Sudden Death

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

When you compose something like CutThroat Island, you don't think a lot of people will check out the rest do you? Especially like it was of that nature that it made us thinking it was just the one score he composed in his career. Of course, we know better and today John Debney is a respected craftsman who is working on too few good movies. One movie I always calculated better (meaning acceptable) in than perhaps it was received was Sudden Death. Starring Jean Claude Van Damme (The Muscles from Brussels) and containing in my book a quite original action thriller idea, it didn't really set miracles alight. Of course I will always remember my favorite moments like when Jean Claude steps on the ice, replacing the goalie and actually doing some wonderful stuff. And also the thriller climax of Luc Robitaille scoring the sudden death equalizer (oh yeah, this man knows something about hockey). Still, the favorite part that binds these two together was the moment when Jean Claude Van Damme makes clear that he is the goalie, through the sign language at his son and at that moment John Debney's powerful main theme was stated. Easily enough, it convinced me after a long time in finally buying Varčse Sarabande's 30 minute release of the music.

What we expected and what we were only thinking off is what you will find on the release of Sudden Death. It is a stereotypical action chase score which offers very little dramatic soft music, but a load of action chase tense music which quite frankly begins to drag on its moments. The first tracks are still acceptable, and so they should be. 'Main Title / Kitchen Fight' states the main theme dramatically dark yet not overpowering in its force and receives some tones that would later flourish in The Relic. Further a light percussion rhythm is noticed in the following track. Still, the moment I was referring to blesses the 50 second 'Seeing Tyler' and even though it is not that overwhelming here, the effect is outstanding during the initial scene. 'Locker Room Chase' is along with 'Choppers / Scaling the Dome' the best action chase track available. The first track sounds distinctly like The Fugitive of James Newton Howard (just as Debney did already before in The Scorpion King) and 5 contains the best chase music where Debney follows sometimes its cinematic partner with a tense action sound. They are the better to be found here. Which unfortunately can't be said about 'Race Against the Clock / The Abduction', taking things a bit too much in control and sounding overdone and overcooked. Sad, since this track seems to take on forever, because it is also the longest of the whole.

'Rooftop Battle' is quite good since it covers several examples of the main theme and the better side of the action music but track nine once more overdoes it. Still ending fairly enjoyable with the main theme performance, it is the first part that tries too much to hit the nails and that is a bit much for my kind ears. In a way, Sudden Death is a soundtrack that covers the exact notes as The Fugitive does, with the difference that James Newton Howard's score still offered the occasional quiet moment. This is too much missing in Sudden Death, making also that the action tracks can become a bit much at times. Tracks 6 and 9 are not the easiest to enjoy. It is simply speaking an average to at times solid action score, which does all good in the movie and basically solid on disc. Luckily, Varčse didn't expand on the material since that could have taken the score down in quotation, 30 minutes is quite enough to be fair. Debney fans will always appreciate the high speed tempo of Debney's action sound and the initial fans who loved the moment I am referring to perhaps have the same feeling as I had before purchasing it. "Why not after all this time?" Yet, Sudden Death is consistently speaking solid, I wouldn't have wanted to go in overtime when they could. Enough is enough at a certain point.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title / Kitchen Fight (5.31)

2. Finding The Bombs (2.29)

3. Seeing Tyler (0.59)

4. Locker Room Chase (2.29)

5. Choppers / Scaling The Dome (4.02)

6. Race Against The Clock / The Abduction (6.36)

7. Countdown (0.44)

8. Rooftop Battle (5.26)

9. Chopper Explodes / Resolution (2.04)

Total Length: 30.32

The use of artwork or photos is posted for non profitable reasons

=== Link to Composer Site: John Debney ===