Many the themes in U-571 seem to exhibit that uneasy feeling that they've been adapted from another composer's usage in the adventure genre before. There is no doubt that Mostow put Marvin in a difficult position through the placement of high profile temp tracks in early edits of the film. While Marvin is quite good at adapting many of these requests from the director into the battle portions of his score, the title theme alone should raise questions of plagiarism. In his attempt to provide the blatant patriotism requested by the director, Marvin almost copies Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Air Force One during panoramic scenes. The resemblance is so similar that even a novice soundtrack collector or film reviewer can identify it, making U-571 a hard pill to swallow at times. The bold nature of this theme was out of place in the film compared to the remainder of the score, begging questions about whether or not U-571 could have benefited most substantially if Marvin had adapted an equally powerful, but lesser known theme (such as Michel Legrand's outstanding Ice Station Zebra fanfare). The abundance of snare rhythms in Marvin's work adds even more unnecessary gloss to the theme. Outside of this main theme, continued references to the works of Goldsmith, James Horner, and Alan Silvestri persist, though Marvin eventually hides them with more skill. A mutation of the title theme for the heartbreaking "S-33 Sinks" is particularly notable. Secondary themes are effective, with variations serving the "Finale and Dedication" cue with a touch of unique development. The mass of suspense and chase cues is somewhat anonymous, as are the conversational pieces, though Marvin's employment of consistent motif development keeps them interesting. The film opens with the score's only overt use of electronic ambience, with a dull, aquatic sound effect that might have aided action sequences later in the story if reprised.

A secondary end credits theme is perhaps indicative of the kind of more subdued, respectful material that Marvin would have provided if not strapped by the temp-track requests of the director. Marvin would interestingly make little attempt to provide the Germans with any kind of viable musical motif, leaving them to the droning in the bass region that often accompanies their suspenseful presence. Overall, Marvin's score is effectively exciting, and if you've never heard any of the scores that were temp-tracked into U-571 during post-production, then the score's weaker elements may not bother you. There is a power struggle between multiple themes in the film that doesn't go noticed until you analyze the score apart from other distractions. On its own, the score's flaws may not restrict you from being entertained by its bombast, and the technical aspects of the recording are handled well. An album release of U-571 was surprisingly neglected, however, bounced around for while and eventually abandoned by commercial labels. In part due to the score's high profile impact on the film and partly due to a consequent outcry of demands from film score fans, the soundtrack specialty label SuperTracks (responsible also for the much-requested Galaxy Quest album earlier in 2000) released the music as a promotional item a few months later. Demand for the album has remained high through the years, sufficing in turning attention towards the relatively unknown composer. Given the nature of its intent, though, Marvin rearranged the cues on the album to provide its strengths up front. Unfortunately, not all the best cues are actually placed at the outset, negating the purpose of the rearrangement and frustrating fans. The 62 minutes of material, while generous in its length, do leave several sections lacking in the mid-section of the product. In the end, though, despite its flaws in inspiration and adaptation, U-571 was still one of the biggest surprises of 2000.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download