Most of the music Zarvos supplies to The Equalizer 3 is surprisingly palatable, outright dissonance often diminished to a background role. His instrumental choices and conveyance techniques are easy to digest, though the score is intruded upon by Thomas Azier's infinitely more abrasive and out of place insertions for the cues "Nine Seconds" and "Love, Disorderly." Aside from these highly annoying diversions that are not justified by the remainder of the soundtrack's personality, Zarvos provides an ensemble consisting of strings, piano, and solo trumpet with possibly woodwinds from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and nondescript percussion overlays. A quick survey of the score may not stir much interest, especially with the unoffensive but rather dull suspense cue like "Bottom Up" and "Did He Save a Good Man?" sprinkled throughout. There isn't as much alienation and disillusionment inherent in Zarvos' take on the character's contemplations, and there are even glimmers of hope that were mostly absent from Gregson-Williams' work. The most interesting aspect of The Equalizer 3 is Zarvos' restrained but evident attempts to infuse some Italian character into the music, and this sensibility ultimately provides some of the score's best moments. Thematically, his tapestry is far more developed than the simplicity of Gregson-Williams, with three or four themes weaving in and out and offering compelling takes at least once in most cases. Zarvos' new main theme for McCall is constructed out of malleable, descending pairs of notes that may prove too elusive for some listeners. It's heard throughout "Prelude" on strings and piano, vague hints of prior Gregson-Williams' theme stewing in secondary lines. Its role is often ponderous, conveyed by hazy strings early in "Nine Seconds" and lightly suspenseful on piano in "Marco Threatens Gio" but clearer on still-meandering piano lines in "Collins Makes Contact." The idea overlaps with the Gregson-Williams theme's rhythmic adaptation in "That's Who You Are," becomes solitary on trumpet in the first half of "Robert Gives Himself Up," briefly joins the celebration at 3:08 into "Altamonte's Victory," and is tentative on piano and then strings at the outset of "A Storm is Brewing." It's an adequate, though unassuming identity.

The extent to which Gregson-Williams' theme from the prior score figures into The Equalizer 3 can be debated, but Zarvos does apply that motif's opening three, descending notes as a cyclical, rhythmic formation in several cues, as heard on piano in "First Walk" and "That's Who You Are." This phrasing sometimes slips into the middle of the new main theme, suggesting some conscious decision by Zarvos to connect his work to the only truly compelling aspect of the previous scores. (Anyone still expecting the theme from the 1970's television show to reappear in this film franchise is in for a longer wait.) For the Italian location of The Equalizer 3 and the mafia connections, the composer indulges with a general theme highlighted by its classically engaging performance on melodramatic strings throughout most of "Vincent's Demise." The theme achieves its other dramatic stance late in "That's Who You Are" but is otherwise reduced to fragmentary duties, deconstructed in "Drive to Vineyard," very slightly informing the suspense of "They Should Have Let Him In," and its primary, three-note phrase adapted into the suspense of "Barbarian at the Gate." By far the highlight of the score is Zarvos' refreshingly upbeat identity for the town, Altamonte, and its people. This warm, optimistic piano and acoustic guitar theme prevails in "Aminah" for the waitress and enjoys a long, flowing, and muscular moment in "Altamonte's Victory" for the game sequence at the end. The string section flourishes over piano and drums in this cue, solo cello making a pronounced appearance and invoking the previous scores. This idea is also reduced to solo cello menace in "Fireside Chat" and inverted for contemplation on piano and cello in "Robert Reconsiders." The villains of the tale aren't overtly afforded melodic elements, though there is a simple thumping motif in "Synthetic Amphetamine" that develops further in "Good Man Bad Man." Overall, Zarvos' largely organic take on The Equalizer 3 is more dynamic and emotionally varied than Gregson-Williams' scores, and it contains ten minutes of very compelling highlights. But the loss of the explicit franchise theme, the terrible Azier cues, and an album that is frustratingly out of chronological order are significant detriments. The Altamonte theme ultimately carries the score to a third star, a surprisingly compassionate turn of character for this franchise of music.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download