Bill Wrobel's DVD - Film Score Rundowns

http://miklosrozsa.yuku.com/topic/1106/Deleted-material-from-DEAD-MEN-DON-T-
WEAR-PLAID
-X2: X-Men United (2003) ***
http://www.amazon.com/X2-X-Men-United-Two-Disc-
Widescreen/dp/B0000BWVCM/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1293771000&sr=1-1
-Troy (2004) ***
http://www.amazon.com/Troy-Two-Disc-Widescreen-Brad-
Pitt/dp/B0002Z0EYK/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1293771063&sr=1-2
-The Sum of All Fears (2002) *** [music ***]
http://www.amazon.com/Sum-All-Fears-Special-
Collectors/dp/B00005JL8F/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1293771149&sr=1-1
I watched this dvd again almost a week ago last Monday on President’s Day. Ben
Affleck (recently starring in the excellent Company Men) stars as Jack Ryan, replacing
Harrison Ford in that role in the previous two installments—although my favorite Jack
Ryan was the first one, Alec Baldwin. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith, and while it is a
competent good score, it is not one of his memorable, top-drawer scores. The same
applies to the movie itself: It’s an okay movie but not a great one. I like many of the stars
therein but a collection of good stars no not necessarily add up to a great movie. Many
factors are involved. While the producers made a valiant attempt to make an interesting
movie for fans of the franchise, I think they failed to understand that the franchise was
already established with the trend of having Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan. So to switch
with Ben Affleck (admirable actor I feel he really is) because Harrison Ford opted out
was the Sum of All Risks! They took a big gamble and ultimately they lost. You noticed
that they never took up the franchise again! Harrison Ford was a bigger star than Alec
Baldwin at the time, so to switch from Baldwin to Ford was an easy gamble—and the
first Ford-Ryan movie was also an excellent movie in general (the second one was
inferior). So, in order of preference, my favorite Jack Ryan movies are:
-Hunt for the Red October ****
-Patriot Games ****
-Sum of All Fears ***
-Clear & Present Danger **
And, once again, my favorite Jack Ryan star is Alec Baldwin. I thought he was
perfectly cast for The Shadow (and that music score by Goldsmith is outstanding!). I
think his breakout movie was Beetle Juice (you can hardly recognize him in that movie if
you compare him to the way he looks now). His critical success role was Glengarry Glen
Ross as top-salesman Blake!
Of course, regarding the score, if I had a chance to study the full score I would
instantly do that. The Kremlin music is quite pronounced and caught my ear. If you
consult the dvd starting at the icy road scene and the three cars racing along (dvd
00:30:30), you can hear a nice sequence there. Specifically at 00:30:48 you hear the nice
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