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•	1995 Album

•	1995 Album

While Poledouris was always known for his unwavering loyalty to melodic structures in his scores, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory takes that continuing adherence to leitmotifs to enhanced stylistic heights. He balances prominent percussion and synthetic lines with his orchestra extremely well in this effort, the work a consistent delight in the creative methods by which the composer uses these accents to convey both techno-thriller elements and accelerated pacing of the suspense and action sequences. The mix is particularly admirable here, the various drums, metallic percussion, and tingling, zipping, and pulsating electronic effects spread amazingly well throughout the soundscape. The really unique synthetics and percussion in "Scramble Map" are an oddly attractive pairing. Of course, it wouldn't be a Poledouris action score without some ballsy, raw brass, and the composer does offer these Robocop 3 reminders along with an emphasized role for trumpet to supply the lonely military hero element. Poledouris drops the electric guitars, drum kit, and cheap synthetics that made Chang's preceding score such a bore, but he does carry over the spirit of his predecessor's main fanfare theme into an equivalent in the sequel. That fanfare for Ryback shares progressions and mingles with a straight action theme for the movie as a whole, and secondary themes are supplied for the villains, the Grazer One satellite weapon, and for Ryback's niece. The fanfare presents shades of Chang's work at the beginning of both "Main Titles" and "Meet Casey Ryback" on trumpets, becoming fluid on strings in the latter cue. It is hinted at 1:38 into "Mercs Take Over Train" as Ryback shifts into action mode, is provided an allusion near the start of "Ryback Startles Bobby," and interjects on brass and snare at 0:23 into "A Billion Dollars." It chops in a Goldsmith Western mode over slapping percussion at 0:49 into "Intruder Discovered," and hints emerge again late in "Casey Off the Train." The fanfare returns to solo trumpet over rambling synths at 0:12 into "Dane Starts Final Count" and "Casey Reboards Train," bursting forth early in "The Gates of Hell" and littered throughout the start of "Hostage Car Shootout." The idea opens "Penn's Wish" and achieves full glory at 2:50, three note fragments only surviving at 1:28 into "Train Wreck." The composer goes through the conclusive formalities with the theme in "Casey's Farewell."

While Poledouris references the militaristic fanfare for Ryback's most glorious actions, the film's more general atmosphere of excitement comes from the composer's related but distinct main theme. Its progressions suggest unfinished business due to final, unresolved note of the central, four-note phrase. Rhythmic backing to this theme sounds like Goldsmith's First Blood stalking motif, especially by the end of "Penn's Wish." Its formal introduction comes at 0:32 and 0:52 into "Main Titles" in Robocop form for brass and percussion, receding until the action truly starts and turning triumphant for brass and timpani at 0:38 into "A Billion Dollars." It enjoys similar form at 1:51 into "Modem Time," where it utilizes a blaster beam-like effect in its battle with the Grazer One theme. The main theme shifts to battling the villains' identity at 1:30 into "Intruder Discovered" after an awkward edit, reprised in full force at 1:22 into "Dead Not Dead," and gains speed and volume in several performances at 3:34 into "Casey Off the Train." Fragments torment the villain theme in "Cliff Fight/Train Pulls Away," and the theme emerges again in the latter half of "Casey Reboards Train" and at 0:37 into "The Gates of Hell" for the full ensemble. Heroic, snare-ripping action features the idea at 2:43 into "Hostage Car Shootout," portions forming imposing tonal bursts to open "Kitchen Fight" and applied to soft tension early in "Penn's Wish" before the theme is sent off in glory at 2:59 into the latter cue. In these late cues, this theme largely replaces the sinewy, long, rising and falling villain theme, which is first heard at 0:14 and 1:20 into "Compound Assault," building volume and momentum in the cue. Its sudden menace on brass returns at 0:48 into "Choppers Approach" and opens "Mercs Take Over Train" briefly, becoming fuller at 1:09 before degrading to fragments. The villain theme opens "Out the Window" for two bursts of action, bubbles along in "Ryback Startles Bobby," violently interrupts the Grazer One theme at 0:18 into "Dane Shoots Airliner," and transitions to strings over wild, percussive bursts at 0:28 into "Intruder Discovered." Its restraint in "Misery" and the first half of "Casey Off the Train" yields to surprisingly warm string shades for the idea at 1:38 into "Casey Reboards Train" and finally dissolves against the Ryback themes in "Kitchen Fight." This theme never receives a particularly satisfying send-off by Poledouris, who instead diminishes its presence and performance power in later fighting scenes.

For some listeners, the highlight of the music from Under Siege 2: Dark Territory will be Poledouris' Grazer One theme, a swirling, whimsical fantasy identity suitable for space. Its hint of positive mystery serves to foreshadow Michael Giacchino's main Tomorrowland theme and has a magical feel to its use of metallic percussion and synths. Its most major performances of grandeur and militaristic prowess come at 1:17 into "Main Titles," but the theme enjoys its longest development in mysterious suspense mode from 0:22 forward in "Access Codes," discovering its truly militaristic side at the end of that cue. The idea turns more accelerated and worried at 0:26 into "Out the Window" before a positive statement at the end. It dominates "Bye Bye Thriller" with a cooler stance on percussion and synths, its wondrous spirit over more active metallic percussion extending to the weapon's demonstration at 1:16 into "China Blues." The motif opens "A Billion Dollars" in ominous low tones and ranges from romantic to exciting in "Dane Shoots Airliner." Rhythmic patterns for the theme inform the first half of "Dead Not Dead" in synthetics while it espouses dread and a loss of allure in the latter half of "The Gates of Hell." The Grazer One theme is stripped down to rhythms and chords only 0:40 into "Hostage Car Shootout," flashes those chords against the villains' theme to end "Kitchen Fight," and persists with sinister intent several times in "Train Wreck," reasserting some power by the end. Less dominant in the score is Poledouris' family theme, emulating a generically soft Goldsmith character theme of the 1990s and mostly confined to early scenes. It is explored throughout "Casey's Family" on woodwinds, consolidating at 0:30 on low flute. That instrument conveys it along with strings at the outset of "Casey and Sarah," later shifting to piano and oboe. Thereafter, though, it only recurs for a brief moment late in "Mercs Take Over Train" on oboe and without sufficient clarity at the start of "Casey's Farewell." The score doesn't wrap with much satisfaction, as it segues into an original gospel song co-written by Seagal, and while the song is fine, it doesn't really fit with the movie. As for the score, Poledouris' expansive synthetic applications are the main attraction, the Grazer One theme among his more intriguing fantasy material. A 28-minute album from Varèse Sarabande in 1995 omits several vital cues, and the label followed with an impressively expanded, limited CD Club edition in 2017. Poledouris' breadth of percussive and synthetic creativity over his standard action stance sustains the longer listening experience, and the work remains one of the composer's better obscure efforts.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Basil Poledouris reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.54 (in 35 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.3 (in 36,787 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.