A Good Day To Die Hard Soundtrack Review

• 15th Feb 2013

Marco Beltrami tries to continue the path that Michael Kamen started off so well with the series. We are 25 years on from the first film, so naturally the beat has changed slightly since then.

The score is competent, but perhaps too intrusive at times. While there are nods here and there to the work of Michael Kamen, this score does try to go out on its own, but in doing so it starts to sound less and less like Die Hard. Beltrami is good at keeping himself up to date (for better or worse) with what is currently working well on audiences – so AGDTDH has plenty of riveting action cues that are fairly non-descript.

There is one bit of cheekiness though in the track listing when far down the 26-track heavy score you’ll find one called “Get To The Choppa!” which did induce a groan. But at 26 tracks you are getting a lot of bang for your buck.

Beltrami can build a decent enough track with tension through repetitive, yet pitch inclining, notes. He does rely perhaps too heavily on a synth backing that perhaps reminds audience a little too much that we live in a digital age (One day it would be nice just to hear an orchestra play in an action film without resorting to faster beats or sounds that are far too digitally manipulated).

Judging it on its own terms though as a piece of music it’s not going to offend anyone’s ears.

Steven Hurst