I'll be the first to admit that I have a love/hate relationship with Hans Zimmer.  There are moments I am taken with his style of music when it's in the right context, but conversely, I'll be put off when he delivers forgettable electronic underscore.  No doubt, he's a talent in the business, which his status as a premiere composer can attest to, but I never know quite what to expect from him during each particular score release. I know, he's an electronic wiz with most of his scores, but he's done just enough orchestrally to keep me guessing...and to keep me hoping.

 

With the long awaited "The Da Vinci Code" finally here as a cinematic event, it's Zimmer who has landed the scoring assignment.  It's really a safe pick for such a marquee production such as this as Zimmer's name carries a significant presence as compared to the second tier of composers.  Not that Zimmer is any better than some of the Hollywood "B" maestros, it's just that his longevity and track record has helped pave the way to assignments such as this one.

 

By and large, what I thought would be a score similar to the musical style of the group "Enigma", "The Da Vinci Code" instead hovers somewhere in between the world of cathedrals and the orchestra.  Most of the music keeps a consistent tone of mystery, but the occasional bursts of energized instrumentation provides a scope of a thrilling nature.  Perhaps what hurts the score most is actually a question I kept asking myself while listening to it: "How does this body of work distinguish itself from any other Zimmer soundtrack?"

 

While a curious question, the answer is a bit elusive with this one.  While I felt that the use of strings, choir and the air of mysterious discovery was a definite plus in originality, the meandering of the underscore made the music bleed.  I really think a distinctive main theme and its subsequent variations would have solved some of the intermittent doldrums this score put out and could have filled the gaps nicely.

In the end, I will reserve a complete judgment until I hear the music used in the movie.  However, judging it as a stand-alone listening experience, I found it engaging but found that there was definite room for improvement in its depth.  This is indeed a more restrained Zimmer, but we could have used a bit more of his brash style during some of the toned down moments.

Final Score: A professional, balanced score that has engaging moments, "The Da Vinci Code" could have used some intangible elements to elevate this one higher.  A touch of Enigma perhaps?

Additional Note: Fans of Richard Harvey will be happy to know that he had some involvement with the production of this soundtrack. An underused composer, but happy to see he's still around.

Grade: B