Brian was hired to score the film after the original composer Jerry Goldsmith departed. Paramount Studios were so impressed with Tyler's score for The Hunted that they used it to market some of their films. For example, one TV spot for the film Paycheck featured the cue “Disordered Patterns”.

Brian Tyler has crafted a powerhouse action score that brings back memories of recent Goldsmith action scores as well as the music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold. There is aura and menace and fright in the usage of the brass and percussion drums which almost sound deafening to the ear at certain points. The score opens with a ferocious main title which, because it is a multi note fanfare, may not be easily memorable to listeners after an initial listen but it does do an effective job of establishing the film's setting. “Galvanize the Troops” follows the main title with a powerful rising hero theme which utilizes an electronic digital choir to make the listener feel well ... heroic. Action ensues with tracks such as "1357 France" which is a ferocious pounding action cue written for the sequence where the archaeologists are fleeing from English knights who are out for blood. “Enter the Wormhole” and “Transcription Errors” utilizes synths and drum loops for the scenes in the present time. The former being a driving suspense cue that builds up to quite a finale, while the latter cue is a more laid back electronic dirge with strings that move back and forth in a see-sawing motion accompanied by synth effects. Then there is a beautiful love theme played on a piccolo flute in the track “Lady Claire and Marek” which is then joined with the sweeping strings that help create magic for a scene in the film that the music accompanies.

The score than moves back into action with cues “Night Arrows” and “Storming the Castle” which are just incredible with pounding percussion drums and blasting horns. “History Will Change” and “Past and Present” round out the cues with restatements of the scores' themes which are four in all. The main theme for the film, the love theme, a theme for English imperial army, and the heroic theme for the French legion. The usage of familiar scoring techniques is really an effort to help win over angry Goldsmith fans and skeptical film collectors who wanted to see what the new composer could do. Brian gives the listeners what they expected - a Goldsmith action score but also incorporates his own style which he has been developing since he started scoring independent films before his recognition in early 2002 for Frailty. The score does aim to place the listener in the harsh medieval world by using heavy amounts of percussion rather than exotic instrumentation. But still it is very interesting and entertaining listen and I hope someday we will see a sequel score to this of some kind.