In retrospect, The Man in the Iron Mask is far less satisfying. Golden Age film music collectors identified the problems with the score immediately in 1998, and with the stagnant Zimmer sound bothering some of the younger generation in the following years, scores like this one are simply too repetitive. Its themes are extremely simplistic in their harmonic progressions. The primary theme, heard boldly in "Surrounded" and a few places thereafter, is a simple re-working of the title theme for The Rock, with most of the instrumentation left intact. Casual ears, in fact, will not be able to discern any difference between the opening tracks of the two scores. A secondary theme that dominates "The Ascension" shares significant chord progressions with the "wondrous" theme from The Lion King. A flute theme introduced at the end of "All for One" is almost identical in structure and performance to the similar Irish-styled theme in The Rock. Remaining themes in The Man in the Iron Mask will all raise comparisons to other Zimmer scores, including fragments from Backdraft. Most striking is the use of the electronic bass, guitars, synthetic keyboarding, and trademark deep male chorus in a period film; this instrumentation, while combined well with a traditional ensemble (closer in style to The Lion King's combo sound), will simply not suffice for the 17th Century for some listeners. Glennie-Smith and Wallace contemplated licensing symphonic performances of Handel and Haydn for the handful of cues in the score that simply could not use portions of The Rock, but Glennie-Smith decided in the end to attempt recreations himself. This was an unfortunate move, and his lack of style in his baroque imitations causes three almost laughable cues on album. On the positive side, however, Glennie-Smith did indeed take that powerful and modern Zimmer style of action and package it into one of the most easily digestible forms until Zimmer would do so again himself in King Arthur several years later. If you can turn off your brain and forget the score's constantly derivative nature, it's a surprisingly enjoyable listening experience. It may be dumb, but it accomplishes what Wallace wanted. Over its 50 minutes on album, it will provide a "best of" compilation of ideas from The Rock, with filler material that is sufficient outside of the baroque attempts.  ***   @Amazon.com: CD or Download