In listening to the score for "Shooter,"  I've yet again determined that some soundtracks are not suited to be heard on their own.  In this film, which has been noted as an 'intelligent thriller' in some circles, the music seems to have been created to heighten the tension that is being seen and felt on-screen and is never really called upon to be anything more than a background device.  You can say I was disappointed with this, even if the technique served the purposes of the film successfully.

 

Having interviewed Composer Mark Mancina about this score, he did in fact preview what was to come with this outing.  His traditional approach to scoring action movies didn't quite seem to fit what was going on with this picture, so he and the director shifted gears from his rhythmic sensibilities and applied more of a strategic underscore to the film.  I'm sure that this pays off well with the movie, but hearing it on its own made for a bit of difficulty. Personally, I think Mancina is a composer who has a world of talent and offers a real knack for melodic compositions in his work so it was a shame that this did not translate as well as it could have with this picture.  I think that "Shooter" would have probably followed the same trajectory of the action scores from Mancina's past work but the directional shift of the music added some complexity to that.

 

The score consists of electronic and orchestral components which create a dark backdrop for this quasi political thriller.  There are a few moments that Mancina is able to let the orchestra stretch out a bit, most notably with 'Recon Report/Motorcade' (Track 7) and the 'Shootout in Virginia' (Track 14), but overall, the sound of the score in its entirety felt muted.  The slight echoes of a militaristic theme do crop up during the soundtrack but it's a minimal reference. I personally think this would have been a great area of focus to probe deeper into. Imagine if Rambo was launched without the Goldsmith accompaniment in that set of films and that's more or less the feeling I was left with in hearing this score.  Having music you can easily associate with a film is always a better strategy to employ than not.

 

Though I was disappointed with "Shooter," my enthusiasm for Mancina's capabilities do not sway.  He has some very interesting projects lined up for later this year and one in particular, August Rush, will showcase his range of skills in a way that will cause us all to take notice.  Until then, we'll have to make do with what is ultimately a serviceable score for this film, and one that probably has its best moments when heard in context.

 

A couple of final points of interest with this score include the use of a Ukulele by Mancina in key spots of the film as well as a nicely placed end credit song, chosen by the director, Antoine Fuqua, who apparently has a very keen ear for film music.