What You Need to Know: As with any release of a Brian Tyler score, I'm always sure to give it a listen. He's one of the few composers with the label of "must-hear" with me because he so often delivers an entertaining takeaway with his scores, one way or another. For this gig, I was interested to hear the type of score that he would compose for this urban revenge thriller.

The music for Law Abiding Citizen is all about the nuance, and is one of the few scores from Brian that I can recall being driven predominantly by a subtle, suspenseful approach. Indeed, for this outing, Brian had to create a significant amount of underscore material to escort the picture along. Shot with a neo-noir look in mind, the music for Law Abiding Citizen necessitated an edgy, underscored approach and Brian accomplished this quite well. Unfortunately, what works for the viewing audience sometimes does not work for the listener.

I felt as though Brian could have benefited from a bit more creative space in this one. The tone of the overall score was just too specific to the movie's dark underbelly for it to be the type of vintage listener experience I'm used to from the composer. And let's face it -- with so many scores under his belt that worked well both within the picture and on the disc, situations like the one here with Law Abiding Citizen were bound to surface.

Though the overall tone of the score didn't translate as well as I would have hoped, there are a few moments on the soundtrack that will perk you up. When the score is allowed to use the orchestra in full, the moments are sharp and aggressive, and lend some firepower to the shadowy style of the music. There is also a nod toward the emotional dynamic of the film when the music shifts to a warmer, personal tone when required. Ultimately, however, you have to be a fan of this genre's music to get the most out of it. If you are, your review will sing a different tune than mine because Brian's work is effective and consistent throughout.