One of the film music community's lasting lamentations about the scores in the "Fast & Furious" franchise has been Tyler's inability to really develop his themes throughout the films in satisfactory fashion. Sometimes, themes are introduced long after the character's debut, and, at other times, themes are abandoned or diminished for no reason. Tyler's three major character themes date back to 2009's Fast & Furious, and the primary, driving identity for the team of protagonists really congealed in 2011's Fast Five. Several ancillary themes have come and gone in between, and none of the ideas has matured in a way to really define the franchise. This leaves Tyler's blend of orchestral mayhem with hip-hop, Latin, and electronic dance music on the periphery to identify the music, with action sequences as anonymously proficient as his scores for the later Rambo sequels. It's astonishing to consider how utterly bland these scores' action sequences tend to be, their serviceability yielding tolerable listening experiences in most cases but the music doing nothing to identify itself as part of any franchise in particular. Much of F9: The Fast Saga continues this trend without fail, most the suspense and action cues completely fine but nothing more. Occasional standouts like "Peligro Minas" are begging to be combined with equivalents from the sibling scores. Instrumentally, Tyler soldiers on, with the orchestra joined by slap-happy percussion, periodic ethnic flavoring ("Tracking a Ghost"), acoustic guitar for the main family, and synthetic loops and sound effects for the necessary contemporary edge. One has to wonder why more metallic rhythmic devices haven't been used in these scores; "The Race" applies one to great effect at about 30 seconds into the cue. A few unique instrumental cues stand apart, such as the James Bond-inspired big jazz style of "Diamonds and Emeralds" that reminds of Tyler's snazzy Now You See Me scores. The "Enjoying the Moment" cue is a welcome reprise of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift style. Those looking for other throwbacks will appreciate "Twinkie, Ding Dong, and Snowball." A touch of oddly light parody comedy breaks the listening experience in "Minions." Thematically, F9: The Fast Saga reboots the main theme of the franchise, and some listeners will be justifiably unhappy. The franchise's theme for Dom's team is never fully expressed, with only hints of its staccato descent heard in middle of "Upward Movement" on violins, late in "Plans Within Plans Within Plans," and early in "Dom vs. Cipher." The loss of this theme is a significant disappointment.

Replacing the team's established main theme in F9: The Fast Saga is a new identity for this particular narrative, its initial three notes vaguely reminiscent of Cipher's theme from the previous film and employed everywhere in the work. Tyler sought a more dramatic touch for the familial battle in this plot, claiming, "It is something that you would normally associate with a historical drama or almost a mythological, emotional kind of piece that kind of has an existential feeling." Sadly, nothing about that statement is true, for the theme actually sounds like a basic emulation of Hans Zimmer that you would encounter from a resident Remote Control Productions ghostwriter. But the idea struck both Tyler and Lin's fancy, and it displaces many of the other themes' logical placements throughout the work. It's most prominent in all of "Fast 9," most of "Reconciliation," and reduced to piano in "Tracking a Ghost." Tyler applies it to the end of "The Race" to enhance the emotional impact of the scene, but the rendering is too light to suffice for the loss. The idea shifts to suspense mode in "Hope for the Future" and "Simple Words" and turns from dramatic to cool on guitars in "Toretto." The most prominent returning theme is Dom's, dramatic on strings in "Visions of the Past" (though pulled astray by Jakob theme) and peeking through in "Peligro Minas" and "The Next Chapter." Its impact is felt by "Connections," starting on piano and guitar before a nicely brassy conclusion. A major action statement early in "Magenticism" yields to prominent fragments in "Dom vs. Cipher." Letty's dour theme also returns in hints during "Peace in the Chaos" and on its native acoustic guitar in "Connections." Brian's theme returns on guitar early in "Transitions." The three-note phrases for Cipher are underplayed, whimpering out at the end of "Dom vs. Cipher." Tyler's identity for Jakob is weak, a meandering line mingling with Dom's theme in "Visions of the Past" and opening "Seeking Jakob." The themes overall are poorly enunciated at times, especially when adapted out of their initial emotional realms. Given that Tyler wrote this score a year before it was recorded, one would have hoped for better thought in the thematic planning, but just as the film defies the laws of physics, the score doesn't always make sense, either. Still, it's highly proficient and services the concept with ease, though a nearly 2-hour album presentation will require significant culling by almost every listener. After all these years of Tyler scores for this franchise, there is still a nagging feeling that a massively wasted opportunity exists in this combined body of work, the music hitting all the necessary notes but not leaving you with any lasting identity.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download