Aside from the orchestral depth of the score for Léon, the music's utilization of percussion and electronics as sound effects for a sense of gravity dominates the soundscape, especially in a cue like "Cute Name." Serra's thunder sound effect, as heard at the start of "Back on the Crime Scene," is a mixed bag. Synthetic pan pipes do lend a slightly exotic feel in "Can't I Have a Word With You?" and others. The wet, industrial metal effects from struck percussion are a Serra calling card, and its use is prominent here as well. The feel of the score is ethnic and tragic on one side while starkly sterile in its menacing half. Though Serra establishes a convincing general style for the music, his cues don't develop themes or motifs particularly well, his technique of static movement from the start to the end of a cue tending to annoy too often. Like in "Fatman," several cues contain rhythms that can drone on for five minutes without interest. The action cues are downright boring, in fact, with nothing exciting in this score; the final confrontation cues are about as tepid and underplayed as they could be. Even in these underwhelming moments, though, Serra does manage to remain loyal to his thematic constructs despite their flaws. While there are four themes that define characters in Léon, only two have a lasting impact. One represents the villain of the tale, Oldman's corrupt (and stoned) drug enforcement lead. He is treated to an oddly Middle-Eastern series of descending slurs, slippery structures that sound almost foreign. This theme is overly cool against a restrained rhythm at 3:02 into "Noon," with tambourines that seem a little bright here and in other cues that apply them. A variant on strings over industrial percussion follows at 0:06 into "What's Happening Out There?" and persists for the whole cue in much the same form. The idea becomes its most poignantly dramatic on strings at 0:45 into "She is Dead" and reduces its presence for the midsection of the story. It haunts "Leon the Cleaner" in subtle references, provides allusions from timpani in "Room 4602," and only barely informs the edges of "The Fight (Part 2: Bring Me Everyone)." The villain's theme returns in full early in "The Fight (Part 3: The Big Weapon)" over militaristic rhythms; the tambourine persists, which is still somewhat strange, but the theme gains momentum and volume throughout the cue, eventually adding some crashing cymbals. Comparatively, the idea is less coherent in the latter half of "The Fight (Part 4: One is Alive)."

Serra's theme for Reno's Léon assassin is a descending and ascending motif of remarkable sadness, but it's somewhat generic due to its static pacing in most performances. There's no hint of swagger in his music. This theme debuts at 0:42 into "Cute Name" on bass flute and strings and intensifies as the cue goes on, yielding the most impactful moment in the score. It consolidates on solemn oboe over morbid string layers in "Leon the Cleaner," meanders slightly on guitar and piano in "The Game is Over," and is deconstructed in the disturbing "When Leon Does His Best" until renewed focus on the proper melody at the end of the cue. Léon's theme is keyboarded with string warmth in the first half of "Back on the Crime Scene" and moves to a low flute solo at the outset of "The Fight (Part 1: The Swat Squad)," its ominous low wind and string renditions of fear a nice touch. For the story's resolution, the theme is conveyed tenderly on piano at the outset of "Two Ways Out," swelling to string melodrama in the latter half. Initially related to the brighter incarnations of this idea is Mathilda's theme, which is the lightest part of the work in its acoustic guitar and low xylophone performances that offer rare innocence for only one cue in the score. Appropriately soft at 0:30 into "Ballad for Mathilda" over a wash of comfortable guitar and strings, the idea disappears until it blends well with the Léon theme in the finale sentimentality of "Two Ways Out." Ancillary to the score is an offshoot of the Léon theme's progressions for his Italian mafia employer, Tony. This twist of the prior identity is slightly Italian in its personality due to bandoneon and other regional instrumentation in "Tony the IBM." That same bandoneon spirit is toned down significantly in "How Do You Know It's Love?," and that's the extent of such material in the score. Ultimately, Serra offers a bevy of interesting and at times compelling concepts in his music for Léon, but the whole suffers from the composer's inability to generate any genuine sense of dread, excitement, or payoff. The suite of "The Fight" cues at the climax of the film is badly underplayed, almost as if Serra was attempting hypnosis rather than thrill. On its nearly hour-long album, the score definitely needs culled to concentrate the dramatic highlights into a suite of slightly exotic and better than average Serra tonalities. A European version of the album also includes the bonus track "Hey Little Angel," very Serra-like, light rock song with film dialogue sprinkled throughout. Collectors of Serra's music will undoubtedly appreciate the hybrid electronic and orchestra highlights, but don't expect the composer to sculpt a well-rounded score out of them.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download